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Recommend this book:
So Fell the Sparrow
Katie Jennings
2014 Honorable Mention
354 Pages
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Fiction - Paranormal
Reviewed by Tina Stanciu for Readers' Favorite
So Fell the Sparrow by Katie Jennings tells the story of Dr. Grace Sullivan and how she deals with the death of her parents, a mysterious inheritance, and the presence of spirits from another world. Grace is not the kind of person that believes in the existence of ghosts and paranormal phenomena, so when she is faced with inexplicable events, even though she decides to use the services of a team of ghost hunters, she is still skeptical about the existence of the spirits. The story progresses, and as Grace is struggling with the loss of her parents, the other-world presences, the medium and ghost hunters team, she is overwhelmed by her feelings and the never-ending mystery of the inherited house.
So Fell the Sparrow is more than a ghost story; it draws you in from the start with an engaging title, a wonderful cover, and excellent writing style. I would recommend Katie Jennings’ novel for everyone that wants to read a ghost story that will keep you interested from beginning to end. The characters and story are strongly defined by the author, which makes it easier for readers to envision the world that Katie Jennings describes.
If you like ghost stories and are not afraid of a little mystery, So Fell the Sparrow is the book for you. The action happens in exactly the kind of small town that you would think a ghost tale would happen, and it has everything you need in order to enjoy it from cover to cover. Expect sudden turns of events, powerful characters, a unique love story, and a frightening storyline.
So Fell the Sparrow by Katie Jennings tells the story of Dr. Grace Sullivan and how she deals with the death of her parents, a mysterious inheritance, and the presence of spirits from another world. Grace is not the kind of person that believes in the existence of ghosts and paranormal phenomena, so when she is faced with inexplicable events, even though she decides to use the services of a team of ghost hunters, she is still skeptical about the existence of the spirits. The story progresses, and as Grace is struggling with the loss of her parents, the other-world presences, the medium and ghost hunters team, she is overwhelmed by her feelings and the never-ending mystery of the inherited house.
So Fell the Sparrow is more than a ghost story; it draws you in from the start with an engaging title, a wonderful cover, and excellent writing style. I would recommend Katie Jennings’ novel for everyone that wants to read a ghost story that will keep you interested from beginning to end. The characters and story are strongly defined by the author, which makes it easier for readers to envision the world that Katie Jennings describes.
If you like ghost stories and are not afraid of a little mystery, So Fell the Sparrow is the book for you. The action happens in exactly the kind of small town that you would think a ghost tale would happen, and it has everything you need in order to enjoy it from cover to cover. Expect sudden turns of events, powerful characters, a unique love story, and a frightening storyline.
Recommend this book:
The Way Back
A Soldier's Journey
S.K.Carnes
2014 Silver Medal
Kindle Edition
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Fiction - Realistic
Reviewed by Rich Follett for Readers' Favorite
The Way Back: A Soldier’s Journey by S.K. Carnes tells the story of John Chapman, a World War I veteran with PTSD and a poet’s soul. He finds work as a farmhand with a dairy farming family who, in their own stalwart, beholden-to-no-one way, help him find the ‘way back’ to wellness and a happy life. The narrative is a kind of historical/poetic frame story, weaving together the lives of three generations of characters through the central prism of Chapman’s journal, found in a barn being torn down in present day Wisconsin and lovingly shared by the author as a tribute to Chapman.
The Way Back: A Soldier's Journey alternately features lush and lyrical narration, Chapman’s poems (copied from his journal), carefully researched historical and cultural references from World War I through the Great Depression and the dawning of World War II, and colloquial Wisconsin dialogue that is as heartwarming and educational as it is funny in that particularly wry Midwestern way that can only be depicted accurately by a native. S.K. Carnes is a gifted writer at the top of her game, capturing the images and episodes of an era and a heartland lifestyle that is rapidly vanishing from the American consciousness with a clarity and poetic vision that render the narrative unique and compelling. In an early glimpse of Chapman, Carnes describes her quiet hero as having “Muckelty-dun eyes rimmed in blue ... eyes of that color could steal your heart away.” Prose like that does not come along every day!
The Way Back: A Soldier’s Journey has something to please any reader - romance, history, adventure, drama, poetry, a quietly epic feel, a magnificently rendered landscape, and eclectic characters unlike any of the ‘ho-hum’ heroes of lesser fiction. Having once entered John Chapman’s world, readers will want to linger, holding close one of the most pure-of-heart and earnestly crafted narratives in recent memory.
The Way Back: A Soldier’s Journey by S.K. Carnes tells the story of John Chapman, a World War I veteran with PTSD and a poet’s soul. He finds work as a farmhand with a dairy farming family who, in their own stalwart, beholden-to-no-one way, help him find the ‘way back’ to wellness and a happy life. The narrative is a kind of historical/poetic frame story, weaving together the lives of three generations of characters through the central prism of Chapman’s journal, found in a barn being torn down in present day Wisconsin and lovingly shared by the author as a tribute to Chapman.
The Way Back: A Soldier's Journey alternately features lush and lyrical narration, Chapman’s poems (copied from his journal), carefully researched historical and cultural references from World War I through the Great Depression and the dawning of World War II, and colloquial Wisconsin dialogue that is as heartwarming and educational as it is funny in that particularly wry Midwestern way that can only be depicted accurately by a native. S.K. Carnes is a gifted writer at the top of her game, capturing the images and episodes of an era and a heartland lifestyle that is rapidly vanishing from the American consciousness with a clarity and poetic vision that render the narrative unique and compelling. In an early glimpse of Chapman, Carnes describes her quiet hero as having “Muckelty-dun eyes rimmed in blue ... eyes of that color could steal your heart away.” Prose like that does not come along every day!
The Way Back: A Soldier’s Journey has something to please any reader - romance, history, adventure, drama, poetry, a quietly epic feel, a magnificently rendered landscape, and eclectic characters unlike any of the ‘ho-hum’ heroes of lesser fiction. Having once entered John Chapman’s world, readers will want to linger, holding close one of the most pure-of-heart and earnestly crafted narratives in recent memory.
Recommend this book:
The Fight for Immortality
Peter Arthur
2014 Silver Medal
576 Pages
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Fiction - Science Fiction
Reviewed by Bil Howard for Readers' Favorite
Appealing to the masses and especially to the youth of the world through the promise of adventure, education, and a future with endless possibilities, an alien force has easily began to overtake Earth without shedding a drop of blood in The Fight for Immortality by Peter Arthur. Though the aliens have taken on human form and have easily drawn in the vast majority of youth with their extraordinary ability to fulfill the basic desires for a proper lifestyle, career and family goals, there is one youth, Jack Cousins, who isn’t fooled by any of it. With the leaders of the United States government scrambling to get a hold on what is going on and attempt to stop it, Jack not only has the proper amount of skepticism about the true motivations of DE corporation, but has an extraordinary skill of his own that will help him fight back against overwhelming forces. He is forced to accept a challenge which borders on the impossible and he must win the fight for immortality or die in the process.
The Fight for Immortality is a brilliantly thought out novel with enough realism to make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Peter Arthur expertly shows how an alien force, understanding the common thinking of humans and the things that it is correct and morally right to pursue, can become not only the stumbling block, but the means of eliminating us. Packed full of suspense, intrigue and realism, it is an enormous comfort that The Fight for Immortality is a work of fiction. I hope.
Appealing to the masses and especially to the youth of the world through the promise of adventure, education, and a future with endless possibilities, an alien force has easily began to overtake Earth without shedding a drop of blood in The Fight for Immortality by Peter Arthur. Though the aliens have taken on human form and have easily drawn in the vast majority of youth with their extraordinary ability to fulfill the basic desires for a proper lifestyle, career and family goals, there is one youth, Jack Cousins, who isn’t fooled by any of it. With the leaders of the United States government scrambling to get a hold on what is going on and attempt to stop it, Jack not only has the proper amount of skepticism about the true motivations of DE corporation, but has an extraordinary skill of his own that will help him fight back against overwhelming forces. He is forced to accept a challenge which borders on the impossible and he must win the fight for immortality or die in the process.
The Fight for Immortality is a brilliantly thought out novel with enough realism to make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Peter Arthur expertly shows how an alien force, understanding the common thinking of humans and the things that it is correct and morally right to pursue, can become not only the stumbling block, but the means of eliminating us. Packed full of suspense, intrigue and realism, it is an enormous comfort that The Fight for Immortality is a work of fiction. I hope.
Recommend this book:
The Shadow Prince
The Prequel to Mortal Enchantment
Stacey O'Neale
2014 Gold Medal
Kindle Edition
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Fiction - Short Story/Novela
Reviewed by K T Bowes for Readers' Favorite
Rowan is an elemental of royal descent. He is young, handsome, and at the peak of his adolescence. Wandering in the mortal world, Rowan is exercising his elemental fire gift, growing up and enjoying life, when he is apprehended by his best friend, Marcus, who delivers a call to return home to Avalon at the bidding of Rowan's mother, a cruel and manipulative queen. Faced with no choice but to obey, Rowan arrives at the fire court, eager to find out if the rumours are true and his mother intends to hand over the crown to him. He is wary of her spite and is mortified to discover that she has made Marcus his guardian, a dreadful form of bondage that she knows will upset her son. The rumours are true and as Rowan's coronation is planned, the queen delivers her final blow. In order to succeed, Rowan must slay the only daughter of Taron, the elemental who has been the kindest to him throughout his young life.
In The Shadow Prince, Stacey O'Neale has delivered an action packed, adrenaline filled ride, which is the perfect prequel to the Mortal Enchantment series. From the very beginning, the pace is set at fast forward, drawing the reader through myriad tense and exciting moments. The character of Rowan is particularly well drawn, inviting sympathy and compassion from the reader for the dreadful life into which he has been unwittingly born. He is loveless, openly inviting the disdain of his mother, eventually suffering dreadful pain and humiliation at her hands, and the reader cannot help but find him likeable and take a personal interest in his plight. The hint of romance to come is nicely done, irrevocably linking Rowan and Taron's daughter, even though they don't meet properly until the very end of the prequel. There is so much conflict in this story, that the characters move from one crisis to another, keeping the reader galloping happily along to the end, eager then for the next instalment in the series.
Rowan is an elemental of royal descent. He is young, handsome, and at the peak of his adolescence. Wandering in the mortal world, Rowan is exercising his elemental fire gift, growing up and enjoying life, when he is apprehended by his best friend, Marcus, who delivers a call to return home to Avalon at the bidding of Rowan's mother, a cruel and manipulative queen. Faced with no choice but to obey, Rowan arrives at the fire court, eager to find out if the rumours are true and his mother intends to hand over the crown to him. He is wary of her spite and is mortified to discover that she has made Marcus his guardian, a dreadful form of bondage that she knows will upset her son. The rumours are true and as Rowan's coronation is planned, the queen delivers her final blow. In order to succeed, Rowan must slay the only daughter of Taron, the elemental who has been the kindest to him throughout his young life.
In The Shadow Prince, Stacey O'Neale has delivered an action packed, adrenaline filled ride, which is the perfect prequel to the Mortal Enchantment series. From the very beginning, the pace is set at fast forward, drawing the reader through myriad tense and exciting moments. The character of Rowan is particularly well drawn, inviting sympathy and compassion from the reader for the dreadful life into which he has been unwittingly born. He is loveless, openly inviting the disdain of his mother, eventually suffering dreadful pain and humiliation at her hands, and the reader cannot help but find him likeable and take a personal interest in his plight. The hint of romance to come is nicely done, irrevocably linking Rowan and Taron's daughter, even though they don't meet properly until the very end of the prequel. There is so much conflict in this story, that the characters move from one crisis to another, keeping the reader galloping happily along to the end, eager then for the next instalment in the series.
Recommend this book:
The Cistern Mission
A Short Story
Michael Dadich
2014 Silver Medal
82 Pages
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Fiction - Short Story/Novela
Reviewed by Lit Amri for Readers' Favorite
The once powerful Alliance of Azimuth is greatly threatened by Hideux and his Nightlander army. Rostand, spy for the Alliance, infiltrates the enemy’s base of Cistern on the moon Andromeda. While scouring the base for information, Kira Chand, a prisoner on the base and one of the Alliance's best trainees escapes. Like Rostand, she is on a mission to retrieve any information about the enemy and has a disturbing intel on Hideux. A mythical demon, Biskara, turns out to be Hideux’s father and the reason why Hideux is always one step ahead of Azimuth. An important discovery indeed, but both Rostand and Kira need to make a getaway from the enemy base and relay the message to their superior.
The Cistern Mission: A Kin Chronicles Short Story is the prequel to Michael Dadich’s The Kin Chronicles series. It is a novelette and an introduction to this series. Four first chapters of Book 1, The Silver Sphere, are also included to give potential readers – who would be excited and swayed by this prequel – some insights into the sci-fi/fantasy adventure that awaits them. Characters Malefic, Shelby Pardow, Zach Ryder and even a librarian, Walter Dempsey, are introduced to us. Prose is faultless. The action scenes are excellently written with just the right amount of suspense, excitement, and intrigue. Even though this novelette is aimed at YA readers, I think that mature sci-fi and fantasy fans will enjoy it immensely as well. I am intrigued and excited enough to follow the series and no doubt it will garner other prospective followers.
The once powerful Alliance of Azimuth is greatly threatened by Hideux and his Nightlander army. Rostand, spy for the Alliance, infiltrates the enemy’s base of Cistern on the moon Andromeda. While scouring the base for information, Kira Chand, a prisoner on the base and one of the Alliance's best trainees escapes. Like Rostand, she is on a mission to retrieve any information about the enemy and has a disturbing intel on Hideux. A mythical demon, Biskara, turns out to be Hideux’s father and the reason why Hideux is always one step ahead of Azimuth. An important discovery indeed, but both Rostand and Kira need to make a getaway from the enemy base and relay the message to their superior.
The Cistern Mission: A Kin Chronicles Short Story is the prequel to Michael Dadich’s The Kin Chronicles series. It is a novelette and an introduction to this series. Four first chapters of Book 1, The Silver Sphere, are also included to give potential readers – who would be excited and swayed by this prequel – some insights into the sci-fi/fantasy adventure that awaits them. Characters Malefic, Shelby Pardow, Zach Ryder and even a librarian, Walter Dempsey, are introduced to us. Prose is faultless. The action scenes are excellently written with just the right amount of suspense, excitement, and intrigue. Even though this novelette is aimed at YA readers, I think that mature sci-fi and fantasy fans will enjoy it immensely as well. I am intrigued and excited enough to follow the series and no doubt it will garner other prospective followers.
Recommend this book:
The Jewel Box
C Michelle McCarty
2014 Gold Medal
310 Pages
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Fiction - Southern
Reviewed by Mamta Madhavan for Readers' Favorite
The Jewel Box by C. Michelle McCarty is a story set in and around Texas. The story opens at an antique shop in Galveston, Texas, where Jill-Cherie is the owner and an old friend is waiting there for a delivery. The story takes us in flashback to the earlier life of Jill-Cherie. Just eighteen, Jill moves to Houston looking for adventure and excitement, but she finds herself in a mess. By twenty-two, she is married, divorced, and with a toddler. Her friend convinces her to work as a waitress in The Jewel Box, Houston's semi nude joint. She runs into the various types of bar regulars who live a loud life.
The book takes you on a ride through a multitude of emotions. The flashback forms the main part of the narrative. The bar scenes have interesting references to relevant pop culture and scenarios. The night club scenes have been portrayed vividly and the story is thought provoking with its many twists and turns that lend it a melodramatic air. The story evokes a lot of heartfelt emotions that remind us about the turns life takes, depending on the decisions we make. The book has some adult content and explicit language in many places. The book also deals with relationships and the complexities of life and love. The theme is authentic and the colorful and well developed characters make this story of love, tragedy, loss and triumph an engaging tale.
The Jewel Box by C. Michelle McCarty is a story set in and around Texas. The story opens at an antique shop in Galveston, Texas, where Jill-Cherie is the owner and an old friend is waiting there for a delivery. The story takes us in flashback to the earlier life of Jill-Cherie. Just eighteen, Jill moves to Houston looking for adventure and excitement, but she finds herself in a mess. By twenty-two, she is married, divorced, and with a toddler. Her friend convinces her to work as a waitress in The Jewel Box, Houston's semi nude joint. She runs into the various types of bar regulars who live a loud life.
The book takes you on a ride through a multitude of emotions. The flashback forms the main part of the narrative. The bar scenes have interesting references to relevant pop culture and scenarios. The night club scenes have been portrayed vividly and the story is thought provoking with its many twists and turns that lend it a melodramatic air. The story evokes a lot of heartfelt emotions that remind us about the turns life takes, depending on the decisions we make. The book has some adult content and explicit language in many places. The book also deals with relationships and the complexities of life and love. The theme is authentic and the colorful and well developed characters make this story of love, tragedy, loss and triumph an engaging tale.
Recommend this book:
Alibis of the Heart
Darryl Sollerh
2014 Finalist
104 Pages
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Fiction - Southern
Reviewed by Lit Amri for Readers' Favorite
In Alibis of the Heart, Will Woods, a newly divorced lawyer from Chicago, leaves his career and broken marriage behind and goes to Okefenokee County, Georgia. A southern small town sunk deep into the loam and rot of its namesake swamp, Will sees it as a place to heal and write his true crime novel. There he meets Jasmine Bell, a mysterious southern exotic beauty with honey-colored eyes and sunset auburn hair. Two new murders occur in town, and they seem to point to her. Will is desperate to know the truth, and his next actions might make him the next victim. This gripping tale is written by Darryl Sollerh.
There are so many things about this southern fiction to enjoy and appreciate that it is tricky for me to know where to start. On the satisfaction level, there is the pleasure of a bitter-sweet romance between Will and Jasmine, charted with doubt and conviction. This is not a sentimental Hollywood-style girly kind of love story but one in which both characters are grounded in the situation they are in. The attempt to find out the truth behind the murders keeps the suspense high and exciting in a tightly written plot.
Alibis of the Heart is brilliantly entertaining and well-written. This book is difficult to leave until you finish reading the story. In the end, I completed it in just one sitting. Overall, it is a very fine achievement by Darryl Sollerh and I am lucky to read and discover his work.
In Alibis of the Heart, Will Woods, a newly divorced lawyer from Chicago, leaves his career and broken marriage behind and goes to Okefenokee County, Georgia. A southern small town sunk deep into the loam and rot of its namesake swamp, Will sees it as a place to heal and write his true crime novel. There he meets Jasmine Bell, a mysterious southern exotic beauty with honey-colored eyes and sunset auburn hair. Two new murders occur in town, and they seem to point to her. Will is desperate to know the truth, and his next actions might make him the next victim. This gripping tale is written by Darryl Sollerh.
There are so many things about this southern fiction to enjoy and appreciate that it is tricky for me to know where to start. On the satisfaction level, there is the pleasure of a bitter-sweet romance between Will and Jasmine, charted with doubt and conviction. This is not a sentimental Hollywood-style girly kind of love story but one in which both characters are grounded in the situation they are in. The attempt to find out the truth behind the murders keeps the suspense high and exciting in a tightly written plot.
Alibis of the Heart is brilliantly entertaining and well-written. This book is difficult to leave until you finish reading the story. In the end, I completed it in just one sitting. Overall, it is a very fine achievement by Darryl Sollerh and I am lucky to read and discover his work.
Recommend this book:
The Favorite
Franklyn C. Thomas
2014 Silver Medal
174 Pages
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Fiction - Sports
Reviewed by Bil Howard for Readers' Favorite
Doing what is right isn’t always the easiest thing and sometimes it is costly. The Favorite by Franklyn C. Thomas brings that point home all too clearly. After having spent eighteen months in prison on a weapons charge, Michael Dane is given a chance at the IBF Light-Heavyweight Championship against an undefeated champion. That opportunity was given to him by his manager, Dante Alexander, whose dealings on the shady side of the law as a drug-runner have funded his fight-promoting operation. As Michael trains for the fight of his life with his Dad’s best friend as his manager, Dutch, he is in another battle of his own. His former girlfriend, Selena, is pregnant with his child and she had thrown him out of her life. As Michael struggles to get straightened out for a family life that he has never known, he is training for a fight that he isn’t supposed to win. As he steps into the ring, he is taking his life into his own hands. Defying Dante could cost him his life, but not giving his best shot at the title would be worse than death. As the bell for each round sounds, Michael is fighting for his life.
Franklyn C. Thomas has written the kind of novel that makes a boxing enthusiast have salsa dancers in his gut. The Favorite does an excellent job of not only making the reader feel every punch and every ragged breath in the ring, but it mixes it and alternates it with the struggle that Michael is dealing with outside the ring. Michael's character and drive to do what’s right, in spite of what it might cost him, makes this sports thriller shout loudly with victory. Hard-hitting, inspiring and tragic, The Favorite will rattle you like a body to chin combination and keep your head reeling while you turn the page for the next blow to be delivered.
Doing what is right isn’t always the easiest thing and sometimes it is costly. The Favorite by Franklyn C. Thomas brings that point home all too clearly. After having spent eighteen months in prison on a weapons charge, Michael Dane is given a chance at the IBF Light-Heavyweight Championship against an undefeated champion. That opportunity was given to him by his manager, Dante Alexander, whose dealings on the shady side of the law as a drug-runner have funded his fight-promoting operation. As Michael trains for the fight of his life with his Dad’s best friend as his manager, Dutch, he is in another battle of his own. His former girlfriend, Selena, is pregnant with his child and she had thrown him out of her life. As Michael struggles to get straightened out for a family life that he has never known, he is training for a fight that he isn’t supposed to win. As he steps into the ring, he is taking his life into his own hands. Defying Dante could cost him his life, but not giving his best shot at the title would be worse than death. As the bell for each round sounds, Michael is fighting for his life.
Franklyn C. Thomas has written the kind of novel that makes a boxing enthusiast have salsa dancers in his gut. The Favorite does an excellent job of not only making the reader feel every punch and every ragged breath in the ring, but it mixes it and alternates it with the struggle that Michael is dealing with outside the ring. Michael's character and drive to do what’s right, in spite of what it might cost him, makes this sports thriller shout loudly with victory. Hard-hitting, inspiring and tragic, The Favorite will rattle you like a body to chin combination and keep your head reeling while you turn the page for the next blow to be delivered.
Recommend this book:
The Last Time
A Last Summer Novel
Jacquelyn Eubanks
2014 Bronze Medal
250 Pages
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Fiction - Sports
Reviewed by Jean Hall for Readers' Favorite
The burden of achieving social acceptance and outward, physical beauty can be crushing for a teenage girl. But then there are the victories, both small and large; little feats of independence and larger, inward self-acceptance. Jacquelyn Eubanks in The Last Time showcases a sympathetic and beautiful soul with her heroine Charley. Charley (which is short for Charlotte) has been transplanted from rural Georgia to the more sophisticated suburb of Yonkers, New York.
Although she was born in Yonkers, her experience is decidedly Southern. She has left her heart in Georgia and his name is Frankie. But the fledgling couple keeps in touch as pen-pals in the post-war innocence of the 1950s. Charley loves baseball, it is true. She is a tom-boy, no doubt about it. But all the appealing attributes of Charley make her an object of jealousy with the popular clique at her new, all-girls Catholic high school.
Jacquelyn Eubanks keeps the story of Charley lively but with some heartbreaking moments. Charley does find unusual courage in the midst of adolescent taunts. The scenes at Charley's home keep the innocent plot well-grounded. There is mother-daughter friction and a grandfather's illness. The book has some nice visual elements. There are clumsy, hand-written notes from Charley and Frankie, as well as elegant, cursive chapter headings. The setting of the 1950s is a nice choice to show this bobby-soxer's life at home and at school. The Last Time by Jacquelyn Eubanks shows the strong but tender heart of a girl who feels the grief of last times, but with the hope of new beginnings.
The burden of achieving social acceptance and outward, physical beauty can be crushing for a teenage girl. But then there are the victories, both small and large; little feats of independence and larger, inward self-acceptance. Jacquelyn Eubanks in The Last Time showcases a sympathetic and beautiful soul with her heroine Charley. Charley (which is short for Charlotte) has been transplanted from rural Georgia to the more sophisticated suburb of Yonkers, New York.
Although she was born in Yonkers, her experience is decidedly Southern. She has left her heart in Georgia and his name is Frankie. But the fledgling couple keeps in touch as pen-pals in the post-war innocence of the 1950s. Charley loves baseball, it is true. She is a tom-boy, no doubt about it. But all the appealing attributes of Charley make her an object of jealousy with the popular clique at her new, all-girls Catholic high school.
Jacquelyn Eubanks keeps the story of Charley lively but with some heartbreaking moments. Charley does find unusual courage in the midst of adolescent taunts. The scenes at Charley's home keep the innocent plot well-grounded. There is mother-daughter friction and a grandfather's illness. The book has some nice visual elements. There are clumsy, hand-written notes from Charley and Frankie, as well as elegant, cursive chapter headings. The setting of the 1950s is a nice choice to show this bobby-soxer's life at home and at school. The Last Time by Jacquelyn Eubanks shows the strong but tender heart of a girl who feels the grief of last times, but with the hope of new beginnings.
Recommend this book:
The Dazzling Darkness
Paula Cappa
2014 Bronze Medal
307 Pages
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Fiction - Supernatural
Reviewed by Lit Amri for Readers' Favorite
In The Dazzling Darkness by Paula Cappa, the Old Willow Cemetery is under the watch of its mysterious keeper, Elias Hatch. On March 20, when 5-year-old Henry Brooke fails to come home with his older sister, Detective Mike Balducci turns his attention to Hatch, and he’s about to discover the secret of the old cemetery.
After reading The Dazzling Darkness I am pleasantly amazed with Paula Cappa’s beautiful and high standard writing style from start to finish. The pacing of the story is excellent, allowing me to really savor the plot. Cappa includes science, the afterlife, faith, mystery and even magic –- it is a comprehensive supernatural fiction which will delight the readers. I am not thoroughly familiar with transcendental philosophy, but I did gain more understanding of it through this novel. I could not help but think that Cappa might have some experience that motivated her to –- if I may say –- interpret Emerson’s “Nature” in her own way.
The Old Willow Cemetery is a perfect place to ponder on transcendence. The inclusion of poetry adds a nostalgic and classic quality to the story. The characters are very well-developed and it is evident that Paula Cappa gives enough attention to each of them. The settings have a tight descriptive element to easily let readers imagine each scene. The ending is perfect, where everything is tied up together flawlessly. All in all, a superb and classy supernatural novel from Paula Cappa. Readers will be both entertained and enlightened as well.
In The Dazzling Darkness by Paula Cappa, the Old Willow Cemetery is under the watch of its mysterious keeper, Elias Hatch. On March 20, when 5-year-old Henry Brooke fails to come home with his older sister, Detective Mike Balducci turns his attention to Hatch, and he’s about to discover the secret of the old cemetery.
After reading The Dazzling Darkness I am pleasantly amazed with Paula Cappa’s beautiful and high standard writing style from start to finish. The pacing of the story is excellent, allowing me to really savor the plot. Cappa includes science, the afterlife, faith, mystery and even magic –- it is a comprehensive supernatural fiction which will delight the readers. I am not thoroughly familiar with transcendental philosophy, but I did gain more understanding of it through this novel. I could not help but think that Cappa might have some experience that motivated her to –- if I may say –- interpret Emerson’s “Nature” in her own way.
The Old Willow Cemetery is a perfect place to ponder on transcendence. The inclusion of poetry adds a nostalgic and classic quality to the story. The characters are very well-developed and it is evident that Paula Cappa gives enough attention to each of them. The settings have a tight descriptive element to easily let readers imagine each scene. The ending is perfect, where everything is tied up together flawlessly. All in all, a superb and classy supernatural novel from Paula Cappa. Readers will be both entertained and enlightened as well.
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