Posts Tagged ‘author’

Book Review – “Unexpecting” by Lori Verni-Fogarsi – 5 stars and a “Get Ready to Be Up All Night” Shout Out!

Posted: April 25, 2013 in Blog Tour Hosting, book reviews, Recommended Reading
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Unexpecting-cover-198x300From a truly talented author, this book does not disappoint!  This is Lori’s second published fiction, the first being “Momnesia” that is actually sort of a prequel to this book.  However, because of this author’s talent, they are both excellent stand-alone titles, though, I doubt you can actually read one without anxiously awaiting your copy of the other to arrive.

“Unexpecting” is the perfect title for what is a realistic, page turner.  Shelley and David, having almost completely raised their 4 children and about to enjoy their empty nester years are suddenly surprised to learn that David has a daughter from a brief fling between his first marriage and his second marriage to Shelley.  Introduce Alexandra, baby on the way, and Tiny the dog, that is anything but Tiny.  Having just lost her mother, she has nowhere to go.  As a teenager just experiencing such a great loss, pregnant, forced to leave her home, friends and school and very pregnant, she has a great deal of emotional baggage.  The roller coaster that follows is brilliantly woven into, through and around the trials and tribulations of this family as a whole.  You can’t help but laugh and cry along as you are so easily and instantly drawn in and along a journey with the Morsony family.  A good read will always make the reader feel a range of emotions and this one certainly does, from surprise to anger to joy to sadness to sympathy and beyond, prepare to be up all night as you won’t be able to put this book down.

I was impressed with the variety in personalities from all of the characters and how well every aspect of this story was developed and conveyed, primarily from Shelley’s view point with some well-placed, well written, head hops to Alexandra and David as well.  The dialogue was rich and true to each of the characters, the scenes were so crisp that the imagery formed naturally in my mind as I devoured every word!  Even the family pets were intricately woven through the story, so that you could almost see the slobbery grooming that Tiny, the huge lap dog, bestowed on Frick, the old house cat.  A perfect blend of reality and fiction gives this book everything it needs to be appealing to a wide range of readers and the ending itself will surprise and amaze you while leaving you feeling at peace from your rollercoaster journey through the pages.

Also, to note, I loved that Lori included a Reader’s Discussion Guide and information about “Momnesia” as well as the first chapter as a preview at the end of the Kindle version that I enjoyed.  I received an ARC copy in order to prepare a true and honest review.

~ Debra L Hartmann, professional editor, published author, book reviewer for the fun of it….  http://www.theprobookeditor.com and come have an AHA moment with us at http://authorshelpingauthors.wordpress.com

YOU CAN WIN A COPY OF “UNEXPECTING” by entering to win between now and the 29th.  I will close the contest on the 29th and then randomly select the winner – 1 entry per person by leaving a comment on this review and up to one per day for RT’s of this book review post.  Here’s how to enter:  SIMPLE!  Enjoy the book review and then make a comment at the bottom about your thoughts.  RT the tweet for this post (no more than 1 time per day) for additional entries.  (The winner will be able to choose either Kindle or paperback. However, in order to choose paperback, they MUST be at a Continental US Mailing Address.)

You can also comment on the interview at CLICK HERE for an entry in the book give away.   Good luck!

 

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Book Review – “Promise of Departure” by L W Montgomery – 4 Stars and a “Grab Your Riding Gear” Shout out!

Posted: April 3, 2013 in book reviews, Recommended Reading
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PromiseofDeparture_LW MontgomeryThe book begins with a “picture” of a typed letter to Janet from Greg, telling her he is stepping out of the picture as a result of his own inability to deal with their divorce.  I liked this unique start, this presentation of the letter, it made me want to see what other surprises would be included and I wasn’t disappointed.  Chapter 1 begins with Greg fussing over having dropped his motorcycle while off loading from the ship that had only just brought him to Haiti.  Right away this character begins to immerge, flawed and realistic, mentally past his edge that was once sharp and dedicated to his career and his family and clearly battling depression and alcoholism while not falling into any cliché patterns but instead, drawing me along into an intriguing storyline that would not allow me to put this book down.

I appreciated the author’s witty prose as he crafted enlightening yet brief flashbacks to establish the needed history behind Greg’s decision to write the letter and to venture to disaster torn Haiti.  The supporting characters and the very descriptive imagery as the storyline moved through emotional highs and lows, despair, hopelessness and Greg’s search for himself were written with great skill and talent and presented through Greg’s eyes.  The characters were so completely human and realistic that relating and feeling a connection to them was natural.  As the reader, I felt like a passenger on the back of Greg’s motorcycle while he showed me Haiti after the earthquake tragedy of 2010, the people that lived there and some of the volunteers, including Beth and Ben.  Upon meeting Beth, a dialogue that was so natural and realistic occurs between them and Greg is greatly affected by all that he sees and experiences in the company of her and the other members of her volunteer medical unit over the course of just a few days.  True to a well written protagonist, Greg sticks to his original mission and soon meets a colorful character named Ben.  From here the story moves a bit quicker as Greg finds where he is needed most, revisits working on things with Janet and becoming part of his daughter’s life again.  As the last page is turned and you see the back cover art of this wonderful novel, you can’t help but wish for more!

The way this story discusses the profound impacts of career on family life and on an individual struggling to find the right balance in both, the resulting failed marriage that was based not on sensational events but on a slow deterioration and the great love of a father for his daughter was so real, so not dramatic and so refreshingly presented.  The complexities, the reality in the issues and the author’s skill in crafting imagery of places and events was exceptional!  I personally would love to read a sequel to this book just to check in on Greg again.  In the battle to rise above the millions of authors and books vying for number one these days, it was quite courageous to leave out vampires, monsters, psychopaths, elves and the like and write a real story like this!

~~~~~~~~~~~reviewed by Debra L Hartmann, Owner of The Pro Book Editor at http://www.theprobookeditor.com, published author, aspiring blogger  Stay tuned for an exclusive Talk Radio with NO Radio Author Interview with Mr. Montgomery on my show this week!

Some links to find out more about the author and where to buy this book:

Accepting Submissions for Book Reviews! (dlhbookreviews.wordpress.com)

Book Review – “Redemption (The Renegade)” by Joe Prentis – 4 Stars and a “Grab Your Six-Shooter!” Shout Out!

Posted: March 27, 2013 in book reviews, Recommended Reading
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This wonderfully crafted novel begins near the end of the Civil War.  With so many historical fiction works on the shelves already, its a breath of fresh air to read this depiction of a time after the war, of redemption_JoePrentisrebuilding and of the culture and mindsets that developed in our nation as a result of the war.  The author quickly brings the reader to a time and place made not so distant by his exceptional skill for weaving descriptive imagery.  The politics of this event in American history was quite interesting and seemed very real as if the author had been a fly on the wall at many of the closed door meetings that certainly occurred between military and government leaders.  The characters were fleshed out and realistic.   The sights, sounds and smells you would expect to experience if you were actually there, jumped off the pages.  Aids and bodyguards to General McClellan, Oakley and McCade are very believable, realistic characters that are clearly destined to continue as main characters in the Renegade series and thankfully so.  I am anxious to read more and learn how these men will change and adjust as they put their war torn history behind them.

Overall the reader is destined to go through a range of emotions as they read through this seemingly very accurate depiction of what life at the end of the war must have been like. I was glad to know this was a prequel novel before I started reading or I would have been very disappointed in how “quickly” the book ended.  As a prequel, the ending leaves the reader wanting and anxious for the first edition in the actual series as it should.  The author could have trimmed the book by reducing the number of adjectives he used, significantly, and still given the reader’s imagination what it needed to follow along and bond with the characters.   Joe Prentis has crafted a painstakingly researched, well written manuscript that clearly paves the way for his Renegade series.

4 out of 5 stars

– reviewed by Debra L Hartmann, Published Author and Professional Editor (www.theprobookeditor.com)

Recommended read – buy now at http://www.amazon.com/Redemption-The-Renegade-ebook/dp/B00B35SXL4/ref=la_B006GPO1YY_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1364422015&sr=1-9

Learn more about this author by visiting these sites:

Website: http://www.joeprentiswebsite.com

Blog: http://www.prentisatpickwick.blogspot.com

Author’s Den: http://www.authorsden.com/joeprentis

Read the exclusive Talk Radio with NO Radio Author Interview with Joe Prentis here: https://dlhbookreviews.wordpress.com/strictly-interviews-talk-radio-with-no-radio/author-interview-joe-prentis/

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