Book Review: Shadows of Doubt by Timothy R. Baldwin

 Book Review

 

Basic Details:

Book Title: Shadows of Doubt

Subtitle: (A Kahale and Claude Mystery, Book 2)

Author: Timothy R. Baldwin

Genre: Young Adult/Adventure/Mystery

Part of a series? Yes

Order in series: 2

Best read after earlier books in series? Possibly

Available: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54508804-shadows-of-doubt

Overall score:

I scored this book 4/5

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Short Summary of the book:

Alissa and Marcus are caught up in another mystery and Marcus discovers all is not as it seems at school and home. Hidden secrets and mysterious happenings at school. Will they be able to find out the truth with their friends before reputations and changes for the future are lost forever?

What I liked about the book:

It was fast-paced and difficult to put down.

What I didn’t like about the book:

I loved the entire book.

My favourite bits in the book:

I enjoyed the entire book.

My least favourite bits in the book:

I enjoyed the entire book.

Any further books in the series? Any more planned by this author?

This is the second book in the series. I’m interested in reading the next too.

What books could this be compared to and why?

This is a great young adult mystery and adventure story and is great for lovers of the famous five stories.

Recommendation:

In summary, I would recommend this book to the following readers:

 

Children	No
Young Adult	Yes
Adult	Yes

 

If you like adventure mysteries, this young adult series may be the series for you.

I’m looking forward to reading more by this author.

Book Description by Author:

It's the start of a new school year and a budding romance for Marcus and Alissa. However, everything is threatened when a sudden lack of funds puts all school sports on hold. To make matters worse, Marcus' father, the school's athletic director, is suddenly replaced by the arrogant, washed-up star athlete, Mr. Dunbar. Marcus and Alissa are forced to play detective once again and get to the bottom of these strange events.

 

Will they be prepared to risk reputation, and even their safety, to solve this mystery?

About the Author:

Tim grew up in Syracuse, New York. He currently resides in Maryland where he teaches English, Creative Writing, Film, and Theatre on the middle school level. At the insistence of his own students, he began writing seriously in 2014.

 

He credits his love for story to his mother, who spent countless hours reading to him and his siblings when they were growing up. Growing up, he devoured the literary works of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Piers Anthony, and many others. Mysteries, thrillers, and fantasies are among the genres he most frequently reads.

 

When he’s not writing, he’s reading, teaching, camping, or at a live music concert.

Book Review: The Dreams by Stephen J. Alexander

 Book Review

 

Basic Details:

Book Title: The Dreams

Subtitle: (The Sweet Nightmares Trilogy 3)

Author: Stephen J. Alexander

Genre: Science Fiction

Part of a series? Yes

Order in series: 3

Best read after earlier books in series? Yes

Available: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59684380-the-dreams

Overall score:

I scored this book 5/5

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Short Summary of the book:

Surprises abound in this book.

We are now 14 years since Alice’s kidnapping and she is still suffering from PTSD and finding it difficult to bond with her daughter. She also has recurring dreams in which she sees two men, Nate and Scott and becomes convinced they both exist. Now wanting to know why they star in her dreams, Alice sets about to find the answers. But not all is as it seems.

What I liked about the book:

It was a great book in which the protagonist matured significantly.

What I didn’t like about the book:

The way it sets about alluding to the likely outcome of the book, but I needn’t have worried.

My favourite bits in the book:

I enjoyed all the suspense and action within the book.

My least favourite bits in the book:

I enjoyed the entire book.

Any further books in the series? Any more planned by this author?

This is the third and last book in this series.

What books could this be compared to and why?

The book is adventure science fiction/dystopian.

Recommendation:

In summary, I would recommend this book to the following readers:

 

Children	No
Young Adult	Yes
Adult	Yes

 

If you like adventure and mystery, this book may be the book for you.

I look forward to reading more by this author.

Book Description by Author:

The Dreams is the third and final part of Stephen J. Alexander’s Dystopian Romance Sweet Nightmares Trilogy.

It’s 2046, fourteen years after Falling Strong, and Alice Scott’s life is about to change irrevocably once again. Obsessed by a series of strange dreams, and completely convinced they have hidden significance in her real life, Alice goes long haul in search of answers...

Leaving Nathan at home in Los Angeles, she embarks on an epic journey around the entire globe. Only, the truth turns out to be far more complicated than Alice could ever have imagined.

Desperate to get back to all that she knows and loves, Alice must first confront a strange man she knows only as The Maker.

About the Author:

Hi, I'm Stephen J. Alexander. Author.

 

My works are:

 

PETER AND THE DWARF PLANETS (AUG 28, 2018) OLYMPIA PUB., UK

 

MADE IN MILAN (JAN 21, 2021) KDP SELECT Book 1 in Sweet Nightmares Series

 

FALLING STRONG (MARCH 2021) KDP SELECT Book 2 in Sweet Nightmares Series

 

 

THE DREAMS (OCTOBER 2021) KDP SELECT Book 3 in Sweet Nightmares Series

 

 

The first book of my "Sweet Nightmares Trilogy" is Made in Milan (3rd Edition). It was released as an e-book and paperback in January 2021, and tells the romantic story of a chance meeting between a young Englishman and an Italian girl. The trilogy focuses on the lifelong relationship that the couple go on to forge. But it's certainly not passion and romance all the way...

 

This series of multi-genre novels will take the reader on a rollercoaster ride along with two lives far from ordinary.

 

MADE IN MILAN, a dual narrative set mainly in October 2031, is predominantly romantic and passionate, FALLING STRONG (out soon) is much darker featuring a high profile abduction in June 2032, political intrigue and a futuristic Catalan civil war for our heroic couple to escape from. THE DREAMS, set in Los Angeles, CA, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, England, France and Switzerland in 2046, is at its core, Science-Fiction. Our heroic couple, faced with a huge existential dilemma, go in search of and eventually meet their maker.

 

I hope you like my work...

Book Review: Serpent's Reign by Varun Sayal

 Book Review

 

Basic Details:

Book Title: Serpent's Reign

Subtitle: (Superheroes of the Multiverse #2)

Author: Varun Sayal

Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy

Part of a series? Yes

Order in series: 2

Best read after earlier books in series? Yes, but can be read as stand-alone.

Available: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60379243-serpent-s-reign

Overall score:

I scored this book 4/5

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Short Summary of the book:

The first book in this series introduced us to the existence of superheroes, Sigmas. Ulka was attacked after her banishment from her world by Mohita. Now, both women come to a parallel world via a wormhole at different times.

Will Mohita succeed in killing Ulka? Will Ulka be able to save the world? And what is the role of the Serpent, DN?

What I liked about the book:

The friendship between some of the characters.

What I didn’t like about the book:

I enjoyed the entire book.

My favourite bits in the book:

I enjoyed the entire book.

My least favourite bits in the book:

There were none.

Any further books in the series? Any more planned by this author?

This is the second book in this series. He has written several other science fiction books that are also worth reading.

What books could this be compared to and why?

The book is a fantasy novel/science fiction.

Recommendation:

In summary, I would recommend this book to the following readers:

 

Children	No
Young Adult	Yes
Adult	Yes

 

If you like science fiction, this book may be the book for you.

Book Description by Author:

Banished! Forgotten! Lost!

 

So vicious was the last attack on Ulka, that she lost her memories and her abilities.

 

Her entry to the parallel earth was well publicized. Broadcast by media, made viral by the internet.

 

With time she gained back her memories and her powers. Once again pulled into the saving-the-world business, she makes new friends and foes.

 

During a high profile rescue operation, the evil from her past catches up and she’s struck by the deadly Vikruid magic.

 

Will her friends help her survive? And will they together take down their nemesis who’s always a step ahead?

 

If you enjoy action-packed stories with an ensemble of superpowers, you will love Serpent’s Reign.

About the Author:

Varun Sayal is a Data Science manager living in Redmond, Washington. He grew up in India on a steady dose of fantastical tales from ancient Indian scriptures. His genre of writing is science fiction and fantasy, blended with Indian legends and mythology. In his own words:

I live by the quote, 'a true art calms a disturbed mind and disturbs a calm mind.'

Book Review: Black, White, and Gray All Over by Frederick Reynolds

 Book Review

 

Basic Details:

Book Title: Black, White, and Gray All Over

Subtitle: A Black Man's Odyssey in Life and Law Enforcement

Author: Frederick Reynolds

Genre: Biography

Part of a series?

Order in series:

Best read after earlier books in series?

Available: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59545036-black-white-and-gray-all-over

Overall score:

I scored this book 4/5

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Short Summary of the book:

Fred was a black youth who mingled with the wrong friends. Destined for a life of crime and behind bars, the kindness of a stranger sets him back on the right path. When poverty would have dragged others back into a life of crime, Fred’s desperation led him to pursue a career in the police. He becomes a good cop who refuses to lend a blind eye to corruption within the force.

What I liked about the book:

How a young man manages to turn his life around.

What I didn’t like about the book:

The book was a little dry in places.

My favourite bits in the book:

I enjoyed the entire book.

My least favourite bits in the book:

There were none.

Any further books in the series? Any more planned by this author?

This is the first book I’ve read by this author.

What books could this be compared to and why?

The book is a biography.

Recommendation:

In summary, I would recommend this book to the following readers:

 

Children	No
Young Adult	Yes
Adult	Yes

 

If you like biographies, this book may be the book for you

Book Description by Author:

From shootouts and robberies to riding in cars with pimps and prostitutes, Frederick Reynolds' early manhood experiences in Detroit, Michigan in the 1960s foretold a future on the wrong side of the prison bars. Frederick grew up a creative and sensitive child but found himself lured down the same path as many Black youth in that era. No one would have guessed he would have a future as a cop in one of the most dangerous cities in America in the 1980s---Compton, California. From recruit to detective, Frederick experienced a successful career marked by commendations and awards. The traumatic and highly demanding nature of the work, however, took its toll on both his family and personal life---something Frederick was able to conquer but only after years of distress and regret.

About the Author:

Book Review: A Thing with Feathers by J. John Nordstrom

 Book Review

 

Basic Details:

Book Title: A Thing With Feathers

Subtitle:

Author: J. John Nordstrom

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Part of a series?

Order in series:

Best read after earlier books in series?

Available: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61209601-a-thing-with-feathers

Overall score:

I scored this book 5/5

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Short Summary of the book:

As a disillusioned solicitor and struggling writer, Jonah starts work in a law library. He soon becomes the victim of harassment and targeting by a vindictive lesbian lawyer who hates everything male. She puts pressure on Jonah to make him leave and even tries to falsely accuse him of workplace sexual harassment of his co-worker to get rid of him. Will he survive and will love be kind?

What I liked about the book:

The love for everything literary and the willingness to stand up for what is right by the main character.

What I didn’t like about the book:

There was nothing to dislike about the book except for the baddies.

My favourite bits in the book:

I enjoyed the entire book.

My least favourite bits in the book:

There were none.

Any further books in the series? Any more planned by this author?

This is the first book I’ve read by this author.

What books could this be compared to and why?

The book is in the genre of contemporary romance.

Recommendation:

In summary, I would recommend this book to the following readers:

 

Children	No
Young Adult	Maybe
Adult	Yes

 

If you like contemporary romance, this book may be the book for you

Book Description by Author:

Drawing on his own legal background and personal experience, his debut novel A Thing with Feathers tells the tale of two troubled lawyers who find redemption in soulmate love, after they meet, quite unexpectedly, as co-workers in a county law library, run by Superintendent Queen Bee and Director Mimi Streeter. Underlying the events in the novel is the fictive, and quintessentially romantic, dream of a modern-day Edgar Allan Poe meeting a modern-day Emily Dickinson in the 21st century, thus correcting what Fate never saw fit to do in the 19th century before Poe dies tragically at the age of 40 on October 7, 1849. Based on a true story, this novel is fictional autobiography.

 

Jonah, a forty-year-old lawyer and wannabe writer, disgusted with the nonstop corruption in the legal profession in Washington, D.C., quits the practice of law, loses his girlfriend, and becomes suicidal. Haunted by dreams and visions of Edgar Allan Poe and Emily Dickinson dancing together, he comes to believe Fate has a plan for him, however. As finances get desperate, he takes a low-paid job as a reference librarian in a law library. But there is one catch: he must pretend to be gay, as the twin tyrants of County Bar, Superintendent Crawford and Law Librarian Mimi Streeter, hire only submissive gay men and women financially on the edge, to control them. Despite moral reservations, he agrees to attempt the ruse, but when the tyrants realize they have been deceived, they respond in kind to protect their criminal fiefdom.

 

Streeter and Crawford hire, on the sly, twenty-seven-year-old Julia, a much younger woman lawyer in library science school, as Jonah’s superior, with the expectation he'll will quit in FU resentment. The plan backfires when romance ensues as the lovers tentatively test the theory that the one is a soulmate for the other, that Poe and Dickinson might have found one another, albeit in the 21st century. But Crawford and Streeter are not done with them yet... So begins the dark chess game, in which Jonah and Julia must fight to protect that which is most beautiful and dear to them, or be destroyed in the process.

About the Author:

J. John Nordstrom (“Joe”) aka Joseph John Jablonski, Jr., J.D., PhD, was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, and raised in the small suburb town of Millbury, by mother Sandra and his late father Joe Sr. He is a poet, novelist, lawyer, sociologist, and political scientist. His poetry and fiction nom de plume, J. John Nordstrom, was taken in honor of great-grandmother Gerda E. Nordstrom and grandmother, Elna E. (Nordstrom) Anderson, as well as his mother Sandra Lenore (Anderson) Jablonski, who have all, in their own ways, majorly encouraged his literary endeavors. His great grandmother gave him a now-treasured copy of Aesop’s Fables for a seventh birthday. The fable of the tortoise and the hare was her favorite, as it is his.

 

His poetry stresses intuition over reason and is heavenly influenced by the Romantic tradition in both America and Britain. It explores natural, emotional, personal and artistic themes, for example, lost love, the mystery of soulmate love, death, beauty, wisdom, the human being’s relationship to nature, the mystery of the Muse, and life’s existential mystery.

 

Nordstrom draws from academic, literary, professional, and personal experiences over his lifetime and weaves them all into a novel called A Thing With Feathers. Nordstrom has remained a bachelor and has several other novels in the works.

Book Review: Seedlings of Earth by Nigel Stubley

 Book Review

 

Basic Details:

Book Title: Seedlings of Earth

Subtitle:

Author: Nigel Stubley

Genre: Science Fiction/mystery

Part of a series? Yes

Order in series: 2

Best read after earlier books in series? Can be read as stand-alone.

Available: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60846682-seedlings-of-earth

Overall score:

I scored this book 4/5

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Short Summary of the book:

Ever imagined what would happen to life as we know it when climate change makes life on earth impossible? How would humankind cope and what would they put in place? Seedlings of Earth is a book that shows us one of the options with murder, mystery and hope for another future. With likeable characters that you want to root for.

What I liked about the book:

The hope that shines through with a bit of romance too.

What I didn’t like about the book:

There was nothing to dislike about the book except for the baddie.

My favourite bits in the book:

I enjoyed the entire book.

My least favourite bits in the book:

There were none.

Any further books in the series? Any more planned by this author?

This is the second book in the series, but it can be read as stand-alone.

What books could this be compared to and why?

This is a book in the science fiction genre.

Recommendation:

In summary, I would recommend this book to the following readers:

 

Children	No
Young Adult	Yes
Adult	Yes

 

If you like science fiction, this book may be the book for you

Book Description by Author:

After climate change became climate crisis and forced the abandonment of Earth, humans have been living in the wider Solar System for over 8000 years, interraforming asteroids and establishing bases on planets and larger moons. Kye Sheb is a LifeScaper. She designs the interior of asteroids and craters, adding the limited life that escaped on the Arks in self-sustaining combinations. Kye's parents, Monik and Dantam, fly the Ore-miner Marentin, searching out asteroids for precious metals and looking for large enough rocks that can be hollowed like an egg for interraforming.

About the Author:

 

Book Review: Lottie the Ladybird's Adventure by Genna Rowbotham

 Book Review

 

Basic Details:

Book Title: Lottie the Ladybird's Adventure

Subtitle:

Author: Genna Rowbotham

Genre: Childrens

Part of a series?

Order in series:

Best read after earlier books in series?

Available: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61169319-lottie-the-ladybird-s-adventure

Overall score:

I scored this book 4/5

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Short Summary of the book:

When Darcey runs away from home upset as her mum is asking her friend to move in, she comes across Lottie. Lottie is a ladybird who has lost her spots and Darcey sets about helping her find them. Will they be successful?

What I liked about the book:

It is a lovely children’s story with lovely illustrations.

What I didn’t like about the book:

There was nothing to dislike about the book.

My favourite bits in the book:

I enjoyed the entire book.

My least favourite bits in the book:

There were none.

Any further books in the series? Any more planned by this author?

This author has written several lovely children’s books.

What books could this be compared to and why?

This is a great book which also teaches about life changes, and friendship.

Recommendation:

In summary, I would recommend this book to the following readers:

 

Children	Yes
Young Adult	No
Adult	Yes, when reading to a child.

 

If you like children’s stories, this book may be the book for you

Book Description by Author:

Darcey, a young, adventurous girl runs away from home into the heart of Ladybird Wood where she makes friends with Lottie the Ladybird. Lottie confides in her that she’s lost her spots and they embark on an exciting adventure together looking for them. Along the way, they encounter a strange, peculiar frog, a mischievous cat and are joined by Darcey’s troublesome best friend, George.

 

As the mystery unfolds, things aren’t quite what they seem.

 

What could possibly go wrong – and will they ever find Lottie’s spots?

 

Full of adventure, friendship, and a sweet-talking ladybird.

About the Author:

Genna Rowbotham was born in Sheffield in 1972 where she grew up with her parents, two older sisters, and their beloved family dog, Henry. Her career began in the secretarial field until becoming a full-time Mum. Inspired by her children in 2017, she began writing stories for pleasure and is now the author of five children’s books.

 

Genna has five children (two now grown-up) and lives in Derbyshire with her husband and their three young girls.

 

You can find out more at www.gennarowbotham.co.uk or follow her on Twitter @GennaRowbotham

Book Review: Where is Lamby? by Genna Rowbotham

 Book Review

 

Basic Details:

Book Title: Where is Lamby?

Subtitle:

Author: Genna Rowbotham

Genre: Childrens

Part of a series?

Order in series:

Best read after earlier books in series?

Available: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61099970-where-is-lamby

Overall score:

I scored this book 4/5

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Short Summary of the book:

Bea takes her friend Lamby everywhere. And, just as often Lamby goes missing and is found again. But when she loses Lamby at the seaside, will she ever find Lamby again?

What I liked about the book:

It is a lovely children’s story with lovely illustrations.

What I didn’t like about the book:

There was nothing to dislike about the book.

My favourite bits in the book:

I enjoyed the entire book.

My least favourite bits in the book:

There were none.

Any further books in the series? Any more planned by this author?

This author has written several lovely children’s books.

What books could this be compared to and why?

This is a great book which also teaches about loss, and friendship.

Recommendation:

In summary, I would recommend this book to the following readers:

 

Children	Yes
Young Adult	No
Adult	Yes, when reading to a child.

 

If you like childrens stories, this book may be the book for you

Book Description by Author:

Where is Lamby? is an interactive rhyming picture book with a classic lost-and-found theme that both parents and children alike can relate to. The story is about a young girl called Bea who loves her Lamby teddy bear so much that she takes her everywhere. This time, they are going on an exciting adventure to the seaside.

 

Join Bea and Lamby as they travel by train, visit a castle and go to the beach. The trouble is… things don’t always go to plan. Lamby goes missing and Bea is very sad. As the story unfolds, it seems Lamby might be lost forever.

 

Will she be reunited with her best friend in the world?

 

A wonderful adventure about loss and the importance of friendship!

About the Author:

Genna Rowbotham was born in Sheffield in 1972 where she grew up with her parents, two older sisters, and their beloved family dog, Henry. Her career began in the secretarial field until becoming a full-time Mum. Inspired by her children in 2017, she began writing stories for pleasure and is now the author of five children’s books.

 

Genna has five children (two now grown-up) and lives in Derbyshire with her husband and their three young girls.

 

You can find out more at www.gennarowbotham.co.uk or follow her on Twitter @GennaRowbotham