Book Review: Why? A Complicated Love by Daniel Kemp

Book Review

Basic Details:

Book Title: Why A Complicated Love

Subtitle:

Author: Daniel Kemp

Genre: Love and adversity

Part of a series? No

Order in series: N/A

Best read after earlier books in series? N/A

Available: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38357948-why-a-complicated-love

Overall score:

I scored this book 4/5

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Short Summary of the book:

This book tells the story of four people, Terry, a nineteen-year-old boy who believes it’s his lucky day when beautiful Sammy takes him home. Francis, the disillusioned and evil husband of Sammy who was attacked and rendered impotent in his younger years. Sammy, who takes men to her bed, filmed by Francis in order to blackmail the men to do his bidding. And, Laura, their beautiful daughter who falls in love with Terry. A love between them which flourished but was never to be. The ending is surprising and worrying.

What I liked about the book:

I liked the suspense in the book.

What I didn’t like about the book:

The book was a little depressing in places.

My favourite bits in the book:

When it looks like Laura and Terry may have a chance at love after all.

My least favourite bits in the book:

Where the extent of Laura’s feelings toward her dad become clear and the extent she goes to.

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

This author has written other books, none in the same series.

What books could this be compared to and why?

It is difficult to find a book this can fully be compared to. It was depressing and unique in places.

Recommendation:

Children	No
Young Adult	Possibly
Adult	Yes

If you like Intrique and romance this book may be the book for you.

I look forward to reading more books by this author.

Book Description by Author:

Why? Is a story set in a web of despair, sex, unreachable emotion and love.

One man's crippling injuries, caused by an unprovoked, vicious attack, ruins the lives of everyone around him. This includes Terry Meadows, a nineteen-year-old boy who falls in love with the main character's daughter Laura, twenty-seven years before the opening of the story.

The twisted, interconnecting matrix in which Francis, Laura's father, lives, destroys and distorts his daughter's image of life beyond repair. It is a sad tragedy with an unexpected ending.

About the Author:

Daniel Kemp’s introduction to the world of espionage and mystery happened at an early age when his father was employed by the War Office in Whitehall, London, at the end of WWII. However, it wasn’t until after his father died that he showed any interest in anything other than himself!

On leaving academia he took on many roles in his working life: a London police officer, mini-cab business owner, pub tenant and licensed London taxi driver, but never did he plan to become a writer. Nevertheless, after a road traffic accident left him suffering from PTSD and effectively—out of paid work for four years, he wrote and self-published his first novel —The Desolate Garden. Within three months of publication, that book was under a paid option to become a $30 million film. The option lasted for five years until distribution became an insurmountable problem for the production company.

All seven of his novels are now published by Creativia with the seventh—The Widow’s Son, completing a three book series alongside: What Happened In Vienna, Jack? and Once I Was A Soldier. Under the Creativia publishing banner, The Desolate Garden went on to become a bestselling novel in World and Russian Literature in 2017. The following year, in May 2018, his book What Happened In Vienna, Jack? was a number one bestseller on four separate Amazon sites: America, UK, Canada, and Australia.

Although it's true to say that he mainly concentrates on what he knows most about; murders laced by the mystery involving spies, his diverse experience of life shows in the short stories he writes, namely: Why? A Complicated Love, and the intriguing story titled The Story That Had No Beginning.

He is the recipient of rave reviews from a prestigious Manhattan publication and described as—the new Graham Green—by a highly placed employee of Waterstones Books, for whom he did a countrywide tour of book signing events. He has also appeared on 'live' television in the UK publicising that first novel of his.

He continues to write novels, poetry and the occasional quote; this one is taken from the beginning of Once I Was A Soldier

There is no morality to be found in evil. But to recognise that which is truly evil one must forget the rules of morality.

Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.co.uk/Daniel-Kemp/...

A brief look at Grammarly

Remember my post on 3 free programs to help writers? One of those is Grammarly. It is available in a free and a premium version and I use the free version myself. 

There are several ways to use this program. Web-based, as an extension in your browser or as an add-on to Word or for your desktop. All these possibilities are free in the basic version.

One of the questions mentioned in the comments was how to change it to British English. In view of this question, I felt another blog post was in order as a quick run through the program. This post explains the web-based and extension version and I hope you find it helpful.

When you add the extension to your browser, you will find the below icon (without the grammarly) in your task bar:

If you click on the green icon, it will show up the following image:

Clicking on the down arrow behind the phrase "I write in" will show you the following drop-down menu:

This is where you can choose to change the language you want to write in. The extension is also available on Edge and apps are available for Microsoft Office (Word and Outlook) for Windows and for Chrome. It does not appear to work for Internet Explorer. Mozilla Firefox also allows this extension.

In the web-based version, you go to 'my account' and choose 'Customize'. Here you can add words to your personal dictionary, or change your language preference.

Customize

Personal Dictionary

Improve your Grammarly experience by adding words to your personal dictionary.
These words will no longer be flagged as misspellings.

ADD

abdominis

digi

digistamps

goreng

oelek

paperpack

permafree

SheepSki

venflon

Language Preference

I write in

British English

What's the difference?

We will check your writing using either American, British, Canadian, or Australian rules in all Grammarly products.

And here is how the web-based version works. I have created a number of images to guide you through the program.

The home screen looks like below and you can choose to start or upload a document or have a go at a few examples.

Choosing 'New' opens a new tab which looks like the image below.

On this page, you can choose to upload a document and as an example I have uploaded my recent review of Heron's Bond by Julia Schmeelk. You will see a pop-up here where you can choose the audience, formality, domain and tone of your document. 

Now, you can start editing your document. If you hover over 'Correctness', it will show you it will improve spelling, grammar and punctuation.

Hovering over 'Clarity' shows this helps to make your writing easier to understand.

Now, we look at the tab '2 more alerts'. When I click on this, it brings us to the first possible error found in the document. Apparently, my spelling of the word 'wetted' is incorrect and should have been 'whetted'. Clicking on the recommended word (in green), will accept the change and move to the next error found. It also gives an explanation why it was considered to be an error.

The next error found appears to be containing superfluous words and it is recommended to cut some of the words out. Again we accept the recommendation. As you may notice, in the bottom of the screen there is a green tick, followed by Corrected an error and undo. Clicking on undo allows you to change your mind and go with your own choice after all.

You have now finished the corrections in the free version and Grammarly informs you of the number of potential improvements the premium version has found. Whether you want to improve even further is up to you. It would, however, mean you would need to subscribe to the service.

Grammarly has also found a possibly mistaken word. It considers the word sane does not fit in the sentence well and suggests safe may be more appropriate. Again, you can choose to accept the change or decide to go with the word chosen.

Well, this is it for the whistle stop tour of the program. I haven't got time to discuss the add-on to Word at the moment, but it intereacts with the web-based one. This means any prefences you have set in the online version will be copied to the Word version too. At least, as long as you have signed in.

I hope this helps.

Joni.

Book Review: Heron's Bonds by Julia Schmeelk

Book Review

Basic Details:

Book Title: Heron's Bonds

Subtitle: NewEarth2

Author: Julia Schmeelk

Genre: Fantasy Romance/Adult Fairytale

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/37843346-heron-s-bonds

Overall score:

I scored this book 5/5, I would have given it 6 if I could.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️

Short Summary of the book:

This book tells the story of Heron, a young man bonded to a dragon. They can understand each other and live their lives together. Heron has some psychic powers and met his mate in his dreams. In the book they meet and get together, creating a new world with Grabon, the dragon and their neighbours. This is a lovely tale I enjoyed a lot.

What I liked about the book:

I liked how the author was able to paint a picture of a future world and the telepathic communications between species. How the characters in this story lived in harmony with the world around them.

What I didn’t like about the book:

I enjoyed the entire book.

My favourite bits in the book:

I loved how accepting Trissy was of the relationship Heron had with Grabon and how accepting Heron was of the fact Trissy had a little sister she cared for and was responsible for. I also loved how they stood up for another little girl who was detested by her father’s wife, simply because she was not hers.

My least favourite bits in the book:

Where a little girl was told off by her mum due to a minor discretion. She was treated so unfairly.

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

This is the second book in the series and can be read as stand-alone. It has wetted my appetite to read the first and next books in the series too.

What books could this be compared to and why?

This is a good example of a fantasy romance and fairy tale. It is also a very good one in this genre.

Recommendation:

Children	No
Young Adult	Yes
Adult	Yes

If you like Fantasy Romance this book may be the book for you.

I look forward to reading more books by this author.

Book Description by Author:

Heron's Bonds is the second book in the NewEarth Saga. It is a fantasy romance, a fairytale for adults, that includes the integration of two dominant species on a sentient planet. It is a romance orchestrated by the planet as she pairs up her people in an effort to keep them sane, happy and loyal. Heron's Bonds is the story of Heron, the first human to build psychic bonds with a dragon and how the planet brings him his mate Trissy and they build a life in the shadow of Grabon's nest.

About the Author:

Free editing tools for writers/authors and others

Are you a writer?

The answer is probably yes. Even if you don’t write books or poems, there will be things you write. A shopping list (okay not much editing required for these, I guess), a letter or email to a loved one, a job application, a blog post, anything really.

When you write a letter to a loved one, the occasional spelling or grammar mistake will usually be forgiven. Special attention to spelling and grammar are more important when you write a job application. A well-constructed letter makes a far better impression on a potential employer than one carrying a lot of spelling mistakes or grammatical errors.

So, where should you go?

That is really up to you but I can suggest a few to you. And the good news? They are all available free to use!

1.    Grammarly – This is a free programme which checks a few basic spelling and grammatical errors. In the free version, it looks at contextual spelling, grammar, punctuation, sentence structure and style. You can also upgrade to a Premium service. This one includes advanced issues, genre, vocabulary enhancement, plagiarism and the possibility to send the document to Proofreaders.
Don’t worry, the free version will do beautifully for beginners. The good news is, the free programme even integrates with Word!
2.   ProWritingAid – Another free programme available to us is ProWritingAid. In its free format, it is only available on the internet and you can check documents up to 500 words. Of course, it is possible to check longer documents but in that case; you need to do it in sections. There are several points where your document can be scrutinised in this programme. Online there is the opportunity to have real-time, which shows you the errors and suggestions for improvement as you write. There is a summary which informs you of the quality of the document you have written. Style is the next section to look at and it will inform you when words may be superfluous and better left out. The grammar check is the next tab and speaks for itself. The next tab shows you which words are overused. E.g. you have written ‘have’ in nearly every sentence. ProWritingAid will advise you to remove several of them to make the document one more easily read. Readability and clichés follow informing you whether the readability of your document is good or poor. The programme will suggest keeping the use of clichés (down in the dumps, etc) down to a minimum. It also advises you on sticky sentences and advises on how to make them less sticky. Diction is the next tab, followed by all repeats and echoes. If we repeat ourselves too much, the document becomes annoying to read. Structure, sentence and thesaurus are the next items to check our document against. This is closely followed by dialogue and consistency. Dialogue tells us which part of our work contains dialogue or dialogue tags. Consistency picks up on the use of quote marks, capitals, spelling (whether using American English or British English or being inconsistent in this), and hyphenation. Pacing shows us whether our work is slow or fast-paced. Overuse of pronouns or overuse of pronouns at the start of a sentence can be annoying to readers. The pronoun tab shows us whether the percentage of pronouns in our work is good or too high and whether we have too many starting a sentence. It is also possible to search our documents for alliterations and homonyms and whether there is sufficient transition within the document. A search for plagiarism is possible, have you accidentally plagiarised someone else’s work? House and combo errors are also checked for and you can search for acronyms.
3.   Hemingway Editor – This online app also allows us to check the quality of our work. It looks at the use of adverbs, passive voice, complex phrases, hard and very hard to read sentences. Although this is already covered in the above-mentioned editors, it can pick up something more.

So, which one is the best?

If I had to choose only one, I would probably choose ProWritingAid. However, why choose?

In my writing, I use all three of them. During the editing process, I copy and paste the scenes into ProWritingAid online. My browser already has Grammarly installed as an extension. While editing it within the app, it gets ‘blasted’ by both programmes at the same time. Once I’m happy with the adjustments made, I copy and paste it to Hemingway Editor for some last-minute adjustments and copy it back to the document.

And voila, the document has received its first edit.

Why don’t you try them out yourself? I certainly love them.

Joni.

Book Review: The Passing of Each Perfect Moment by Kenneth Preston

Book Review

Basic Details:

Book Title: The Passing of Each Perfect Moment

Subtitle:

Author: Kenneth Preston

Genre: Science Fiction

Part of a series? Yes

Order in series: 1

Best read after earlier books in series? N/A

Available: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26132054-the-passing-of-each-perfect-moment

Overall score:

I scored this book 5/5

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️

Short Summary of the book:

This book tells the story of Emily who wakes to find the world changed and empty. There is no sound, no other person or even animal around and the trees don’t move. In a panic she searches the student accommodation to find it empty. She drives to her father’s home to not find anyone present there either. On her return to the dorm she finds things unchanged and investigates further. Slowly, she starts to hear things happening around her and shadows popping up. She finds herself awakening to a new world and needs to learn to cope in a futuristic situation.

What I liked about the book:

I liked the author’s style of writing. The story flowed well and had some interesting twists and turns. I also liked the positive outlook Emily had on life.

What I didn’t like about the book:

There was not really anything I did not like about this book.

My favourite bits in the book:

I loved when Emily met her family again after waking up in the futuristic world. Having familiar people around her was important for her.

My least favourite bits in the book:

I liked the entire book.

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

I understand this book is the first in a trilogy. Although it is the first, the book is able to read as a stand-alone.

What books could this be compared to and why?

This book contains some of the common things in other science fiction books, freezing people to preserve them for later life, bio-engineering and prolonging lifespans, travelling to far-away planets.

Recommendation:

Children	No
Young Adult	Yes
Adult	Yes

If you like Science Fiction this book may be the book for you.

I look forward to reading more books by this author.

Book Description by Author:

Nineteen-year-old Emily Díaz is lost, left to wander in a familiar landscape devoid of life. She is lost in a world in which her friends, her loved ones, the entire human race has moved into the future without her. Racing to catch up, she finds herself in a shocking new world, a futuristic world of incredible advancements. Medicine is extending human life, giving scientists reason to believe that immortality will one day be a reality. Famine and poverty have been eradicated. World peace has been achieved. Humanity is reaching deep into the cosmos. It is all so perfect...perhaps too perfect. Emily is skeptical. She begins asking questions. As she finds cracks in the utopian facade, a powerful force from a distant world begins to call to her, begins to beckon her. It wants her, and it will not give up until it has her. She finds herself torn, both terrified and entranced by this mysterious force. She wants to run from it but is inexplicably drawn to it. She doesn't know what it wants or why it only wants her, but as time marches on, her compulsion to face it begins to take precedence over her fear. Her determination to face the mysterious force sets her on the path toward an unexplored planet sixteen light-years away...where it waits for her...waits to answer the questions she has been asking...waits to show her what it has in store for her...waits to fulfill her destiny. Emily Díaz has a date with destiny. It is a destiny that will have a monumental impact on the fate of humanity.

About the Author:

Meet Joni Martins, author

Introducing….

Joni Martins, author

Joni is a 55-year-young multi-genre author with a life-long love for writing. For most of her life, work and family had to take first place of importance. In January 2018 she retired from a close to full-time job and dedicated the majority of her time to her hobby, writing.

Joni published her first book at the end of December 2017, only a month after she first put pen to paper for this book. The second book followed a month later and two months after that a third. She seemed to be on a roll and a fourth book followed not long after.

After a short break following some negative feedback from someone close to her, she published the fifth book at the end of August 2018.

Currently, Joni is working on two works in progress. The first is a book based on real life. A very close friend of her was kind enough to allow her to put some of her adventures to paper for her. This book is nearing its completion, Joni is in the editing stages of this book.

The second work is the sixth book in the series, a book which still needs the last few chapters completing before editing can start.

Unfortunately, after a break of a year, duty called. Joni is now back amongst those who are slaves to the workforce. A full-time job keeps her from writing as much as she would love to. She now has to find time in the early morning hours before she leaves for work. With a family and a house to look after too, the time left is rather limited.

About Joni’s books

·       Book 1, Captive Love:

In this book, we meet Lydia, a 24-year-old GP receptionist, who finds herself in an unexpected place after a night out with friends. We also meet Sam, a 24-year-old ex-classmate of Lydia, who has lived with an obsession for her for many years. Rob is the 27-year-old brother of her best friend Krista and her housemate. What will Rob and her family and friends do when Lydia goes missing? Will she escape?

This book has attracted five-star reviews.

·       Book 2, Freed Love:

The second book continues where the first one leaves off. Rob managed to help Lydia to escape Sam’s clutches. Their relationship has changed but Rob is loathe to give in to his feelings. He fears he is too old for her or any change in their relationship may lead to a destruction of their friendship. Will he act on his feelings or will his head continue to rule his heart? And what happens when Lydia meets Sam when she’s out on her weekly shop?

This book has also attracted a five-star review and is available in a censored and in an 18+ version.

·       Book 3, Hidden Love:

In this book, we move on to meet Lydia’s best friend (and Rob’s sister), Krista. Krista is training to become a physiotherapist and has been plotting with Rob’s best friend Theo to bring Lydia and Rob together. In the process, they discover some truths about their own lives and loves. Will their relationship develop or is this too much to ask for? And what will happen when Theo’s sister Josie tries to convince him he is simply not good enough for her friend?

·       Book 4, Lost Love:

Now, we find out what happens after Josie convinces Theo he is not good enough for Krista and he will never be good enough either. How could she do this? And to her own brother too? Theo has always struggled with his feelings of self-worth and now falls into a deep depression. This is a very emotional story where Theo also becomes suicidal and struggles to find his self-worth again. Will Josie be able to undo the damage she has done to Theo’s self-confidence and his relationship with Krista? Will Ronald be able to support Josie enough to help her achieve this?

·       Book 5, Holiday Love:

This book follows two other friends in this friendship group. Freya is a 24-year-old hairdresser who finally is able to go on a well-deserved camping holiday in Brittany, France. The last few years she has needed to work continuously as she built up her own business. The story tells about her journey and the beautiful places she visits in Brittany. While she is on holiday, she unexpectedly meets Ronald, who is also camping in Brittany. Exploring sights on your own can be boring and they decide to visit places together, especially after discovering they have similar interests. In the beautiful setting their relationship starts to develop. But what will happen when they return home? Will they let their friends in on the news? Will they keep it a secret? And what happens when there is an unexpected surprise? How will they cope with that?

·       Book 6, Growing Love:

In this book, we continue to follow Freya and Ronald as they try to cope with the surprises thrown at them. Will their relationship survive? Do the pressures from friends and family become too much? And how about that surprise? How will that affect their relationship? Again, they go on a short holiday away, discovering some beautiful sights in the beautiful setting of Exmoor.

This book is still in development, a few chapters still need to be completed before the editing process can begin.

Following this book, there should be several more to follow. Time allowing obviously.

·       Diary of a Female GP:

This is where multi-genre author comes to the fore. The book follows a week in the life of a female family doctor. The mundane activities like getting up, the housework, the school runs. And, of course, a day at work. Seeing patients, taking phone calls, dealing with the paperwork, doing home visits. To rush off to pick the kids up from school. It details consultations with patients. Although the book is based on real-life, the cases discussed are not actual cases. Instead, they are amalgamations of different cases, changed names and changed circumstances. All these things do happen on a daily basis to the family doctors. These hardworking professionals who try to do their best for their patients. They don’t always get it right but always try to do the best they can. At the end of the book, it is up to you to decide. Are GPs as lazy as the government tried to say they were? Or are they actually hardworking people like they believe themselves to be? You can be the judge.

This book is nearing its completion, editing is in progress.

·       Under the Waterfall:

The first five books Joni published were extremely mild compared to this one. It has so far not been published yet but once it has been edited it probably will be. This is a short erotic adventure story and certainly not suitable for readers under the age of 18. Imagine waking up on an uninhabited island. You find yourself lying on the grass under the sweltering sun. Trying to find your way home, you discover you are surrounded by water, no way off the island. After finding shelter and food, you find a place to sleep. Then in the morning, a stranger lies in the same spot you did the day before. What will happen now?

·       Wake-Up Call:

This book is still in its infancy. No more than a figment of Joni’s imagination. Once the work on the other two books is completed, attention will fall onto the creation of this book. She does not wish to say much about this book yet but you can read the start of it on her blog.

I hope you enjoyed this introduction into the life of Joni Martins, author. The mind and imagination are willing and chomping at the bits. If only a full-time job did not make it so difficult to write and complete the books she has stored in that brain of hers. For now, you will simply have to be patient. The books will come, but at a slower pace than she had intended.

You can follow Joni on her Facebook Page, her blog, her website, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Pinterest. She is also always looking for beta-readers and reviewers. Don’t hesitate to contact her if you are interested.

author.to/JoniMartinsAuthor

Book Review: Just My Luck by Clive Austin

Book Review

Basic Details:

Book Title: Just My Luck

Subtitle:

Author: Clive Austin

Genre: Comedy Short Story

Part of a series? No

Order in series: N/A

Best read after earlier books in series? N/A

Available: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31281582-just-my-luck

Overall score:

I scored this book 4/5

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Short Summary of the book:

This book tells the story of a guy who ventures outside for the first time after having been bedridden for eight weeks. This becomes a rather traumatic experience when he has to deal with an anxious lady with dementia. Will he find her son?

What I liked about the book:

I particularly liked how it shows the funny side of dementia while still showing the seriousness of it at the same time.

What I didn’t like about the book:

I wasn’t impressed by the shortness of the book and the unsatisfying ending.

My favourite bits in the book:

I loved where the main character had to try to find the son, having only a last name and a possible first name which made him sound like a prankster.

My least favourite bits in the book:

I didn’t like it when the main character allowed a small occurrence like this to stop him from venturing out again.

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

I understand this is a short story written while the author was in between writing two of his novels in a series.

What books could this be compared to and why?

This book reminded me of some other short stories. It started and ended too quickly.

Recommendation:

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

Children	No
Young Adult	Possibly
Adult	Yes

If you like slightly black humour this book may be the book for you.

I look forward to reading more books by this author.

Book Description by Author:

Following the success of his International bestselling first novel, Swingers of West London, set in a West London swing dance class, Clive tells a short story of venturing outside the house after being bedridden for eight weeks. What could possibly go wrong?

About the Author:

I had been a life long fan of TV shows such as Strictly Come Dancing , Dancing With The Stars and SYTYCD but after 10 years of teaching swing dance, Lindy Hop, West coast swing, ballroom dancing and CEROC, I suffered an accident that rid me of my job and my social life.

After a decade in the dance world, I combined my wealth of experience, mixed with my ability to tell a good joke, and come up with an INSTANT 5 star rated Amazon #1 International bestseller that has been described as being "Like Cuban Fury... but with punchlines".

To find out more search

www.swingersofwestlondonofficial.jimd...