Reviews
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Treasure: Gifts Received from Challenges, Struggles, and Trauma
Pamela Starusta (Wildpalm Corp.)
Treasure: Gifts Received from Challenges, Struggles, and Trauma by Pamela Starusta is a memoir-cum-guidebook blending profoundly personal narrative with universal lessons on healing and self-discovery. Capturing the agony and aftermath of trauma, the book reveals how life’s darkest moments can transform into powerful sources of strength and enlightenment. The core message revolves around the transformative potential of trauma. Starusta asserts that challenges and struggles can break us and fortify us. Instead of succumbing to despair, she encou...
10 Little Rules for a Double-Butted Adventure
Teri M Brown (10 Little Rules)
10 Little Rules for a Double-Butted Adventure by Teri M Brown is a wonderful exploration of personal growth, transformation, and the quest for adventure. The book is an inspiring guide wrapped around the author’s journey of cycling across the United States on a tandem bike with her husband, Bruce. Through this adventure, Brown discovers new geographical locations and insights about herself, her relationships, and life at large. She shares those insights in this life-transforming book! The book's central message is about embracing life’s challen...
Knocktopia
Hunter Malone (Aslon Press)
Knocktopia: Secret of the Mother Lobe by Hunter Malone starts with Ben Coolahan, a young boy whose life takes an unexpected turn after his father's death. The narrative begins with Ben at the National Bank of Boston, where he receives two items from his father's will—a mysterious copper medallion and a letter that sets him on a journey fraught with danger and enigmas. Despite his stable life in Boston, Ben is thrust into an unfamiliar world when he is sent to live with Delilah, his step-grandmother, in a lawless area associated with his family'...
The Mystic Vial
Stephanie Dean (Page Publishing)
In The Mystic Vial by Stephanie Dean, Julia Graham, a wealthy retired artist, gifts her granddaughter Chloe a mysterious vial before passing. When Chloe’s cat, Goliath, shatters it, a red haze drapes their home and transports them to a bizarre world of fairies and flying unicorns. Transformed in appearance but not in mind, they must navigate their new forms—from Chloe's newfound age to Goliath’s human guise—and seek a way back to normalcy. The plot spins around the chaos caused by this transformation and the quest for a counter vial, “Ealim Mth...
The Night Garden: Of My Mother
Sandra Tyler (Pierian Springs Press (October 23, 2024))
The Night Garden of My Mother by Sandra Tyler is a powerful exploration of the complex and profound bond between a mother on the cusp of life’s end and her daughter navigating the labyrinth of caregiving amid life's chaotic demands. The novel is enveloped in an emotional richness that intertwines grief, love, and the inevitable transition into roles that neither seems fully prepared to embrace. At 42, Sandra Tyler balances new motherhood while caring for her ailing mother, whose stubborn independence leads to an accident and an eccentric cast o...
Kitten Quest: kREEPY kITTENS Action and Adventure 1
LJ Peace (Shockwave Publishing Company)
Kitten Quest, the first installment in the kREEPY kITTENS Action and Adventure series by LJ Peace, is a delightful romp through a world that balances fantasy and reality with a deft touch. The narrative follows Crissy, an imaginative girl whose summers in the peculiar town of Cliffside are extraordinary. This time, she is on a mission to rescue a kitten from the clutches of the nefarious Buzz, an evil bird whose scheming makes for a thrilling antagonist. The book promises excitement with a sci-fi twist, appealing to young readers and fami...
The Ambition
Yvonne Blackwood (Friesen Press)
In the dynamic setting of 1990s Toronto, brothers John and Carmine Cippione strive to elevate their father's humble HVAC business by partnering with a formidable development company, chasing the dreams of wealth and success. However, when an evil industry adversary threatens their family's legacy with ruinous schemes, they find themselves entangled in a dangerous web of deceit, adultery, and murder. As their world unravels, the brothers must navigate these treacherous waters to salvage their father's name and secure their future amidst fierce a...
Arbi the Model Plant
Natanella Illouz-Eliaz (Self published on KDP and Ingram)
Arbi the Model Plant by Natanella Illouz-Eliaz, beautifully illustrated by Imily Mitrani, is a charming book that invites children into the captivating world of plants, specifically focusing on Arabidopsis thaliana, a widely used model organism in plant biology. The heroine, Lona, receives Arbi as a gift from her mother, a plant scientist, and sets out on an enlightening journey of discovery. Throughout the narrative, Lona learns detailed, yet accessible, insights about plant biology, including the distinction between monocots and dicots, the r...
Discovering Treasure
Crystal Mary Lindsey (Amazon)
Discovering Treasure is the first installment in Crystal Mary Lindsey's Vision Valley series. This heartwarming and inspirational story follows the journey of a young woman named Treasure. She flees her chaotic life of fame as a successful model to find peace and purpose in the picturesque Vision Valley in Australia. In the dazzling world of 1920s Paris, Treasure Gilroy seems to have everything—except the love she truly needs. When a mysterious bond with Ella Dittmar compels her to leave it all behind, Treasure journeys to the breathtaking Aust...
Dying of Lassitude and Ennui
Phil Fletcher-Stokes (Independently Published)
Phil Fletcher-Stokes’ Dying of Lassitude and Ennui is a candid exploration of the manifold frustrations and ironies that punctuate the twilight years of life delivered in a unique poetic voice. Though the book may appear heavy with personal lament, it sparkles with a piercing humor that offers readers both introspection and entertainment. Through loosely connected essays and poetic utterances, Fletcher-Stokes employs various stylistic devices, particularly wit and satire, to reflect on aging, isolation, and the human condition. The book's struc...