Coming from a country that doesn't even play baseball, I approached Paint the Black with some trepidation. Would I understand it...would I get the references? I needn't have worried, much as I suspected professional sports the world over are not that dissimilar in the characters that are drawn into their arena. Although some of the more technical aspects mentioned in the book may not have registered with me, the story resonated powerfully with me. I could see many young, professional sportsmen facing the type of demons and problems young Jack Burke faced as he sought to make the transition from High School superstar to major league baseball player. Foregoing the College route, Jack was picked in the first draft straight out of high-school. 

Young, raw, immature and extremely talented are not necessarily a good combination. The author was extremely successful in sucking me into the story and keeping me riveted for the full 300 odd pages. Whether you are a mad baseball fan or not - a mad sports fan or not, there is something in this book for you. It is a simple recitation of a young man's journey from teenager into adulthood and superbly written and crafted.

There are some people who might say the ending may be a trifle contrived and/or predictable, but the truth is I was ready for that ending and welcomed it. Without giving anything away, Jack seeks a way to find himself as he sinks into his own personal abyss.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who has an interest in baseball, sport and the rites of passage for young men. It is riveting, well written and extremely readable. I congratulate the author on his first entry into the literary world and look forward to his next contribution. Well done that man.

Paint the Black is fully deserving of the five stars I awarded it.      

What Once Went Wrong by T.E. Hodden is a sweet, wonderful book that explores a topic we have all thought about at some time or another. What would we do if we were told we have only six month's to live? This was the conundrum facing George when his doctor told him he had stage four cancer that had already spread and was inoperable. 

So...what did George decide to do with his remaining six months of life. I'm not going to ruin the story by telling you, but suffice it to say, it wasn't what you or I might have decided to do and it certainly wasn't the obvious choices. What ensues is a fascinating little vignette of friendship, love and loss that sucked me in from the very first page and didn't let me put it down until I'd finished. It was moving and beautiful and certainly deserves the five stars I happily gave it. 

It didn't even matter to me that the end was obvious! Doh! The man had six months left to live, so the end was always going to be obvious. The final result for George, apart from his demise, was clearly telegraphed by the author, but that was absolutely fine in this story and added to rather than lessened my pleasure in the story. 

At only 220 pages on Kindle, it was a relatively short story, and in some ways it was too short for my liking. I didn't want to let those characters I'd come to identify and love go, quite so quickly. Perhaps it was a deliberate ploy by the author to "leave them wanting more", but whatever, it definitely did work - I was left wanting more, much more. 

Fortunately for me T E Hodden appears to be a prolific writer, so I can find more of this author's wonderful tales to satiate my appetite. Despite the premise of premature death, this is a warm, loving tale that I can only recommend to anyone. If you like your stories real and sweet - then What Once Went Wrong should fill the bill perfectly.

You know it's a cliche, but sometimes there really are books that you just can't put down - books that get under your skin; well, Underwood is just such a book. Although there is nothing particularly unique about the premise; a family trapped somewhere by a quirk of nature and having to confront supernatural beings in order to escape, the author's personal style draws you into the story and demands that you continue reading. 

As I said, the situation that Peter Ford, his partner and their two young children find themselves in is not unique, they nevertheless have to find their way out of this non-existent town called Underwood, that exists in a 1970's time-warp and is ruled by a triumverate of evil; a sheriff, a judge and a vicar. To complicate matters some demonic form of creature lives in the woods that surround the town and requires to be fed at regular intervals with his favourite delicacy; fresh human meat. I won't spoil the story for anyone, but really Griffiths get his characterizations spot on and you do identify with them. Equally some of the little plot twists are well thought out and clever. I was impressed by many of the ideas he brought into his tale. 

I understand Colin Griffiths is a new writer and from what I can see on his Amazon page, already a very prolific one. It is wonderful that new writers with a story to tell and a passion for telling it are now able to access the world of publishing. It appears to me that Griffiths is well worthy of this new breed and I will definitely be reading his other books in the future. 

If you like your supernatural fantasies, with a good spoonful of normal life then Underwood is a great book for you. I would highly recommend this book and hence the five stars I was happy to give it. I am looking forward to hs future releases.    

Let me start with the good stuff. I absolutely loved this book and trust me after the first few pages I was pretty certain I wasn't going to. This book was so far outside of my normal reading matter, but that is the beauty of reading. By changing it up from time to time we can expose ourselves to something totally different to our normal fare. 

I was totally hooked into this story early on and I honestly couldn't put down the book until I had finished it. The basic story wasn't unique - just your standard love triangle really between Ocean, Evan and Ari, but it was the author's style that totally captivated me - not to mention the twist at the end, which was sheer genius in my opinion. I particularly liked the POV used by the author, especially the little interjections in the story by Ari's brother Ira. It was a little like watching a soap opera, with the occasional asides to the camera by one of the participants. I've never read anything like it before and it was so, so well done by Tracee Boyd.

So, in summary, I truly enjoyed this story and would recommend it to anyone. It is full of very valid and very real moral guidance and suggestions. It is a fantastically written story. 

BUT...and it is a very big but. Why can we not put as much effort into editing and formatting as we do in writing the story. I know how painful editing is, but it is a VERY necessary evil. This book is poorly edited and poorly formatted. There are words missing, grammatical errors, typos...you name it. The only reason they didn't drive me crazy was simply how good the story was. I would strongly advise the author to re-edit the book and resubmit it for sale. This book deserves 5 stars in my opinion, but I could in all fairness only give it 4 and that is solely due to the poor editing. 

A great read and so totally different to anything else I've read. The editing didn't ruin the story for me because the story is that good.   

I have to admit right off the bat that this book is well outside of my comfort zone as a reader, but that having been said I am very glad that I did read it. It is a sweeping tale of love, lust and passion that spans centuries and is principally set in the somewhat mystical background of early New Orleans. 

I really did toss up whether to give this four or five stars. The reason for my difficulty was two-fold. Firstly, I felt there were just enough errors, typos and misplaced tenses in the story to justify the reduction, but on reflection the story was just so good, that it over-rode those minor errors. 

The second reason for my doubts was the method or style of writing. Initially I felt almost like I was reading a screenplay, with the narrative taking on the present tense and almost instructing the characters in their actions. I wasn't used to this type of writing and it did jar to begin with, however, the further I read, the more I enjoyed the story and the less the style jarred on me. 

This is a sweeping, passionate book, full of colourful and fanciful characters that are beautifully described by the author. Once I realised it was actually a vampire story I shuddered a little (it not being my liking), however the vampirism was not only critical to the story, it was actually quite fascinating to read. Trust me, this is not your typical vampire / werewolf book. This is in a class of its own. 

The story was more than your classic love triangle - this was more like a love quadrangle. Between the principal characters Victor, Suzette, Ivan and Henrietta, there is a fascinating tale of unrequited love beautifully told by the author. 

The book did end a little abruptly for my liking, but of course there is more to come in this series and I await with interest where the Montenegro saga will take us. 

I would thoroughly recommend this book to anyone, not just fans of vampires, or the paranormal. On reflection it does deserve the five stars that I finally decided to give it. A marvellous piece of writing Estela Vazquez Perez. Well done that author! 

When I first began reading Things Fall Apart, I thought I was reading a novel, but the more I read, the more I was convinced I was reading a true to life memoir of this woman's struggles with the evils of drug addiction. To me this says everything about the author's ability to convey the sense of utter frustration and helplessness she felt in dealing with drug addiction in her two teenage twins. 

Set in Edinburgh, the drug capital of Europe in the 1980's, this book is gritty, real and painful in places, but it is also filled with a sense of hope and a sense of power that gives it such character. It was so easy to identify with Mandy, the main character - her life, her struggles and her complete disbelief at what was happening to her family, a family she thought she had worked so hard and successfully to bring up on her own. We see her go through the phases of denial, anger and finally action to deal with her children's drug addiction. 

The narrative is very readable and the characterizations true and believable. This is an exceptional book that I couldn't stop reading once I had started it. It would be an excellent read for anyone.

In case anyone reading this is unsure, let me make it quite clear. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BOOK!Well done to the author and much more success in the future I hope. Absolutely worth every one of those five stars I gave it! 

Well, as someone who is not a witch - A 21st Century Coven was an eye-opener for me.

The author, an experienced High Priestess has written a book that in fairly plain language explains many of the inner working of the Wicca world. Although her detail in some parts is a bit overwhelming for someone not privy to the coven, I nevertheless found it very interesting.

There are some parts of this book that really resonated with me. It is much clearer in my wind now that Wicca is very much up there on a par with any and all of the established spiritual ways of thought. There were many references to things I personally have had contact with over the past year or so...especially the idea of Neuro Linguistic Programming and other "new age" techniques. I half expected her to talk about the Law of Attraction and the Universe. There are definite tie-ins to many parts of this ancient art to modern day "new age" thought and writings, which I found fascinating.

There is a large section of the book dedicated to "pathworks" which I also found interesting as a parallel to the modern day meditation techniques. 

If you are a practicing witch then this book has much practical advice and instruction on how to conduct yourself and how to hold meetings and rituals, but if you are an outsider there is still much in here to fascinate and interest you. One of the real benefits of being a voracious and wide reader is to be exposed to alternative thinking and practices. I'm not planning on become a witch anytime soon, but I still appreciated May Panayi's excellent instruction book. 

There are a few minor issues with layout and highlighting that could be ironed out, but all in all I would say this was an interesting and VERY different read for me - and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. I was very comfortable to give it the five stars I did. 

Well where do I start in reviewing this compelling, but harrowing tale of one man's battle with the demons inside his head.

Firstly, let me commend Christopher Scott Downing for using the medium of writing to allow us inside his personal "hell". I assume the writing of the tale was part of the overall treatment. I have no doubt putting it all down on paper was extremely cathartic for him. I feel, as a reader, privileged to have such intimate access to someone's very personal feelings and life. 

I have no doubt the title means something to Christopher, but for me, it didn't quite resonate.I am assuming that the Van Gogh part was a reference to the artist's own battles with depression, that ultimately took his life, which is fine, but the peppers part I'm afraid I don't get. Never mind, that doesn't detract in any way from the fine memoir that Christopher has put together. 

The one thing in this account that kept recurring in my mind as I read it, was the "aha!" factor. As a man it was very easy to identify with the battle he had in wanting to be responsible for his own diagnosis, his own treatment and ultimately his own cure. We men, are unique in that, I am sure. Although I personally have never suffered from depression (thank God) I have certainly fought my own demons over the years and much of Chris' reactions to his situation, paralleled my own. I definitely did identify with him and that contributed greatly to my enjoyment of the story. <br><br>At times this book is not an easy read. There is much pain, much self-loathing and much suffering to wade through, but readers will find it incredibly hard not to sympathize and even empathize with the situation Christopher found himself in. 

The book didn't have the perfectly scripted ending and I did appreciate that, as I also did appreciate the final note from the author, which was both cautionary to fellow sufferers and encouraging to us all. I am looking forward to Chris' future account of his actual recovery...is this in the pipeline?

There are many wonderful passages in the book, but the one that will stick with me the most is the recollection of his meeting, at his house, with his ex-wife toward the end of the book. I think, knowing this was all true, made the interaction and emotions real and raw. 

This is an excellently written book, with an easy readable style. I personally think this should be recommended reading for ALL men. Women also will gain much from reading this book. For every woman who has ever pondered why that dick-head of a boyfriend, husband, brother, etc of mine, behaved like that...this book will give them some real insight. 

A great read and worth every one of the five stars I gave it. Well done that man!      

The Errant Flock by Jana Petken is a wonderful historical novel set in Spain during the second Inquisition. 

I love historical novels at the best of times, but this one was definitely something special. Petken's attention to detail and clear understanding and knowledge of the period and the practices drew me in to a feudal world of Dukes, Viceroys and of course the ubiquitous Inquisitor, and rewarded me with a touching, at times harrowing, but always enjoyable read. This book focuses on the dilemma faced by the ordinary soldier (applicable throughout all of history, no doubt), when confronted with an order from his superiors that he feels is morally wrong, in fact illegal. What does he do? You'll have to read the book to find that out, but truly it is an enjoyable and fascinating read. 


I loved the characters in this book and I especially loved the way Petken posed the moral dilemmas and then satisfactorily answered them through the actions of the characters. A highlight for me was to read and grasp the utter stupidity and futility of the whole idea of The Inquisition, as the Catholic Church sought to rid the land of heretics and especially the Jewish minorities in Spain at the time. It was a fascinating read. The author managed to convey the sheer horror and manipulation of the Inquisition, without resorting to language that was too graphic or horrible.


This is the first Jana Petken book I've read and I'm sure it won't be the last. If you like historical novels, with tight stories and beautiful writing, at 325 pages on Kindle, this is an exceptionally satisfying and enjoyable read. I highly recommend this book, it truly earns every one of the five stars I give it.

I'd heard so much about Melissa Foster and her books, that although romance or soft erotica isn't really my thing, when I had an opportunity to read one of her books on Kindle for free, I thought why not, so I ended up reading Lovers at Heart. 

Now Melissa is an exceptionally successful and popular author with a dedicated following and I can see why. Her work is high quality and her writing style is tight and efficient. I actually really enjoyed reading this book, although I thought a few of the plot reaches were getting a little bit into the realms of fantasy. To me, that doesn't actually matter because this author has found a formula that works for her and sells books - more power to her. 

I did have a difficulty, however, with the absolute perfection of her characters. I kept waiting for the short, balding, fat man to appear in the story, but of course, he never did. All of the Bradens and the women in the story were perfect physical specimens. But really, does every male character have to be 6 foot something, incredibly buff, with a 10 inch penis? I mean - way to go to make us feel inferior Melissa. Joking aside though I must commend Melissa on her erotic/sex scenes. She has this down to a fine art - rest assured Melissa they work!!!!!

Although it is not my preferred genre, reading such well constructed, well written stories can only improve my own writing and for that I am grateful to Melissa Foster. If you're a Melissa Foster fan, and there are plenty of them out there, you don't need me to tell you how good she is, but if you've never tried her and you like hot romances, then her numerous series could be just the thing for you. 

An excellent book and a wonderful read. 

When I began reading this book, I initially went uh-oh, I've clearly bought a book here that's not intended for my demographic. I suspect it was written for the YA market. The idea of Vampires was one thing, but vampires from outer space, now that was beginning to push the envelope a little. I decided that I would persevere and read the book anyway - after all I'd already bought it - and I'm so glad I did. Shattered Skies; Beginnings End was a damn good read. Yes, it wasn't intended for my age bracket, I get that, but the basic story and characters were interesting and easy to identify with.

At the end of the day this book is first and foremost setting the scene for future books in this series and there's nothing wrong with that. I give the author Heather Linn some real kudos for the twists she had in her plot. I certainly didn't pick them all. The end of the book set things nicely for the next book.

Author Linn has an interesting, almost conversational writing style, which I think probably appeals to her target market. I personally felt that some more attention to editing and layout could well have improved the readability of the book. There were also the requisite number of typos and word errors that one has come to expect from self-published books (which I'm assuming this is) but I have made a point of never letting that detract from my reading of the story. 

I enjoyed this book far more than I thought I would once I got past the first chapter. I might even have considered 5 stars, instead of the four I gave it, if the layout and editing was better and perhaps my only real gripe - the dialogue. I did feel the dialogue was stilted in places. The reality is people do talk in contractions and author's have to accept that and write their dialogue that way. 

Look, this is a novel concept for a plot, it was well constructed and basically just an enjoyable little read. If you're a vampire fan, then this is a new take on an old theory. Give it a go! 

I, the Sun by Janet E Morris, is a monumental novel that details the life of a previously unknown Hittite King, one Tasmisarri or Suppiluliumas (literally - The Sun. 

As an historical novel, it does have a sound basis in fact and the Author outlines that in her acknowledgments at the end of the book. As someone who, in the past, has read much historical fiction based in the double kingdoms of Egypt, I had only heard the Hittites mentioned in passing, prior to reading this book. I found it extremely fascinating to look at that area of the world, from other than Egyptian eyes. 

It is a long book at around 560 pages on Kindle, but it is well worth the read. To be honest, I struggled at times with remembering which minor character was which, more a function of their complicated realistic Hittite names, rather than any reflection on the author. At the end of Chapter One I was seriously wondering what I had got myself into and whether I could actually read the full book - it had been a struggle to that point.

I needn't have worried. Janet Morris' writing drew me into the world of the Sun King, his loves, his battles and his family. One thing I particularly enjoyed about this book was the thread of mercy and humanity that the author gave the main character. He was a King, he had ultimate power over life and death, and yet he was capable of gentleness, of understanding and of mercy. I had no trouble at all identifying with his dilemmas and his trials. 

I thoroughly enjoyed I, the Sun and it well deserves the five stars I gave it. For anyone who enjoys, well researched, well written, historical novels, from that distant time, I, the Sun is an absolute must. I remember thinking on more than one occasion that nothing has really changed in the passing of 3,500 years. The problems faced by Suppiluliumus in ruling Hati are the same problems we face today; common human failings of greed, lust, envy and of course the search for meaning. 

One thing I really liked about this book was the willingness of the author to tackle major moral issues, that we all face, through her principal character and his relationships. 

An excellent read by an excellent author.