​This was the second Max Power book that I've read, the first being Little Big Boy. The reason I mention this is that the two books couldn't be more opposite in many ways. I admire Power for his ability to write Little Big Boy from the perspective of a seven-year-old boy and then Larry Flynn from the perspective of a dying, decrepit, rude and curmudgeonly old man. 
The character of Larry Flynn was beautifully drawn and managed to evoke both anger, frustration, sympathy and sadness, all at the same time, from the reader. A fantastic job in character development. Like Laura, I as a reader, fluctuated between hating Larry and feeling so sorry for him. This is the sign of a skilled author and there is no doubt that Power is one of those. 
Larry has harboured a deep secret all his adult life, one that ruined his life and turned him into the bitter, twisted old man that he had become. On his last legs, he finally sees a chance for revenge against the family that caused him so much pain. 
This story, I guess, is an action/thriller and as such is a very enjoyable read. I did find some of the action scenes to be just a little beyond the vein of believability, especially the resilience of some of the participants in the face of very serious injuries. Nonetheless, Larry Flynn ran at a fair fast pace and kept me interested and intrigued to the very end. 
For me, though, the highlight of the novel was not the action scenes at all, but the very real interpersonal relationship that developed between Larry and his intended victim in his thirst for revenge, Laura. I think Power captured perfectly the various emotions Laura went through as she dealt with this nasty, old man who was hell bent now on destroying her life and that of her father's. 
An excellent read and one I would definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys action/thrillers with a real bite of emotion and humanity.
Was it as good, for me, as Little Big Boy? No, it was not, but that doesn't make it any the less enjoyable from this reviewer's perspective and I'm happy to give Larry Flynn, as solid four stars for a great read.     

Be sure to go and check out some more of Max Power's extremely powerful literature, on Amazon: 

​This is my first time reading Biblical Erotica, something a little unusual and a little rare. It usually takes the weird or wonderful to make me want to read erotica anyway and Sheba's Lovely Maidens has that touch of oddness about it that attracted me to read it. 
The story revolves around the mythical visit to King Solomon in Jerusalem, by the beautiful, rich, and powerful Queen of Sheba, from North Africa. 
The first thing I particularly liked about this story was that it didn't actually focus on the relationship between the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon, that was merely the sideshow to the true action. No, the story was really about a shy, handmaiden of the Queen who meets and is smitten with a young Jewish man. 
The erotica was beautifully written; very sexy and arousing. I enjoyed Guillaume's luscious descriptions, which never descended into vulgarity, but still left nothing to our fevered imaginations. 
I could certainly see Sheba's Lovely Maidens as a book you would keep beside your bed and read on a lonely, cold night. Trust me, it would warm you up pretty quick.
Because this is a short book, at only 57 pages on Kindle, I don't think I can give it five stars, but it is a four-star plus book in its genre. A very good read Fionna Guillaume and thank you for it.     

You may wish to check out Fionna Guillaume's wealth of books on offer at Amazon, which you can do so here.  

​Well, I've sadly come to the end of The Girl from Berlin Series, with War Criminal's Widow. Did the third book live up to the excellent standard set by the first two? Absolutely it did. As the culmination of a series, it led us on to the best and most logical conclusion for Annalise, Heinrich and of course, Ernst. The fact that I had picked the ending by about half-way through the book, actually didn't matter one iota to my enjoyment of it and the suspense leading up to it. 
As this is the third book in the series and I am confident that few people could read book one and not go on and read the second and third, I will concentrate, in this review, more on the series as a whole, than specifically on War Criminal's Widow. Simply put, War Criminal's Widow, was a wonderful story and I loved it, as I did Standartenfuhrer's Wife and Gruppenfuhrer's Mistress.  
Firstly, the style of Midwood in taking on the principal character of Annalise, and telling the story in the first-person, almost like a diary, was an inspired choice. We, as readers, may not always have agreed with Annalise's decisions and I certainly questioned her thought processes, from time to time, but because it was so intimately told, from her perspective, it was easy to forgive her, her sins, as indeed Heinrich seemed always willing to do.
There were times, perhaps, when suspension of belief was necessary when we considered her actions and ability to get away with them, but we know, from history, that counter-espionage was rife on all sides of World War Two and that double-agents and even triple agents were very common within the intelligence communities of all the powers. I didn't have too much difficulty coming to terms with such goings-on right at the top of the Nazi party. I can easily imagine the scramble Midwood described amongst senior Nazi officials to pass off blame and to paint themselves as being just "following orders". It was fascinating to look at the Nuremberg Trial from the perspective of the loved one of an accused, desperately trying to mitigate their actions during the war. 
So, all in all, a fabulous conclusion to a fabulous Series from Ellie Midwood. Where to now? Well, for me, as a reader, I'm excited to look at the next series on WWII, The Austrian, where I assume Midwood looks at this story from the perspective of the main anti-hero, Ernst Kaltenbrunner. I was fascinated by this character in The Girl from Berlin and I have no doubt I will enjoy a closer examination of OberGruppenfuhrer Kaltenbrunner's rise to power. 
I have found an historical fiction novelist worth following in Ellie Midwood and will continue to read her books, with interest and enjoyment. 
No question, of course, it is 5-Stars for War Criminal's Widow. A great story and a great series.              

Be sure to check out all of Midwood's offerings here on Amazon: 

​I'm always innately suspicious when I hear authors being compared to Ludlum or Dan Davin, so after having read the blurb for Ken Fry's, The Brodsky Affair, I was well prepared to be cynical and if necessary scathing. 
There was absolutely no need for any of that. I have read most of Ludlum's novels over the years and I have to say there is indeed a fair bit that is Ludlumesque in Ken Fry's work. I was surprised and satisfied with my reading of The Brodsky Affair. It is an out and out thriller that lives up to its genre name. 
The story spans the globe and travels in the upper echelons of the world of fine-art. All the usual suspects were there: the reclusive (misshapen) billionaire art lover who covets his art so badly he is willing to steal, murder or do whatever it takes to gain it; the collection of ex-Soviet Secret Police as henchmen; the honest Russian Copper; and of course, our two heroes Jack and Tamsin. Okay, so maybe it wasn't all that original then, but I'll tell you what it was; it was well written, fast-paced and very easy to read, just like a good Robert Ludlum. 
A few things I particularly liked about this story, that lifted it over its competition - 1/ The flashbacks to the painter's life (and death), where we met his family and even his future family. That gave great background context to the story. 2/ The clearly well researched (or visited perhaps) locations for the novel setting and 3/ the excellent relationship the author built between Jack and Tamsin. There was great conflict and also great love and concern between them, often in the same sentences, which I felt was great. 
As I only read "indie" authors these days it was refreshing to come across a "big budget" thriller again. Many "indie" authors seem to think it is a genre one step too far for them and best left to the legacy authors. Ken Fry proves them wrong on that front and for that reason plus the excellence of the read, I'm happy to award The Brodsky Affair, the full quota of five stars. Great job Mr Fry - Great story.
I am sure I will be reading more of Ken Fry's work in the months to come - Don't you just love it when you find a new author to follow?   

Please do check out all the work Ken Fry has to offer, here on Amazon: 

​I have read a number of books by Mary Crawford, in the Hidden Hearts series and have thoroughly enjoyed every one of them. When I was offered a chance to read an ARC of her newest book in this series, Hearts of Jade, I jumped at the chance. I'm glad to say, I wasn't disappointed. 
Hearts of Jade introduces two characters, Jade and Declan. Jade, I vaguely remember a passing mention of, in one of the previous books, but Declan was a new character for me. Jade, is gorgeous, but a free-spirit and viewed somewhat as a bit of a "wild child" by those who know and love her. Declan, is a street musician, out trying to find himself and following his bliss. Jade and Declan have known each other for some time, but when Declan is beaten to within an inch of his life, it is Jade who steps in and takes care of him and so the romance develops. 
What I've always liked about Crawford's characters is they are seemingly perfect in some areas and yet flawed in others and often physically or emotionally struggling to cope with life. This story is no different, with both Jade and Declan trying to come to terms with issues relating to family, expectations and letting down the people they love the most. There are rarely "perfect" endings in Crawford's books, but there are usually "happy" endings, of a sort. I like that she examines issues that some may shy away from and uses her novels to bring them out into the open. I don't want to destroy the plot in any way, but you can be assured, Hearts of Jade is very much a Crawford special. 
I, and I know many readers will identify with the struggles her characters go through and that is absolutely one reason this book is worth reading. But, there is another reason - it's a damn good story, well told, by an author I'm a rapidly coming to respect more and more, the more of her I read. 
An excellent book and I am well teased for the next book in this series. No hesitation in giving Hearts of Jade the full monty - 5 Stars. Good job, Mary Crawford. 

Mary Crawford has an amazing set of books to chose from on Amazon. You should pop over there and check them out. 

​Eve 'n' Steven by Suzie Jay is a straight out and out chick/lit romance and makes no bones about it. I'm hardly the author's target audience, but I'll admit to having a tiny, wee, soft spot for a well, written chick/lit. from time to time. This book is exactly that. Well written and the perfect way to get my secret fix of romance. 
The title intrigued me, to begin with. I checked out the author and realized she had already penned a book in this story and that also had a clever title. I like authors that come up with catchy titles, so in my book, she was onto a winner from the get-go. Having a main character named Eve has clearly given her some artistic license and more power to her. More authors should think outside the box when they come up with their character and title names. 
The plot is relatively straightforward. Our hero, Eve, left the tiny dirt-poor, country town she grew up in to go and show the world what she was made of. A ragingly successful career in New York has seen her wealthy  and in a wonderful relationship with Grayson and his two children. 
With both her parents now passed, it is time to return to the farm, tidy it up and sell it. The only hitch - Steven, her "childhood sweetheart" is still there and he was one of the many reasons she chose to leave so many years ago. Everyone expected her and Steven to end up together, but not Eve. 
How would she cope with seeing Steven again and reliving all those old memories on the farm? Read this book and find out! 
I have to say, I'm becoming quite enamoured with this author. I read a children's book of hers just recently and thoroughly enjoyed her. She has a laid-back writing style, which really appeals to me. My only one, tiny, little laugh about Eve 'n' Steven, was when Jay gave away her Australian roots in the story. The characters were American and based in New York or the Midwest and yet apparently two of them looked like "a couple of dags". I'm pretty sure only a New Zealander or an Australian would get what that meant. It just added to the fun for me in this book. 
I highly recommend you give it a go, especially if you're a chick/lit, romance fan. I loved it and gave it a full five stars. I'd better check out what else Suzie Jay has on offer.         

Please do check out the talented author Suzie Jay on Amazon and see what else she has on offer: 

​The Menangle Virus, or to give the book its full title, Memory Span: The Menangle Virus, by G.S. Bailey, is a fairly short, but quite interesting science fiction/fantasy centred on time travel. Or is it? Well, I'll let the reader decide the answer to that. At just sixty-seven pages on Kindle, the Menangle Virus is a quick, easy read; one of those books you can pick up at the start of a trip and be finished it by the end, or perhaps just read in an afternoon, on a wet day. Regardless, it was certainly a book I enjoyed. 
Set in Sydney, the premise the book explored quite intrigued me. Adam was travelling home from work on the bus one day, when he drifted off to sleep, only to awaken in the centre of Sydney (a city completely abandoned and left to rot) some hundred and thirty odd years in the future. The kicker here was that Adam wasn't Adam? Or was he? Adam, it seemed had inhabited the body of a man from that year, Cooper (Invasion of the Body Snatchers, style). 
What followed was an exploration of what might have happened. Civilisation as Adam knew it had been destroyed by a virus that swept the world some twenty years after Adam's bus ride. The Menangle Virus had originated in the small town of Menangle, near Sydney and had quickly spread around the world, effectively sterilising 99% of all woman. Humanity, it seemed was either doomed or about to be severely culled. 
I won't give away any more of the plot, except to say I did enjoy many of the ideas the author came up with. The book was fun and easy to read, with a nice little romance thrown in for good measure. 
I liked the author's conversational style of writing and although this is the first book from Bailey I've read, it may not be the last. A good solid four-stars from this reviewer.

Please do go and check all the offerings G.S. Bailey has on his Amazon page: 

​Having read so many of Ryn Shell's books about the Australian outback and the Fyfe family, I was incredibly excited to discover this little gem of a memoir that covers just one year of Ryn's life. 
I had long ago realised that the hero, in many of Ryn's books, Emily, had been modeled around her own history and I wondered, just how much of Ryn was in Emily and vice-versa. 
Clearly, Ryn had a difficult childhood and although this book covers just one year in that childhood, it was obviously a seminal year, in the life of the future artist, author and good, keen, Australian woman. 
Despite coming from a moderately well-to-do family, it was clearly a very dysfunctional family and Ryn was a malnourished, underloved, and sickly child. It was the Government of Victoria and the authorities that were responsible for ensuring Ryn got to attend the Outdoor School for a year, that would prove to be the making of her. She credits this year with turning her difficult childhood around. 
The story is told in typical, no-nonsense style by the author and as, a reader, I was left to marvel at how some people are just able to raise themselves above adversity and succeed despite their early background. As someone who clearly had a privileged upbringing, in comparison to the author, I couldn't help but think, "there, but for the grace of God, go all of us."
Hope is just a short story, but it is one that does indeed fill the reader with hope. As a bonus Ryn has included an excerpt at the end of the book that details the story from her novellas, that leads up to the birth of Emily. This was a real bonus for me as it was the only book in the series I had yet to read.
What shines through in this story is the author's "just get it done" attitude that she has clearly carried through into her adult life. I really enjoyed this little dalliance and would highly recommend it to anyone. Good one!

As a certified leader of the Ryn Shell fan-club, it would be remiss of me not to point you in the direction of her books. You can check out all of Ryn Shell's Amazon offerings here: