Today’s team review is from Georgia. Georgia blogs here https://www.georgiarosebooks.com Georgia has been reading Things We Do For Love by Vered Neta. This story mainly follows the three Bach sisters; Heather, Daisy and Iris who are planning their father, Sol’s, … Continue reading
Today’s team review is from Georgia. Georgia blogs here https://www.georgiarosebooks.com Georgia has been reading Letters To Whitman by Margo Laurie. The poet, Walt Whitman, used to volunteer in army hospitals to look after the wounded soldiers during the American Civil … Continue reading
Today’s team review is from Georgia Georgia blogs here https://www.georgiarosebooks.com Georgia has been reading The Price Of Atonement by Mae Clair This story is set in Harbor Pointe, California. Mid-October 1887. Leviticus Sinclair and his employee, Wyatt Resnik, are travelling … Continue reading
Today’s team review is from Georgia. Georgia blogs here https://www.georgiarosebooks.com Georgia has been reading 222 Short Stories by Helen Keeling Marston. I chose to read this book as a member of Rosie’s Book Review Team. I received a copy from … Continue reading
Today’s team review is from Georgia.
Georgia blogs here https://www.georgiarosebooks.com
Georgia has been reading The Hoax by Nikki Rodwell.
Ronnie is one of those guys who throws money at every situation to make it work and keep everyone happy, or at least happy enough for now. He is also keen on practical jokes. I am not a fan. To me they are either silly or cruel so I never warmed to Ronnie and found him and his antics tiresome. His son, James, had been the subject of these jokes throughout his life and, as a consequence, was totally intimidated by his father and did little to stand up for himself. I hoped now he’d found a partner he was going to get some distance from his father but Ronnie, a controlling bully, was already planning for them to live closer together.
I liked Amanda, Ronnie’s wife, who was happy working with her horses, which were provided by Ronnie’s money and probably the reason why she put up with him. He certainly didn’t give her much respect.
The pages turned as I was keen to find out how it was all going to turn out while hoping Ronnie was going to get some pay back. I felt some of the suspense was taken out of the climactic scenes as they were interspersed with flashbacks. However, I was surprised by the outcome, it wasn’t what I was expecting so that’s always good.
3.5 stars
Book description:
Successful, rich, a doting wife, a compliant mistress, a beautiful house, the car of his dreams – Ronnie has it all. His family and friends are used to his practical jokes, have learnt to live with them. Even find them funny. At least, that’s what Ronnie thinks.
James has grown up with those jokes, never knowing when his dad will surprise him, scare him, make him look a fool. But now James is with Rachel, planning his future. He’s ready to move on from the fears that have marred his childhood.
When Ronnie plans a party for his wife’s birthday, he thinks he’s the one with all the surprises. He couldn’t be more wrong. And when no one knows if the danger they find themselves in is real, or just another hoax, Ronnie realises that it’s no fun at all when the joke’s on you.
Just who will have the last laugh?
Today’s team review is from Georgia.
Georgia blogs here https://www.georgiarosebooks.com
Georgia has been reading The Shadows We Breathe by Sarah Brentyn.
I love short fiction and jumped at the chance to read this short book. It is broken into three parts – Flash = 500-word fiction, Micro = 50-word fiction and Microbursts = 10-word fiction. Yes, that’s right. A story told in only 10 words!
Health is the theme in this volume. Both physical and mental. And this topic is explored by eight talented writers who clearly specialise in short fiction.
This book is naturally a quick read and is filled with delights. With each piece every word has to work for its place and I thoroughly enjoyed the tight writing and solid storytelling. Highly recommended.
Book description:
WE ARE ALL PART SHADOW
Life promises joy and sorrow. Alongside the light, there will always be traces of darkness. It is the nature of being human.
In this anthology of short fiction, we explore health—how the state of our bodies and minds nurtures us, damages us, and forms our reality.
Eight artists, whose words paint worlds, bring you stories of pain, confusion, acceptance, and courage. They reveal the conflicting and contrasting nature of health.
Whether mental or physical, our state of being can create chaos or bring us peace.
Within these pages, beautiful words are spun into tales threaded with darkness.
Discover the shadows we breathe.
Today’s team review is from Georgia.
Georgia blogs here https://www.georgiarosebooks.com
Georgia has been reading The Workshop by Matt Mills.
This was such an interesting and entertaining book to read and I’m glad I chose it. As a writer it is always great to read about writers writing. What makes this work, for me anyway, is the omniscient narrator who tells the story. We hear his thoughts and reflections and he breaks the fourth wall by talking to the readers. I loved his often-scathing observational humour, his characterisations and the many, many lines that dripped with sarcasm were irresistible.
I also enjoyed how the story was told, chronologically, with days broken down into times, and sometimes minutes.
Nine students are in this workshop led by tutor Alice. We get to see their individual pieces of writing – all very different – and the reactions of the other students to each writer’s work.
The action also follows these students with what they get up to outside the class and it’s a tricky job juggling the lives of so many characters.
There were plenty of US references, many of which probably passed me by as I’m British but that didn’t matter. Tight and well-written this novella length, first in a series, comes highly recommended.
Book Description:
Nine writers enter… only one will escape. (Figuratively—the door works fine.)
The Workshop: Week One introduces nine competitive college students who will battle for literary superiority and existential purpose over sixteen weeks of their Creative Writing in Various Media course. Who will find a career? Who will cry all the way home? Who had garlic for lunch?
Today’s team review is from Georgia.
Georgia blogs here https://www.georgiarosebooks.com
Georgia has been reading Hush, Deliah by Angie Gallion
No one ever truly knows what goes on inside a marriage, apart from those in it. So, while Chase and Delilah Reddick appear to the outside world to have it all there are deep cracks in their relationship that run right back to when they first got together.
Delilah is blessed with a best friend, Carmen, who patches her up and urges her to leave Chase. But Delilah won’t leave their fourteen year old son, Jackson, behind and knows Chase will hunt her down if she takes him. But then Jackson starts displaying some of his father’s behaviour and Delilah knows something has to change.
Just when Delilah appears to be trying to take control something truly horrific happens – no spoilers here – which surprises the reader and completely derails Delilah, for months. Meanwhile each day that passes is a day closer to when she knows Chase will eventually kill her.
Hush, Delilah is the first book by Angie Gallion that I have read, and I loved it. It’s extremely well written and the plot is tight. While I wondered how, or indeed if, (because given the previously mentioned truly horrific thing that happened I felt this writer could go in any direction) Delilah would manage to do what she needed to I thoroughly enjoyed how the story unfolded and I found the ending immensely satisfying.
On the surface, Delilah Reddick’s life looks perfect. Her husband is a pillar of the community, and with her as his quietly supportive wife, they appear to be the picture of success and happiness. But there are deep cracks in the foundation, dark secrets Delilah has never shared with anyone.
Delilah knows what her husband is capable of when the evil inside him finds its way to the surface, but running would only delay the inevitable. Chase would hunt her to the ends of the earth before allowing her to take his only son from him. Delilah would rather die than leave her fourteen-year-old behind, but when her son begins displaying his father’s violent tendencies, she knows she must act.
In her quest to save her son, Delilah sets off a chain of events that could rock the community and reveal the darkest secret of them all. After years of staying quiet, Delilah must find her voice before her husband silences her forever.
Today’s team review is from Georgia.
Georgia blogs here https://www.georgiarosebooks.com
Georgia has been reading Bethulia by Thorne Moore.
Bethulia has at its heart the story of three women, Alison, Jude and Danny, and one man, Simon. The women are lifelong friends and until Simon came along and married Alison, inseparable. Alison dies, apparently by taking her own life, and Jude arrives at the airport to be greeted by a distraught Danny who confirms the news.
This bond between the women quickly breaks down when it is revealed that Danny had a brief fling with Simon while he was married to Alison. Jude is then quick to console the widower, getting close to him before Danny has any chance to rekindle their relationship.
In amongst all of these characters, and others, is DC Rosanna Quillan who, from experience and her own trauma, doesn’t believe that Alison killed herself. But how can she prove it?
This story is deceptive because it appears to be straightforward. Until it isn’t.
I don’t want to go into all the whys and wherefores as to what happens as that will spoil it for any future reader and you really do want to come into this book with fresh eyes. Suffice to say the writing is excellent, the characters totally believable and the planning and plotting terrific. The pages keep turning because you want to find out the truth and it will keep you guessing as to what the characters are up to. Highly recommended for everyone who enjoys exciting, pacey storytelling.
5 stars
Alison, Danny, Jude: three girls bound closer than sisters. Nothing can ever divide them.
Until Alison falls for Simon Delaney. He’s handsome, successful and ambitious. What woman wouldn’t want him? He’s surely her perfect husband. Any woman’s perfect husband. But in that case, why does she commit suicide?
If it really is suicide. With no evidence to the contrary, the police are ready to say yes. All except for the driven DC Rosanna Quillan. She says no, but she can only watch as Jude and Danny fight for the prize – the widower. How far would either of them go to have him?
And how bitter is the fruit of success?
Today’s team review is from Georgia.
Georgia blogs here https://www.georgiarosebooks.com
Georgia has been reading Fast Fiction by Scotty Cornfield
It takes a certain dedication, and discipline, to commit to writing a 101-word story every day for several years but this is exactly what Scotty Cornfield has done. He works from a prompt, which in this book he puts at the end of each story.
As I’ve attempted to write flash fiction, I know how difficult it can be so I am in admiration of Cornfield’s output and his ability to come up with as many and varied stories as he does. Some of the prompts were straight-forward, some were words I’d never heard before.
These are interesting and entertaining tales for anyone but if you have concentration issues or little time to indulge in reading then they are ideal as you can read a complete story in a minute. You can then leave it there or if you’re like me be unable to stop turning the pages to see what comes next.
There were obviously some stories I preferred over others but on the whole, this is a solid collection of entertainment which I recommend to anyone who enjoys fast fiction.
What I also liked is that you can contact him with your own prompt and get a credit when he writes it. Nice touch.
In FAST FICTION, you’ll enter a cafe where the menu is loaded with nothing but literary appetizers, designed to be quickly consumed and easily digested. You’ll meet people with secrets and others who wished they knew how to keep them; characters looking to exact revenge and others getting their just desserts when karma calls. Fans of the combo platter will see it all here, from the dark to the darkly comical; the laugh-out-loud funny to the thought-provoking; offering more twists and turns than a pretzel—more ups and downs than a soufflé.
Like the world of improv, each tale has been inspired by a prompt (a single word or a phrase) provided by readers. From those simple suggestions, the stories evolve. You’ll meet people from all walks of life, but they’ll all have at least one thing in common: Your brief encounter with them will be over in less than a minute. Welcome to FAST FICTION,where you’ll find 101 stories of exactly 101 words each. How’s that for symmetry?
A book a day is bliss😍
Welcome to my world: digging, harvesting and other stuff
bestselling author, also known as Victoria Hawthorne
A quest for the magic in life, language, and literature
Tonight I Dream. Tomorrow I Do!
Part of something bigger in a small town garden.
Sayling Away
Gardens, gardeners, and growing ideas
adventures in my gardens
author
Feel the rain, take a book and have a cuppa:-)
Sharing thoughts on the books I read, new authors, favourite authors, classics re-visisted
Damp and in the middle of nowhere
Enjoying life. In Ireland. With my family.
Ideas from a Suffolk garden
Rosie Amber 