Book Review for MERCY’S SUNSET by Lindsay Luterman

Title: Mercy’s Sunset
Author: Lindsay Luterman
Publisher: Second Wind Publishing
Genre: Paranormal
ISBN: 978 1938101922

Mercy’s Sunset

by Lindsay Luterman

Book review by Carrie Jane Knowles

Lindsey Luterman raises an interesting question as her well crafted novel, Mercy’s Sunset unwinds: How do you choose a love for eternity if you have lived more than one lifetime? Also, how and who do you choose to travel with you from one life to another?

What are the choices we unconsciously make and how do the shape our lives?

If you’ve have ever wondered about the possibilities and the responsibilities that travel with you from one life to another, you’ll delight in the journey of Mercy’s Sunset.

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Carrie Jane Knowles has been a freelance writer for the past forty years. She has published widely in both fiction and non-fiction and has won a number of prestigious writing awards, including: Midland Authors Poetry Award, the American Heart and Torch Award for Creative Journalism, and Glimmer Train’s Very-Short Fiction Contest. She is the author of Apricots in a Turkish Garden.

Carrie and her husband, Jeff Leiter, live in Raleigh, North Carolina. They have three children.

 

Book Review for ACQUIESCENCE by Velya Jancz-Urban

Title: Acquiescence
Author: Velya Jancz-Urban
Publisher: Second Wind Publishing
Genre: Paranormal
ISBN: 978-1630661021

Acquiescence

by Velya Jancz-Urban

Book review by Carrie Jane Knowles

Beautifully written and full of wisdom, Velya Jancz-Urban’s enchanting novel, Acquiescence, left me breathless and believing in the power of spirits to hold onto this world until life is resolved and made whole again. It’s a story of two women living two hundred years apart that need each other in ways neither one of them fully understands until the end. It’s about love and redemption, and how we are not really separated by time and space, but, instead, deeply connected by circumstance.

I will not spoil it for you, but only say that this is a ghost story that will teach you about life and loving and believing in what you cannot see.

Read this book!

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Carrie Jane Knowles has been a freelance writer for the past forty years. She has published widely in both fiction and non-fiction and has won a number of prestigious writing awards, including: Midland Authors Poetry Award, the American Heart and Torch Award for Creative Journalism, and Glimmer Train’s Very-Short Fiction Contest. She is the author of Apricots in a Turkish Garden.

Carrie and her husband, Jeff Leiter, live in Raleigh, North Carolina. They have three children.

 

Book Review for THE NINETY-NINTH REUNION by Dene Hellman

Title: The Ninety-Ninth Reunion
Author: Dene Hellman
Publisher: Second Wind Publishing
Genre: Mainstream
ISBN: 978 1938101922

Ninety-Ninth Reunion

by Dene Hellman

Book review by Carrie Jane Knowles

Great read! Dene Hellman keeps you on the edge of your seat in The Ninety-Ninth Reunion as you turn the pages and begin to understand just how dangerous it might be to go back to your high school reunion to kick up the dust of the past!”

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Carrie Jane Knowles has been a freelance writer for the past forty years. She has published widely in both fiction and non-fiction and has won a number of prestigious writing awards, including: Midland Authors Poetry Award, the American Heart and Torch Award for Creative Journalism, and Glimmer Train’s Very-Short Fiction Contest. She is the author of Apricots in a Turkish Garden.

Carrie and her husband, Jeff Leiter, live in Raleigh, North Carolina. They have three children.

 

Book Review for CRACK IN THE WORLD by Maribeth Shanley

Title: Crack in the World
Author: Maribeth Shanley
Publisher: Second Wind Publishing, LLC
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 978-1630661014

Crack in the World

by Maribeth Shanley

Book review by Carrie Jane Knowles

Maribeth Shanley’s novel, A Crack in the World is a rough jagged read that draws a roadmap for recovery and self-discovery, albeit sometimes bumpy, for anyone who has been a victim of sexual abuse. It’s an honest story of how difficult self-acceptance and healing can be for a person who comes from a family built on a solid foundation of lies. It forces you to take a hard look at the damage one selfish and morally corrupt individual can wreck on a family and a community.

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Carrie Jane Knowles has been a freelance writer for the past forty years. She has published widely in both fiction and non-fiction and has won a number of prestigious writing awards, including: Midland Authors Poetry Award, the American Heart and Torch Award for Creative Journalism, and Glimmer Train’s Very-Short Fiction Contest. She is the author of Apricots in a Turkish Garden.

Carrie and her husband, Jeff Leiter, live in Raleigh, North Carolina. They have three children.

Book Review for DEADLY ADAGIO by Carole Howard

Title: Deadly Adagio
Author: Carole Howard
Publisher: Second Wind Publishing
Genre: Mystery
ISBN: 978-1938101373

Deadly Adagio

by Carole Howard

Book review by Carrie Jane Knowles

Carole Howard’s carefully woven mystery of a murder, Deadly Adagio, takes us deep into the complex world of diplomacy in Dakar, Senegal. Emily, the tag-along wife of a diplomat finds herself stepping into a dark world of murder and cultural clashes when her best friend, Margaret is found murdered. Howard’s story will educate you on the murky boundaries of diplomacy and why cultural practices and differences can easily ignite tension and muddy the waters of who done it and why.

Deadly Adagio is a fine tuned symphony of words, worlds and characters. Five Stars.

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Carrie Jane Knowles has been a freelance writer for the past forty years. She has published widely in both fiction and non-fiction and has won a number of prestigious writing awards, including: Midland Authors Poetry Award, the American Heart and Torch Award for Creative Journalism, and Glimmer Train’s Very-Short Fiction Contest. She is the author of Apricots in a Turkish Garden.

Carrie and her husband, Jeff Leiter, live in Raleigh, North Carolina. They have three children.

 

Book Review for I DON’T THINK IT’S THAT SIMPLE by Nicole Eva Fraser

Title: I Don’t Think It’s that Simple
Author: Nicole Eva Fraser
Publisher: Second Wind Publishing
Genre: Psychological Fiction
ISBN: 978-193810159

I Don’t Think It’s that Simple

by Nicole Eva Fraser

Book review by Carrie Jane Knowles

Nicole Eva Fraser’s beautifully written and fully realized novel of one man’s struggle to find his own life story, I Don’t Think It’s That Simple, will keep you up all night turning the pages! And, as you read on way past your bedtime, you’ll find yourself hoping Evan’s last chance to choose to do the right thing will both open his heart and give him courage to seize the love he has been searching for his whole life.

Nicole’s wonderful characters that she’s carefully wrapped in fine polished prose make this book simply a great read!

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Carrie Jane Knowles has been a freelance writer for the past forty years. She has published widely in both fiction and non-fiction and has won a number of prestigious writing awards, including: Midland Authors Poetry Award, the American Heart and Torch Award for Creative Journalism, and Glimmer Train’s Very-Short Fiction Contest. She is the author of Apricots in a Turkish Garden.

Carrie and her husband, Jeff Leiter, live in Raleigh, North Carolina. They have three children.

 

Book Review for THE HARDEST THING IN THIS WORLD by Nicole Eva Fraser

Title: The Hardest Thing in this World
Author: Nicole Eva Fraser
Publisher: Second Wind Publishing
Genre: Drama, Mainstream
ISBN: 978-1938101595

The Hardest Thing in this World

by Nicole Eva Fraser

Book review by Susan Emmerich

In “The Hardest Thing in This World”, Nicole Eva Fraser weaves a drama of love, loss, and the complications of family relationships. Fraser’s descriptive style creates an image that is FELT by the reader, and in telling the story from each character’s perspective, she manages to remind us that our individual experiences never paint the whole picture.

When the meaning of the title was revealed, I found myself both reflective and moved to tears. Fraser’s tale of how we are influenced by those both living and passed, touched my soul deeply. But Fraser does not stop there! Hold on, as it is a ride that will surprise you til the end, and make you think about the human heart and its vulnerability. “The Hardest Thing in this World” is a novel that will stay with you long after the last page.

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Susan Emmerich is not a writer by training and discovered her love of words late in life.  In her first career as a licensed social worker, she worked in the areas of family violence and adoption.  When her own daughter became school age she made the leap to school guidance to take full advantage of snow days!

While having coped with multiple losses in her life, Susan did not really take notice of their collective impact until her first menopausal mood swing.  It was then that she found writing and biking to be the best medicine for a wounded soul.  She currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio and is still discovering miles of new bike trails.

Susan is the author of A Girl on a Bike: Musings on Life, Loss, and Hot Flashes. 

Book Review for DEADLY ADAGIO by Carole Howard

Title: Deadly Adagio
Author: Carole Howard
Publisher: Second Wind Publishing
Genre: Mystery
ISBN: 978-1938101373

Deadly Adagio

by Carole Howard

Book review by S. M. Senden

A violin string becomes a deadly weapon in this haunting mystery set against the backdrop of Senegal. Carole Howard leads us into her tightly plotted story immersing us into the deeper social issues of western Africa as Emily, the main character unravels the death of her friend Margaret. This is a thrill ride riveting your senses leaving the reader gasping for breath up until the end.

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S. M. Senden was raised in Winnetka, a north shore suburb of Chicago. From an early age reading and writing were passions as was travel. Senden has studied, lived and worked in the USA, Europe, the Mid-East and Africa, spending a number of years as an archaeological illustrator for various expeditions. S. M. Senden earned a Masters Degree and has studied creative writing, play writing and screenwriting.

Senden is the author of Clara’s Wish, Lethal Boundaries, and Murder at the Johnson and a number of ghost stories in various magazines.

Book Review for INDIAN SUMMER by Dellani Oakes

Title: Indian Summer
Author: Dellani Oakes
Publisher: Second Wind Publishing
Genre: Historical romance
ISBN: 978-1935171102

Indian Summer

by Dellani Oakes

Book review by S. M. Senden

I appreciate a well researched story that not only teaches me something about the era, but more importantly takes me along and immerses me deep into the era with sights, sounds and smells that touch my senses. Dellani Oakes has done this quite successfully in Indian Summer a story of love lost and won, betrayal and coming of age in St. Augustine. Her characters are rich and have depth. I will be reading more of her books!

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S. M. Senden was raised in Winnetka, a north shore suburb of Chicago. From an early age reading and writing were passions as was travel. Senden has studied, lived and worked in the USA, Europe, the Mid-East and Africa, spending a number of years as an archaeological illustrator for various expeditions. S. M. Senden earned a Masters Degree and has studied creative writing, play writing and screenwriting.

Senden is the author of Clara’s Wish, Lethal Boundaries, and Murder at the Johnson and a number of ghost stories in various magazines.

Book Review for HOWEVER LONG THE NIGHT by David Pereda

Title: However Long the Night
Author: David Pereda
Publisher: Eternal Press
Genre: Mystery
ISBN: 978-1615725991

However Long the Night

by David Pereda

Book review by S. M. Senden

Old family secrets left unresolved have a way of creating problems for generations to come. Cid Milan heard his father’s death bed confession of events long ago that leave Cid with no choice but to return to Cuba, the land of his ancestors, and delve into the past. David Pereda has written an exciting tale layered with conflict and betrayal full of twists and turns that will keep you reading to the end.

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S. M. Senden was raised in Winnetka, a north shore suburb of Chicago. From an early age reading and writing were passions as was travel. Senden has studied, lived and worked in the USA, Europe, the Mid-East and Africa, spending a number of years as an archaeological illustrator for various expeditions. S. M. Senden earned a Masters Degree and has studied creative writing, play writing and screenwriting.

Senden is the author of Clara’s Wish, Lethal Boundaries, and Murder at the Johnson and a number of ghost stories in various magazines.