The Caiman of Inquitos Book Review

Full disclosure: I was given a free advance reader copy of this book by Author Marketing Experts in exchange for an honest review.

It’s been awhile since I read an action-packed thriller. I enjoyed the ones by Clive Cussler and Brad Thor, so I wanted to try a new author, or in this case, two. Today’s review is The Caiman of Iquitos by Piper Bayard and Jay Holmes aka Bayard & Holmes. It’s a part of the “Apex Predator Espionage Thrillers,” and it’s enjoyable due to its characters, plot twists, and environment.

The Caiman of Iquitos is the third book in the “Apex Predator Espionage Thrillers” series. Former CIA Operations Officer John Viera is doing his best to lead a normal life and start a family, but fate has other ideas. When a Russian ship is mysteriously torpedoed off the coast of Peru, untracked enriched uranium is found in its cargo. The US President, wanting to protect his multi-billion dollar business interests, blocks agency investigations into the incident. Instead, top intelligence officials call John and his team of former operatives to uncover the new player on the nuclear chessboard. They are the only ones who stand between international security and the Caiman of Iquitos.

Although it’s the third book in the series, The Caiman of Iquitos can easily be a stand alone. While it certainly made some possible references to the previous titles, it didn’t affect my overall enjoyment of the novel.

I really enjoyed the characters in the book. Each has a distinct personality. For example, Angelina is a strong, confident woman and is the only female member of the operatives team. She butts heads with John a lot, yet she can be vulnerable, especially when something tragic happens on the mission. There’s also John Viera. At first, he might seem like every other CIA officer that one may find in a spy novel, but there’s more to him. He wants to live a normal life, yet his wife leaves him at the beginning of the story. Soon, he finds out that she’s pregnant with their child. Throughout the novel, John wonders why he’s on this assignment when he should be at home trying to repair his marriage and to be the best father he could be. In all of the action/adventure spy thrillers I’ve read, I’ve never encountered something like this before.

While the plot follows a similar structure to that of a Cussler tale (one main plot and two subplots), the twists are unique. One involves Heung – a North Korean spy – trying to get the uranium for his motherland, and he “promises” a guerilla group in Peru that he will help them find their leader and get them out of prison in exchange for the metal. It’s super hilarious when they finally locate that leader. There were some plot twists that I almost missed because I was mostly reading it while I was in bed about to fall asleep. I know that I said I wouldn’t do that after reading Nighthawk by Clive Cussler, but I did. I apologize. Now, I know for real not to read an espionage thriller right before I go to bed.

What stood out to me the most was the environment. I’m not just talking about how Bayard and Holmes describe the jungles in Peru, but also the realistic political atmosphere in which the operatives have to work with. The whole reason why they are on that mission is because the current president doesn’t want citizens to find out about his own personal business endeavors (does that sound familiar?). As a result, the tension is high during the sections involving the intelligence officials and the leader of the free world. Even the head of intelligence tells one of the officers to do what they can to find the uranium culprit by whatever means necessary, even if that means committing something illegal. Brad Thor would be very proud.

Another thing that stuck out was the Truth or Fiction section that follows the end of the book. The title is self-explanatory. Additionally, it reveals some of the liberties that the authors took while crafting this story. I didn’t mind this because the environment was grounded in reality, and some details had to be eschewed to move the plot forward.

The Caiman of Iquitos by Baynard & Holmes is a fun action spy thriller. The book is enjoyable with its distinct characters and plot twists. What impressed me the most was the tense, but authentic environment the operatives have to work under for their assignment. I would recommend this book for those who have read the previous titles in the “Apex Predator” series as well as readers who have consumed Clive Cussler and Brad Thor. Now if you will excuse me, I’m going to read more Apex Predator thrillers.

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Literary Travel – Wisconsin, Northern Michigan, and Canada Edition

Hi Everybody,

Over this summer, I went to a few places that I have never gone before. Each of them had a bookstore that I had to check out. Today, I’ll show them all to you. All of the photos used, except for one, were ones that I took.

First up is the Elkhart Lake Public Library in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.

Just like the last two years, I went to Wisconsin right before Memorial Day Weekend with my husband. But, this time, we decided to go to the Village of Elkhart Lake together, which is where Road America – one of the world’s fastest permanent road racing tracks – is located. The town itself is between Milwaukee and Green Bay.

While he spent his time driving cool cars on the Road America tracks, I took some time to explore. Even though some stores were closed during the time that we were there, it was still a nice area.

And of course, I had to check out their local library. It’s in the heart of the town right next door to the Village Hall. The library is all on one floor. It’s not as small as the Meadows Library in Las Vegas, yet it still packs in a lot of items while still being spacious.

A good example of this is the children’s area. The area is very organized with well-placed shelves, tables, chairs, and a rug while adding lots of color. This certainly would attract plenty of kids during the summer and after school. In fact, it did since when I was there, there was a group of children completing a scavenger hunt to find certain items in the library. Summer Reading started the week I visited Elkhart Lake.

I especially love the dinosaur in the background.

Every library needs a gigantic stuffed animal like this elephant.

Oh hey, Pigeon! What are you doing up there?

The adult section also had well-organized shelves. For instance, there was an orange sign on some to indicate that they were fiction. Similar signs were in the children’s area.

In addition, they had some neat displays like for new releases and for other themes.

Furthermore, I liked how the library cared about hygiene. They had these signs in the computer area.

The library also had a puzzle that people could work on. I spent a good chunk of time there trying to put the pieces together. It was so much fun.

My favorite part of being at the Elkhart Lake Public Library was their historical and vintage collection. There wasn’t a whole lot of items in them, but I can easily see people coming in to do research and read from very old books.

You know how I mentioned that Road America was in Elkhart Lake? There’s documents regarding its creation and even a DVD of footage filmed from the early days of the race in the 1950s that patrons could check out. Later on when I had dinner at a bar, I told the locals about this, and they couldn’t believe it. They didn’t know that the library held accessible artifacts relating to the history of Road America.

Lastly, the library housed a framed letter entitled “The Library Resolution,” which formally established the facility in 1906.

While the Elkhart Lake Public Library was a relatively small place, it still contained a lot of things that people could do, whether that being reading books, playing puzzles, or researching local history. Along with their website, you can check them out on Facebook and Instagram. There’s more to Elkhart Lake than Road America.

The second book place is Plot Bound Books in Gaylord, Michigan. This is the first time that I’ve reviewed a bookstore located in my home state.

Soon after I got back from Wisconsin, I was traveling once again. This time to Gaylord, Michigan, where a dear friend of mine invited me to stay with her at her parents’ house in the nearby town of Johannesburg during Memorial Day Weekend.

One day, she took me to downtown Gaylord. I’ve never been to that city, and it was a very pleasant experience. We went to the Alpine Chocolat Haus to have ice cream and lots of chocolate. Then, we walked over to Plot Bounds Books.

According to its website, it’s an independent bookstore that strives to provide customers with high-quality books that inspire, educate, and entertain as well as to create a warm and welcoming atmosphere among book lovers of all ages and backgrounds.

I immediately felt the cozy atmosphere when I walked right into the shop, which was the size of a living room. Even the Meadows Library in Las Vegas was slightly bigger than this. In addition, we managed to explore the place prior to the shop moving to a different location. Don’t worry, it’s still in Gaylord.

One of the first things that we noticed was the crafting table, where people could make their own bookmarks.

This was pretty cool, and it allowed anybody that walked in to make them. Plus, the bookstore was celebrating its birthday when we went, so I wonder if it was their way of giving back to the community. We made about two each. I made the ones seen below.

Most of the books on sale were located along a wall and a half, and many of them were popular titles. This makes sense for a smaller bookstore if they want to make a profit.

The Last of the Midnight Ramblers sounds very familiar.

At the same time, Plot Bound Books offers some unique items like Michigan-based story books and stuffed animals. These can be seen below in this adorable display.

They also got bookmarks with really cool designs. I’m glad that Plot Bound Books also sells them and not just allows customers to make them.

And don’t worry parents. They got books for the littlest of kids seen here.

Additionally, the bookshop carried wrapped books. These are ones where customers can buy them based off of certain descriptions and then find out what the title is.

As much as I was tempted to purchase a “mystery” novel, I had my eye on Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange. I’ve been wanting to read that book ever since I found out about his follow-up to his debut title There There. I managed to get it at a discount since it was the bookstore’s birthday.

While Plot Bound Books may be small, it absolutely carries high-quality materials for customers to read and enjoy. Above all, it creates a warm and welcoming environment with ease. Along with their website, you can check them out on Facebook and Instagram. Birthday or not, come into their store the next time you’re in Gaylord, Michigan.

Finally, towards the end of summer, my husband and I went to Juniper Books in Windsor, Canada.

Credit: Robert Steele

Located in downtown Windsor, Canada, Juniper Books sells used and rare books. According to its website, it also contains maps, prints, and ephemera for all kinds of readers. And no, it’s not related to the Juniper Books based in Boulder, Colorado.

This was our second trip to the bookstore since we made a visit to it earlier this summer. We were in Canada for our 10th dating anniversary, and he wanted to check out a game shop that had a Yu-Gi-Oh tournament. When the conversation with one of the clerks turned to books, he recommended checking out Juniper Books before the event began, and so we did. I didn’t take pictures the first time since we were on a time crunch, yet we knew we wanted to come back.

And, we did in August. The photos I took were from our second trip there.

As seen in the picture above, it’s covered in leaves, which makes it a magical place. I can’t think of many bookstores that have that kind of aesthetic. In addition, the bookshop was apparently a house in the past, and it shows. Each room has books nearly from the ceiling to the floor. Don’t worry, there’s enough space for customers to walk through as seen in this photo. My husband – a tall man – had a much better experience navigating this shop than he did when we were at Arcadian Books & Prints in New Orleans.

They also had a cat named Alfred roaming around the store when we were there the first time. He was very cute. Sadly, he wasn’t present when I took these photos because the owner was away, and he took the feline. Nonetheless, we still had a good time exploring the place.

Another thing that makes the shop stand out is that each room has different kinds of books. For example, the study room was filled with titles about religion. Two other spaces had popular adult as well as juvenile and young adult titles. Even the kitchen and the back room contained cookbooks and food-related books in the former and gardening ones in the latter.

They also had books in the basement and in the upstair rooms. The former had biographies and more nonfiction, while the latter contained science fiction, fantasy, and horror paperbacks. People can even look out from the window when they are on the second floor. While in the basement, my husband had to duck his head, so he wouldn’t hit it against the ceiling.

I loved the decor at Juniper Books. It’s a bit haphazard, but they are well-placed and add to the charm. Even the stairs had some nice artwork on them.

Moreover, the bookstore had movie posters as part of its ephemera, including this one of the 1938 film The Adventures of Robin Hood.

Juniper Books does more than sell books and other items. It also does bookbinding, free delivery, appraisals, and events.

In the end, I purchased Too Much Happiness by the late Canadian author Alice Munro, Fan-Tan by Marlon Brando (yes, that Marlon Brando) and Donald Cammell, and Twelve Angry Librarians by Miranda James. Coincidentally, my husband bought another book written by James titled No Cats Allowed along with car-related content.

Juniper Books is undoubtedly one of the quirkiest bookstores I’ve ever been in with the amount of books it had and how it looked. It also was one of the coziest since it was in a house. The chairs were very comfortable, and if I had my way, I could have sat in them all day. Regardless, it appeals to every reader in creative ways. I know I plan on going back when I’m in Canada again. You can check them out on their website.

And that concludes the sixth installment of “Literary Travel!” I hope all of you had a great time on this trip. There might be another one down the pipeline, so stay tuned for that!

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The Mechanics of Memory Book Review

Full disclosure: I was given a free advance reader copy of this book by Author Marketing Experts in exchange for an honest review.

Science fiction is a genre that I’m not that familiar with. I’m not usually drawn to these kinds of books like I am with historical fiction. Nonetheless, I want to read more science fiction. I had the opportunity to do so recently with the novel The Mechanics of Memory by Audrey Lee. It was a good story with a unique concept, multifaceted characters, and great twists.

The Mechanics of Memory is about one woman’s journey to remember her lost year. Memory is Copeland-Stark’s business. They help patients to recall forgotten memories at their sleek new flagship facility. Yet after months of reconsolidation treatment, Hope Nakano still has no idea what happened during her lost year, or the life she was just beginning to build with Luke – her one great love. Each procedure surfaces fragmented clues that lessen Hope’s trust in her own memories, especially those of Luke. As inconsistencies mount, her search for answers reveal a larger secret that Copeland-Stark is determined to protect at all costs. But everyone has secrets, including Hope. 

I love the concept. Plenty of science fiction novels deal with memory in one way or another. Yet, none of them handle it like The Mechanics of Memory does. Copeland-Stark aims to recover memory by implanting false ones in patients in the Wilder Sanctuary, which is anything but. I’ve not read anything like that before. My one complaint about this concept was that not every treatment was made clear. I get that implanting the false memories was the start, and the recovery strategies involved therapy sessions and going through a labyrinth in order for patients to find a way to recall certain things. They also spend time in a place called The Butterfly Box, which I was never sure what it was and what it was used for. Other than that, the concept is unique, and I hope to see more of this take in future science fiction books. 

In addition, I really like Hope. She is strong, resilient, and flawed. Readers will immediately see her as determined as she tries to figure out why she was put in the sanctuary in the first place. On top of that, they will be invested in her relationship with Luke as they are wonderful together. The novel reveals that Hope was in an emotionally and verbally abusive relationship prior to meeting Luke, and she sees him as someone who treats her like an individual, and she can open up to him with no problem. Sadly, she wonders if he was the one who put her in the sanctuary. The other people at the facility are interesting too. Doctors Stark and Emerson as well as other patients like Carter, Quinn, and Spooky (aka Spencer) have their own secrets as well. Some readers complained how there were too many characters. I didn’t feel that way at all because all of them were distinct.

Even though it’s mainly Hope’s story, readers do get Carter’s and Luke’s points of view. In one chapter, tech genius Carter is in a therapy session and finds out why he’s in the sanctuary. For some parts, people get to know Luke more and how he feels about Hope being in the facility. He is just as complicated as Hope, especially the fact that he works for Copeland-Stark – the same business that placed Hope in the treatment center in the first place.

Moreover, there are plenty of twists that will catch readers off guard. Obviously, I can’t spoil any of them. What I will say are two things: 1. Many of them didn’t see it coming and 2. One blew my mind towards the end and made me squirm in my chair. I haven’t felt that way since I learned about the big reveal in Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell. The twists are definitely worth it.

The Mechanics of Memory by Audrey Lee is a vastly interesting science fiction novel. The concept alone makes the book worth reading, but it also helps that it has well-developed characters and twists that will leave readers thinking about them for a long time. I would recommend it for those who love science fiction with some mystery and suspense as well as reading about corrupt businesses and how memory works. The Mechanics of Memory is out tomorrow, August 27, so go grab it wherever you get your books.

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Before I Let Go Book Review

Content warning: this review discusses stillborn births and mental health.

I’ve read plenty of romances, especially within the last two months. Yet, there is one trope that I’ve always been curious about, but never fully explored until now, and that is the second chance romance. This involves a couple breaking up, finding themselves, and possibly getting back together. An example of this is Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan. It’s a highly introspective look at a divorced couple, hope, and mental health that makes it a true standout among second chance romances.

Before I Let Go is the first book in the Skyland series. Yasmen and Josiah’s love was supposed to last forever, but one devastating blow after another, they found that love couldn’t solve or save everything. It couldn’t save their marriage.

Yasmen wasn’t prepared for how her life fell apart, but she’s starting to find joy again. Also, she and ex-husband Josiah have found a new rhythm, co-parenting their two kids, and running a business together. But, they are always drawn back together, and they wonder if they were ever truly ready to let go of everything they once had.  Soon, one stolen kiss leads to another, and they end up having secret rendezvouses. It’s all good until it reopens some wounds. Is it too late for them to find forever? Or could they even be better, the second time around?      

One of my first thoughts was how much Before I Let Go reminded me of the 1937 romantic screwball comedy The Awful Truth starring Cary Grant and Irene Dunne. In it, a rich couple splits up, but they interfere with each other’s romances because they can’t face the awful truth that they still have feelings for one another. They have similar premises and almost identical scenarios like the different partners and the trip the main couple are forced to go on together. However, there is one major difference, and that’s the tone. The Awful Truth is light and contains plenty of farce. 

On the other hand, Before I Let Go handles its situations with more gravitas. It’s grounded in the reality of how a divorced couple lives while co-parenting and running a business together. Yasmen and Josiah are, or become, aware of the consequences of their actions. This is especially true when two deaths in the family shake them in different ways. When their child Henry is stillborn, Yasmen becomes depressed and unable to do anything unless it involves their other children Deja and Kassim. Josiah buries the grief so deep that he comes off as insensitive to Yasmen, while he points out how over reactive she could be. It only takes time for them to realize what had led them to separate and why they still have feelings for another. In a subplot, Yasmen struggles to connect with their teenage daughter Deja, while Josiah has no problem getting along with her. Even though Deja certainly comes off as brooding, stubborn, and spoiled, her feelings are valid, especially when she reveals why she has so much resentment towards her mom.

Hope plays a huge role in second chance romance for obvious reasons, but Before I Let Go is realistic about it. There’s plenty of wishing, especially on Yasmen’s side because she realizes that she regrets asking for the divorce in the first place. At the same time, she is all too aware of the obstacles like Josiah dating the chef from their restaurant and her seeing someone else too. Yet, once they hook up again, their relationship becomes more complicated than ever. It becomes clear that they want to get back together, but they wonder if it’s worth it as they might reopen some wounds. Even Josiah has to lay down some ground rules while they had their rendezvous. And reader, those scenes are pretty steamy, and I was reading those parts while I was at work. Getting back to the point, I love how hope is seen in a mature light.

Another asset Before I Let Go has is the depiction of mental health and therapy. These are portrayed authentically. When readers meet Yasmen, she’s in a post-depressive state, but that doesn’t mean she’s 100%. She goes to therapy, and it took her awhile to find the right therapist, who could listen to her and give her pointers about how to deal with certain situations. When 10-year-old Kassim has some recurring thoughts about deaths of family members, Yasmen and Josiah agree to get him some therapy, so his emotional intelligence could be strengthened. While Kassim is initially reluctant, Josiah offers to go to some solo sessions to entice his son to attend his own. Again, Josiah makes it clear in the beginning that he doesn’t care all that much for therapy, thinking that it’s not for him, but I love seeing his growth and him getting in touch with feelings buried beneath him, especially when it comes to the death of his parents, during the course of the novel. The novel is fully aware of how it takes time for people to heal and therapy can help under the right circumstances. It also makes it clear that therapy is for those at the right place and at the right time. Josiah realizes that he needed it even if he was too stubborn to admit it at first. As someone who is in therapy right now, I felt that these scenes were true to life.

Of course, the biggest strength is the relationship between Yasmen and Josiah. I knew I was going to like this couple when I read how he fell in love with her when she gave him watery chicken noodle soup. It goes back and forth from each perspective, thus providing plenty of nuance to the story. They both complement each other. Josiah is neat, while Yasmen is sloppy. When he had the dream to open up a restaurant in Atlanta, she had the drive to make that happen. This is true of their faults as well. As mentioned earlier, Josiah can come off as emotionless at times, while Yasman could possibly exaggerate some of her feelings. They bring out the best and worst in each other, and they have to figure out if the relationship is worth rekindling on those merits. Even though I had a sense of what the outcome was, the book certainly had me on my toes because of all of the hoops the couple was going through. It kept me interested in their romance.

Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan is a wonderful second chance romance. It’s everything that readers would expect from this trope and more. The novel is grounded in reality that the main characters are all too aware of. The depictions of mental health and therapy are well-handled. And above all, the romance between Yasmen and Josiah will have readers rooting for them to get back together. I would recommend this to those who enjoy reading black romances as well as about business owners, co-parenting, mental health, and couples possibly reigniting their love for each other. After reading this, I know I’m not going to let this go for a while.

Now before I let you go, I want to let everyone know that I will be recording the latest episode of the Adapt Me Podcast soon. Guest and Bookstagrammer Asha Bartley and I will talk about how we would adapt this novel. Keep an eye out for the link.

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The 23rd Hero Book Review

Content warning: this review discusses trauma and sexual assault.

Full disclosure: I was given a free advance reader copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review.

You know what I haven’t read in awhile? A time travel romance! The last one I read was Transcendence by Shay Savage, which involved a caveman. This time I wanted something different. Luckily, I finished one that involves time travel to prevent climate change. What was that book called? It’s The 23rd Hero by Rebecca Anne Nguyen. It had great worldbuilding and a memorable main character although I had issues with certain plot points and the overall structure.

The 23rd Hero is about an ordinary woman with an extraordinary memory who travels back in time to sixteenth century France to stop climate change before it starts and return to the man she loves. In a world ravaged by climate change, a mysterious time travel agency called The Program sends carefully selected Heroes back in time on missions to prevent environmental damage from occurring. Sloane Burrows longs to be a Hero and restore the natural world from her childhood – a place that she can recall vividly because of her powerful memory. However, her father made her believe that her “freak memory” was shameful and that it should be hidden from the world. She buries her dreams of becoming a Hero and conceals her memory to the point of making her sick. Her only break from the shame is the recurring dream that she’s been having for a decade. In it, a beautiful man makes her feel accepted in a way that she never has experienced before, not despite her memory, but because of it. When that man, named Bastian, shows up in the real world, Sloane’s life turns upside down. It also turns out that Bastian is from The Program, and he wants her to do the one thing that will shatter her chances of winning her father’s love: become a Hero, travel back to sixteenth century France, and use her superpower memory to save the world.

Let’s start off with the good. I loved the world building in The 23rd Hero. Nguyen does a great job with establishing the dystopian place that Sloane lives in. It reminded me of the districts in The Hunger Games series, with more technology. I especially love the descriptions of the sight and smell of smog. Additionally, the time travel in the novel is fascinating. I have read and watched stuff that deals with that trope, but The 23rd Hero takes it in a whole new direction. Usually, when people go back in time, it’s usually to see what the past was like and stop whatever is going to alter the timeline (ie Doctor Who). In this case, the objective is to deliberately change the past, so the future would be better environmentally. The Program sends one Hero to stop something that would result in climate change. If something else occurs as a result, they can send another to fix that. While there isn’t much logic surrounding the time travel, there’s enough for readers to piece it together. It was intriguing to see it portrayed in this way.

Another plus is Sloane herself. She is one who believes that her superpower is a curse. Sloane has a wonderful memory, but anything that she has to access it reminds her of the father’s emotional abuse, and she vomits. As a result, she barely has any self-confidence despite her dreams to become a Hero. Her issue is absolutely relatable to any person who’s gone through something similar. Sloane’s romance with the mysterious man later known as Bastian helps her to build her confidence. Even though it would’ve been nice to have a bit more character development from Bastian, their chemistry is undeniable, which hurts more when Sloane has to enter the portal into 1500s France. This would no doubt remind readers of The Outlander series.

There have been people who have taken issues with certain elements of the book. One of them includes the depiction of religion. Some have said that it is used to manipulate others to spread their version of God’s word. There’s no doubt that priests in Catholic France would have done something like this to suit their view of Catholicism. My problem is that Sloane does something similar to advance the message about Mother Earth. It’s like when bad people cajole others to believe a message, it’s wrong, but when a good person does it, it’s good?

Also, at one point, one of the priests sexually assaults Sloane while he’s trying to get her to confess her sins. She is no doubt traumatized, but she deals with it by trying to have sex with another man. Many readers had a problem with it because it’s not how people should handle a situation like that. I had a similar initial thought with, “Ok…why? Wouldn’t you not want to have sex for a while after that incident?”

But, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it makes sense for Sloane. Since she has a powerful memory, she remembers everything, both good and bad. For her, she wants to rewrite it with a better one. There are people who are like Sloane and have to have different associations with places and things. For example, I had a friend who went through a terrible break up last year. One of the places they went to was a restaurant in Grand Rapids. When I visited her, she wanted to go to that place to “erase” the memory of the dude she dated. The point is that with Sloane, wanting to have sex after experiencing sexual assault is a realistic response even if it’s not the most appropriate. After all, she makes some incredible stupid decisions, but once readers know why, it’s understandable. Plus, if every character had perfect reactions to bad things, they would be quite boring.

My main issue with The 23rd Hero is the structure. From the blurb, one would think that Sloane would spend plenty of time in sixteenth century France. Surprisingly, she doesn’t. In fact, she doesn’t actually travel through time until over halfway through the novel. The book spends a good chunk of the time on her training and her romance with Bastian, which makes sense since they all are a part of her journey. I wish that Sloane would’ve gotten to time travel sooner. It’s like what if Cinderella went to the ball in the third act as opposed to the second one. Also, once Sloane is in France, her time is brief. I wish that there was more time spent on the mission once she’s in the past. As it is, it felt underwhelming.

The 23rd Hero by Rebecca Anne Nguyen is a fine time travel romance. The first half got me invested in the world the characters live in and in Sloane. However, once the time travel happened, it kind of lost me. I wish that occurred sooner, so more time could be spent in 1500s France. I still liked it though. I would only recommend this to those love time travel romances like The Outlander series and to those who enjoy reading about characters embracing their “superpowers.” While it’s not a bad book, I think it could’ve been better. Maybe I’ll read another one that involves a caveman.

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The Cheesemaker’s Daughter Book Review

Full disclosure: I was given a free advance reader copy of this book by Author Marketing Experts in exchange for an honest review.

When I search for books online or at a store, certain words will pop out. These include “girl,” “woman,” “wife,” and “daughter.” This is especially true with the last word as I have seen that in several novels, usually in the The ___’s Daughter format. This was big back in the 2000s and 2010s, but the trend has died down since then. But, books like today’s subject The Cheesemaker’s Daughter by Kristin Vukovic prove that it hasn’t gone away entirely. The novel earns that title for its exploration of the main character and identity along with having a wonderful setting.

The Cheesemaker’s Daughter is about a woman who tries to save her family’s cheese factory in Croatia. As her marriage unravels, New Yorker Marina Maržić returns to Pag Island to help her father with his struggling cheese factory, Sirana. She is forced to confront her Croatian-American identity and her past as a refugee from the former Yugoslavia while she lives with her parents and starts a new life working at the factory. While she gradually settles into the place that she once called home, her life becomes inextricably intertwined with the island’s cheese. On top of that, when her past with the son of a rival cheesemaker comes back to haunt her on the divided island, she must find a way to save Sirana and learn to belong on her own terms.

First, let’s get this out of the way: I like cheese just fine. I like it on burgers, hot dogs, pasta, salads, crackers, and pizza. I won’t eat it by itself. In other words, it needs to be on something if I’m going to eat it. However, Vukovic does such a great job describing the various cheeses, especially the taste, made throughout the novel that it makes me want to take a bite out of them. It’s also clear that she loves the process of making cheese as there are plenty of descriptions of how Sirana puts them together. Normally, I would put my recommendation towards the end, but I have to say that for the descriptions alone, cheese lovers will enjoy this, both for the food and how it’s created.

The setting and how Vukovic paints it is exquisite. Much of the story is set on Pag Island, which is a part of Croatia. Vukovic portrays it as a rugged, but beautiful place filled with tradition. Readers also get to learn about its history being influenced by regions like Venice and Yugoslavia as well as the impact that the Bosnian War (1992-1995) had. For those who don’t know, the Bosnian War took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina and was a key factor in the collapse of Yugoslavia. Even Operation Storm – the last major battle for Croatian Independence and major outcome of the war in general – has a pivotal role in the book. On top of that, the book takes place in 2012-2013 when Croatia was about to enter the European Union. The author does a great job with depicting Pag Island realistically but not forgetting what makes it special, especially its cheese. This is important, for why would Marina return to it if she didn’t think of Pag Island in those ways?

In addition, Pag Island is a great location to reflect on identity. As mentioned earlier, the island was influenced by a bunch of cultures and world events. Marina, too, is a product of similar circumstances. Even though she grew up on Pag Island, her father sent her to live in New York City as a Croatian refugee during the Bosnian War when she was a teenager. As a result, she has many conflicting identities, both as a Croatian and as an American since she has survivor’s guilt for escaping the war when there were people, especially ones she knew, who didn’t. Moreover, she also reconciles her role as a wife, sister, and daughter, while she forges her own.

Finally, Marina is a wonderful character. The Cheesemaker’s Daughter wouldn’t work without such a multi-faceted person like her. When readers meet her, she has left her marriage in the United States to spend time in her homeland of Croatia, but her problems don’t go away. When she was a teenager, she had a romance with a guy from a rival cheesemaker family on the island, yet she may or may not still have feelings for him. Additionally, she has a lot of trauma, not only with the national one as a result of the Bosnian War, but also she experienced a miscarriage. She goes through depression, but she finds purpose in working at Sirana. Mirana is a strong-willed individual, yet she’s vulnerable. Her relationship with her equally strong-minded father Nikola is also interesting. A lot of Marina’s trauma was the result of the decisions that he made from sending her to New York City to the origins of the feud with the rival cheesemaker. I was wholly invested in her journey to find where she truly belongs and to transform into the cheesemaker.

If I had one complaint about this book, it would be that it has too many conflicts happen right after another. Let me elaborate. There’s always something that occurs without much breathing space, especially in the second half. Granted, the novel spends some time divulging into how Marina feels about all of these developments, so it’s not like they don’t get brought up again. It simply felt a bit too melodramatic. 

The Cheesemaker’s Daughter by Kristin Vukovic is a good story about one woman’s journey for a sense of belonging. Pag Island was a wonderful location that reflects the conflicts the main character goes through. I enjoyed how the novel explores identity, and a lot of the book wouldn’t work without such a character like Marina. Also, it’s got plenty of descriptions of cheese and a loving portrayal of the process. Along with cheese lovers, I would recommend this book to readers who love stories that take place in Croatia and in other countries that were formerly part of Yugoslavia; tackle identity, national and generational trauma; and the sense of belonging. It’s been awhile since The ___’s Daughter became a trend, but this one rightfully earns it because it proves that Marina is more than just the cheesemaker’s daughter. The Cheesemaker’s Daughter is out tomorrow, August 6, so go grab it wherever you get your books.

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Adapt Me Podcast – The Haunting of Maddy Clare

Hi Everybody!

Grab your 1920s ghost hunting kits and take a trip to the countryside because returning guest Mel B. – owner of BDA Publishing – and I talk about how we would adapt “The Haunting of Maddy Clare” by Simone St. James on the latest episode of the Adapt Me Podcast. You can check it out at this link.

In the meantime, you can see my review of The Haunting of Maddy Clare here.

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The Haunting of Maddy Clare Book Review

I’ve read a handful of mysteries, yet there’s one kind that I haven’t encountered in a while: a ghost story. The fact that it has taken me this long to read a book with this kind of plot is actually not surprising. I’ve never cared that much about ghosts, for I haven’t had any formal experiences with them. But, I can imagine how it would feel especially after I read today’s book The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James. It’s a mystery novel that beautifully blends many genres together and richly explores characters and trauma even if the mystery itself was easy to figure out.

The Haunting of Maddy Clare is about a woman summoned to assist a ghost hunter. In 1920s England, Sarah Piper lives a lonely life when her temporary agency sends her to aid Alistair Gellis – a rich, handsome, and obsessive ghost hunter who’s also scarred by World War I. He has been sent to investigate the spirit of the 19-year-old maid Maddy Clare. It has been said that she still haunts the barn in which she took her own life. Maddy hated men while she was alive, and she refuses to speak to them in death. Sarah is unprepared to confront the angry ghost on her own. She’s even more so when Matthew Ryder arrives. He is Alistair’s rough associate. He, too, fought in the war, and his scars go deeper than Sarah realizes. Soon, she is caught up in a desperate struggle, for she discovers that Maddy is real, angry, and has powers that defy all reason. Sarah and Matthew must discover who Maddy was, where she came from, and her reason for vengeance before she destroys them all.

On the surface, The Haunting of Maddy Clare may seem like a mystery that deals with ghosts in the 1920s, but it’s more than that. It blends history, the paranormal, and romance that sparks between Sarah and Matthew naturally. Each is given its attention in ways that reflect the characters and the times, while the others are actively working in the background. I especially love how it addresses the historical context. Since the book takes place in early 1920s England, the Great War (aka World War I) was still fresh in people’s minds. Alistair and Matthew both were in the trenches and suffered the consequences of engaging in constant warfare. The latter even more so, but people didn’t talk about the mental health of soldiers at that time. This colors Matthew as a character, his struggles, and the relationship between him and Sarah. 

Each of the three main characters are well-developed and have a clear reason for why they want to go on this ghost hunt. For Alistair, he’s obsessed with the paranormal, and it’s a good way to get out of his dull life living by himself in a mansion with a bunch of servants to attend to him. For Matthew, it’s a distraction from his personal demons as he works on the recording equipment. Then, for Sarah, it’s the feeling of being important and secure. Prior, she felt like she was unimportant as she went from job and job without much security. She becomes more confident in herself when Alistair and Matthew discover more of her potential as she interacts with Maddy. As a result, I was wholly invested to see how these characters interact with each other and react to how the mystery unfolds, especially when Maddy starts manifesting herself in other ways.

I also love how it explores the theme of trauma and its effects on people’s wellbeing. Both Alistair and Matthew have varying degrees of that after fighting in a war, and both deal with it in different ways. Sarah has trauma related to the death of her parents due to the Spanish Flu. The way that they, especially her mother, died made her feel insignificant and that no one cared for her. Even Maddy had a horrific experience being taken advantage of, which led to her refusing to speak and avoiding men in general while she was a servant to the Clare family. Even her death was related to that event.

The Haunting of Maddy Clare reminded me so much of the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series by Louise Penny. It was in the way that the story was about the people involved just as much as the mystery. I could tell that St. James enjoyed writing characters, which in turn, made me – the reader – feel invested in their journey to find the truth about Maddy. It’s a shame that the book is not part of a series because it would’ve been a good debut. I would have liked to see one with Sarah, Matthew, and Alistair as they go ghost hunting in other places.

As much as I praise the book, it will always be good, but not great for one reason: the mystery itself. It was easy to figure out why Maddy remained in the Clare barn and more importantly, who assaulted her when she was alive. It wasn’t a loud hint per se, yet there weren’t many other suspects who knew her. And, the ones who did were arrogant, had something to hide, or both.

The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James is a good historical mystery. Even if the mystery part was easy to deduce, I was still invested because of the characters. They were well developed, and I wanted to see how they were going to figure it out and react to the latest developments in the case. It also helps that the historical, paranormal, and romantic aspects were well handled. St. James definitely did her research on how England acted after World War I. I would recommend this novel to readers who love historical mysteries, want more character development in their whodunits, and watch Acorn TV. I’m not into ghosts all that much, but I was into this story.

Before I go, I want to let everyone know that I have recorded the latest episode of the Adapt Me Podcast recently. Returning guest Mel B – owner of DBA Publishing and I talk about how we would adapt this novel. Keep an eye out for the link.

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Go West, Girl! Book Review

Full disclosure: I was given a free kindle copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review.

Move over, Annie Oakley! There’s a new sharpshooter town. Her name is Jeannie Delaney. I usually don’t read a whole lot of westerns, but when I heard about Go West, Girl! by Kit MacKenzie, whose main character is a bisexual cowgirl, I was intrigued. And overall, it was pretty good, for it had an intriguing framework, a unique voice, and compelling characters.

Go West, Girl! is the first book in the Jeannie Delaney series. Jeannie is devastating and charismatic. She can be tough as nails, and her looks can kill by staring at anybody. She grew up in New Orleans with her parents and several brothers. Her mother wants her to act like other girls, while her father is fine with who Jeannie wants to be. The family moves to Wyoming when she is 10 years old. As Jeannie grows up, she discovers that she has a phenomenal gun hand, a powerful persona, and a fluid sexuality. Many men and women desire her, and there are some that she yearns for as well. However, she finds it difficult to live on a land, where a number of men want her dead. She kills two of them in self-defense and is wanting to take revenge on a group who harmed a dear friend. Will she be able to live the life she wants to live?

Go West, Girl! is essentially a biography of the fictional Jeannie Delaney. What makes it interesting is the framework. The first two chapters center around a journalist named Kate Howard. She’s desperate to write a book about Jeannie because of how much she admires her. At first, Jeannie is not keen on the idea, but later on, she tells Kate to “give it to ‘em in a barrel load” and make it pretty.

I wonder what parts that Kate “wrote” about Jeannie are the truth. Sadly, she disappears afterwards. Maybe Kate will come back in the second volume. I’m also curious to know how Jeannie will react to it when the biography is done. Regardless, this framework shows the motive of writing such a story about someone the writer admires so much. The Last Days of the Midnight Ramblers by Sarah Tomilson does this too, but it emphasizes the ghostwriter so much that it leaves behind what makes the subject that they’re working on so special. Go West, Girl rightly focuses on Jeannie while still finding the time to develop the journalist.

Since the novel mostly takes place in the American West, various characters speak in that dialect. Words like “I” and “something” are turned into “Ah” and “summat.” This is on purpose because people living in such a rugged area are not going to talk like those in more refined locations. I was able to understand what the characters were saying even if I had to read it outloud sometimes to get it. So, no, it doesn’t need a professional edit.

But of course, the book’s crowning achievement are the fleshed-out characters. Jeannie is quickly established as a strong and confident woman. She always knew that she was different since she was a kid when she favored pants over dresses. There are plenty of scenes that demonstrate that side of her personality. However, I felt more for her when she showed her softer side. I enjoyed the scenes, in which she tells stories to people, especially the children (much to the dismay of their parents.) It displays one more side of why people like her. She’s even vulnerable and doubtful at times. These come in the second half of the story when she’s discovering more of her sexuality, and she doesn’t know what to do. I wondered how she was going to deal with that since she couldn’t always shoot it away nor retort with a witty line.

It’s not just Jeannie who’s fleshed out. I love her dad Dean (lovingly called Pa.) He was the parent who supported her decision to wear pants and dress more masculine when she was a child. Pa was also the one that allowed her to work with the farmhands when they relocated to the west, particularly during their cattle drives, and taught her how to use a gun. At the same time, he later ponders on what would’ve happened if Jeannie acted like a lady once in a while. Even her brothers have a variety of thoughts on her choices. Most are supportive and try to help (even if it’s not what she wants), yet her oldest brother is religious and expresses his disappointment with her “lifestyle” in one scene.

This book is not for everyone. The language can be quite foul, especially with the f-word being dropped on several occasions. Some readers might interpret it as vulgar. Furthermore, there are a handful of scenes, in which Jeannie has her rendezvouses with men and women. These are tastefully done, yet I understand that there will always be people who don’t like love-making depicted in books and in media in general.

I have only one minor complaint. Some characters are of color, and they mainly exist to help Jeannie – a white woman. For example, when Jeannie gets herself into a fight with some men at the saloon, an Asian man notices and performs martial arts to defeat them. She asks him if he could teach her his moves, and he agrees. Readers never hear from him again. Earlier in the book when her family are in New Orleans, Jeannie goes to Jackson Square and sees some Africans dancing in a way she’s never seen before. They show her their moves. Like with the Asian man, they are never heard from again, but the dancing comes back into play when she attends a barn dance in Wyoming years later, proving how different she is from other women. 

Go West, Girl! by Kit MacKenzie is a wonderful story about a courageous bixsexual cowgirl. Jeannie Deleany is an interesting character who’s more than just a sharpshooter. The exploration of her vulnerable side is what elevates her. Other characters like her father and brothers are well developed too. Also, the language fits well with the environment, and the framework makes me wonder how much truth is being presented. I would recommend this to readers who want more strong, confident women and LGBTQ+ characters in their western novels. The second volume The Outlaw’s Return is coming out on Saturday, August 3, so if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to order my copy.

Interview with Bari Beckett

Full disclosure: this interview was recorded at the Bloomfield Township Public Library in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and has been edited for clarification.

Hello Everybody,

We have something special on Book Reviews by a Chick Who Reads Everything today. Our guest is the author of the book Big Love. Please welcome, Bari Beckett.

Bari: Hello! Thank you for having me.

Emily: Of course! How are you doing today, Bari?

Bari: I’m doing great. It’s sunny out and warm, my kind of weather.

Emily: Absolutely, and as we do this interview in a library, where it’s nice and cool and quiet. What was the catalyst for writing Big Love?

Bari: You know, I am online dating. I’m divorced, and I met someone. He’s a recruiter for hockey. He owns his own company. But I never really met him. I talked to him and everything, and then, he found someone else before I could meet them. But I did a story off of it. What would it be like to be in love with a person like that or any person really, but it got me to writing. How it started was I wrote [to] him like I texted him the sexy note saying what I would do if we were with your friends at a table. I would pass you a note to meet me in the bathroom, and then he wrote this really romantic sexy text back.

Emily: Ooo!

Bari: So then what happened was I started writing these little mini stories. So I would write him one, and then, he would love it, and then he met someone, but I continued to write the stories, and that’s why it’s 40 short stories. But really, it’s one book about the same characters into their 90s.

Emily: Wow! That’s really wonderful. I’m glad that you were inspired to make a book like this because if anything, books are always about imagination. Yes, there’s a lot of things that are based on some reality, but sometimes we take too much of the truth. I’m glad that we still act like every story that we put on is still based in some form of imagination.

Bari: Exactly! It’s like that, and I think everybody wants somebody to really love that, you know, and then you know, I write hot spicy romance. But really wanting this spice to communicate your love is one of the ways, and that’s what the book’s about.

Emily: Oh, that’s wonderful. To you, what is big love?

Bari: Big love is big. It’s gorgeous love. It’s like loving somebody for who they are and who they’re not and being really intimate with them because you want to express how much you love them. But also outside the bedroom, being okay with the way like some of their weirdness do you know? And, just loving them like one of the things in the book, one of my favorite ones is called “The Dance.” It’s one of the chapters, and it’s really romantic, where he looks at her across the room, and they can read each other. And, they come together to dance. And then, they make this beautiful love, but it’s like they know each other, and that’s what Big Love is all about, just really being there for each other.

Emily: That’s so wonderful. I was just looking at that chapter, and I definitely see where you’re coming from with the big dance and just how much love they have for each other whether it’s private or public.

Bari: Exactly.

Emily: What are some ways people can tap into big love? I know you discussed being out and open about your love and accepting your partner no matter who they are, no matter their flaws.

Bari: You know, love is different for everyone. So, my way of love is expressing, you know, really being straight with them and telling them, “Hey, I love you. And, I love you for all these reasons and even the goofy ones.”

And, that’s why in the back, I have pages where they can make up their own love stories because love is different for everyone.

Emily: Absolutely! I’m glad you mentioned those blank pages at the end because my next question was about that. One of the most unique things about this book is that there are over 60 pages, which allows readers to tell their own love story. What made you think of that?

Bari: I just thought that people sometimes forget after a number of years of being married of why they’ve been married. And, even single people, what do they want in a relationship? What kind of love story do they want and how can they imagine it? So, it’s for the couples that maybe it’s stopped getting spicy, and they start spicing it up by reading these. I encourage them to read what they wrote to each other and then act it out. And, it’s for the single people to really imagine what it would be like to have this love story you’ll always want and create it.

Emily: It’s so wonderful. Even my husband and I have been looking at parts of Big Love. We have a good relationship, but in any relationship, we always can be better, and there’s things that we want out of it, and we’ve been doing more of it. Thank you, Bari.

Bari: You are welcome. That’s the purpose of the book. That makes me happy. Even though it’s hot and spicy, there’s a purpose to the book. The purpose is that people forget how much they really fell in love and that, you know, being spicy in the bedroom is a good thing and that kind of gets you closer together.

Emily: Big Love is one of those books, where it’s very much chasing your dreams and passions, especially when it comes to relationships. What do you say to women who hesitate to chase after their own dreams? 

Bari: Right. I’m 64 years old, and I’m not embarrassed to say it, and I am living my dream as an author right now. And, one of the things I do is a couple of things. I have a Facebook page called Dream Up, where women older can get support and live their dreams and advertise what they do. Women own businesses, you know, get skills, and I just started it for that reason because the characters in the book are older. And, you know, we think women after a certain age don’t have passion, don’t have love, and we are the same people. We just happen to have a lot more wrinkles and gray hair. So yeah, so that’s what encouraged me. I’m a really creative person and writing makes me, it calms me and makes me so happy. So, everybody still has a dream, whether you’re 20 years old or whether you’re 80 years old, I want you to be able to. I want to encourage people to not give up.

Emily: Lovely on that! I have to confess that I cried while reading parts of it, especially when you were defining big love. What kinds of reactions have you gotten from people about the book?

Bari: It’s just, you know, a love story. People think it’s smut. You know, people would think it’s a smutty book, but when you read the book, it’s really truly like a Romeo and Juliet book, you know, like it’s just love, and that’s what that’s part of the reason it’s big love. So, and that’s why there’s parts of it that there isn’t, you know, sex in it. There’s you know, what does it mean to be in love? And, you know, like one of my favorite things I say is that the man reaches his hand out and makes sure you don’t walk behind and look beside him. 

Emily: I remember that part. It was so beautiful.

Bari: And, then the spicy part, you know, I write about that too is, you know, one of you sleeps naked, and one of you wears something a little fancy. And then, if that’ll spice up your ‘cause you’re there, you know, how do I say it your love life.

Emily: That’s certainly wonderful. How does your husband feel about the book?

Bari: I’m not married. I’m single. I think if I had a husband because I’ve learned from this book, I think it would be magical. And, I’m committed that other women and men have magical relationships. It helped me to figure out what I wanted in a relationship. So, as I was going through it, I was like the reader.

Emily: That’s really nice because I imagined that anybody would see themselves in this book to various degrees because love is different for everybody. And, I’ve heard they’ll find different things that they’ll get attached to.

Bari: Exactly.

Emily: I run the “Adapt Me Podcast,” where a guest and I talk about books that have never been adapted and how we would go about it. Who would you cast as yourself and your fantasy lover in a possible adaptation?

Bari: I love Minnie Driver, but she’s getting older. I don’t know how old she is. She’s not as old as me. And…..I don’t know who I put, for he would have to be calm and sturdy and tall cause the guy in this book Big Love is tall, so I don’t know I would have to think about that.

Emily: I certainly have some options. You got Robert Redford, and he’s still alive.

Bari: That actually would be great. I want to show young people that there is a life for you after you grow up, you know. And, I want to show people that are my age or, you know, you’re in your 40s and you’re like, “I don’t want you to be counting the years. I want you to be living the years.”

Emily: And, that’s the beauty of it. You know how we always try to live life to the fullest and pursue our dreams as much as we can, and sometimes it just gets caught up in everything. So, I’m glad you mentioned that.

Bari: Thank you.

Emily: Besides being a writer, since we’ve talked a lot about dreams, what are some of your own dreams?

Bari: I am writing a book called Ungraceful, and it’s about a girl Grace that’s ungraceful.

Emily: Oh no!

Bari: She’s in her 30s, and she’s never really stepped out in her life. She has a mother that’s very perfect. And she’s like ballerina perfect and always wanted a daughter that was perfect. And, she got Grace. 

Emily: Ah geez!

Bari: So, it goes from there. I’m still writing it. It’s going to take me to write it. So, it’s a story I’ve had in my head for 10 years, and I hope eventually it becomes a movie.

Emily: Oh, that will be wonderful. That sounds like a wonderful, powerful story.

Bari: Thank you.

Emily: Besides Ungraceful, what are some other projects that you are working on now?

Bari: I have The Frenchman out. Sometimes, books are based on experiences I had, and I met a Frenchman that was a producer at the Whitney in New York. And, it started from there, and then, I met somebody that I actually fell in love with in an elevator.

Emily: Wow!

Bari: We looked at each other, and we fell in love. So, that’s the second part of the book and how it transitions into that. So, that also is out right now.

Emily: For readers who constantly check on Book Reviews by a Chick Who Reads Everything, I will have my review of The Frenchman out in the near future.

Bari: Great!

Emily: Indeed, where can people find you?

Bari: Well, they can find me on baribeckett.com, or they can email me if they have any questions or anything at barilynn1218@yahoo.com. I’m on Amazon. Our books are on Amazon, Etsy, and Kobo Worldwide.

Emily: That’s absolutely perfect! So, thank you so much for talking to me today. This was so wonderful.

Bari: Thank you!

Emily: You’re very welcome.

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