4 Stars | Lost in a Good Book

The Art of Raising Hell by Thomas Lopinski

14 May 2015 1 Comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, Young Adult Tags: ebook, fiction, four stars, thomas lopinski, young adult

Published: 25th March 2015
Publisher: Dark Alley Press
Pages: 191
Format: Ebook
Genre: Young Adult
★ ★ ★ ★ – 4 Stars

“There are some people that walk around on two feet and others like me that run on all four.” Newbie Johnson tries to understand the meaning of this statement while learning about friendship, loss, and love as a small town teenager.

“The Art Of Raising Hell” is a coming of age story set in the 1970s that centers around four teenagers and their involvement with a larger-than-life character named Lonny Nack.

Newbie had recently moved to Bunsen Creek, when his mother is killed in a devastating car crash. Nursing a broken soul, he soon hooks up with the three best friends a guy could ever ask for and meets the love of his life, Sally Nack.

Sally’s brother, Lonny, fears no one, including The Law, and soon takes his peculiar sense of justice, along with his love of practical jokes, to new heights while entertaining the colorful characters of Kickapoo County.

Note: I was provided with a copy of this book from the author for review.

This coming of age story has a wonderful balance of fun, self-awareness, and profoundness to make it a rather moving story. In essence it is just about growing up in the 1970s but Lopinski makes it much more than that. Newbie tells the story with a sense of reflection and while a lot of the story discusses the various adventures and misadventures he and his friends had growing up, there is a great and meaningful story as well. It becomes about making deep and important friendships, about leaving childhood innocence behind and finding your place in the world, and accepting changes and challenges both big and small.

The tone is light but is very much one of being narrated to, Newbie’s voice reads like he’s telling someone his story, which essentially he is, and with that comes a certain type of language. It does work well, even the few places where it references that a story is being told to a reader, but these are minimal and getting caught up in Newbie’s storytelling overrides any minor narration quirks.

The time period covered crosses many years and can often skip months at a time, but Lopinksi maintains the flow of the story nicely and the narrative never falters, nor do you lose track of the story. It was quite interesting to see how the characters grew and changed over the years and the differences this had on their perspectives on life and the wisdom they thought they held.

Despite being told from Newbie’s perspective, Lopinski seamlessly weaves in the stories and lives of other people in the town in a way that feel natural and real and helps you get to know them as well. Characters are connected in ways you do not understand at first and by the end everything is wrapped up beautifully and loose ends and unanswered questions you had forgotten about or didn’t realise were unanswered are all addressed impeccably.

Lopinksi treats his characters right and everyone gets a decent representation. There are no one-dimensional side kick friends or characters just for the sake of characters. Each character has their own story and even if their appearance if brief, Lopinski manages to still tell their story and bring a bit of life to them with a history and personality.

Lonny is one of these great characters, he seems wild and unruly but he isn’t a bad influence or a rough character, just someone who likes to cause mischief and live life to the fullest. In a way Lonny is both the main focus of the story while still being a semi background character. He has a huge presence in town and almost everyone admires him or knows him, and a lot of Newbie’s life centres around him. I liked that Lopinski didn’t make Lonny a bad person, or someone who only Newbie stood up for. He is complicated and energetic and having him flit in and out of the story was an excellent move, it let the great friendship between Newbie and his main friends develop and strengthen, while still enabling him to have a huge impact on their lives.

Lopinski doesn’t make this a happily ever after but he concludes it well and with a feeling that everything is going to be alright, even after all that has happened. I really liked this story, it is insightful and reflective without being too intense and over the top, and it is filled with surprises and moments, good and bad, that capture a moving tale about being young, growing up, and learning some of the harder lessons in life.

You can purchase The Art of Raising Hell via the following

Amazon

Amazon Aust

Flank Street by A. J. Sendall

11 May 2015 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, Crime, Thriller Tags: a.j sendall, crime, crime thriller, ebook, four stars, In the Sydney Underworld, thriller

Published: 15th May 2015
Publisher: Ascend Digital Publications
Pages: 310
Format: Ebook
Genre: Crime Thriller
★ ★ ★ ★ – 4 Stars

Flank Street is set in Australia, mainly in Sydney’s Kings Cross. It’s written in first person from the distorted reality of Micky DeWitt, a shiftless career criminal and world sailor.

Micky arrives in Sydney by boat, broke and on the lookout for opportunity. After taking a job as barman in a Kings Cross pub, he’s eventually approached by a high-end escort who needs something stolen.

Nothing is what it seems, as Micky falls into a honey trap that spins his life out of control.
Some characters from Heather make an appearance, including Mitchell, and the enigmatic Ray Peterson.

Note: I was provided with a copy of this book from the author for review.

This is the second book in the Sydney Underworld series and takes place before the events set in Heather but remains connected to the life at Kings Cross and includes many familiar faces. It was interesting to read about what the Cross was like before Loretto Reed took over and where certain characters started out, and knowing how the story pans out it was great to see little clues and references scattered throughout. Reading this also made me realise I had made assumptions in Heather which I hadn’t noticed, and having read Heather it made this a better read as well because there was a deeper understanding of even minor characters.

Told from a first-person perspective Flank Street focuses on Micky, a guy with a mysterious past who turns up to Sydney on his boat with the intention of getting involved with the underbelly of Sydney life. I liked Micky’s no-nonsense approach, he knew what he wanted and he went out and got it. His history is not really known and while he makes passing references to where he has been, there is still not a lot known about him. While I would love to know more about Micky’s history it isn’t important to the story and it also made him fit in well with his new life, someone with secrets, a vague past, with a certain set of skills.

It’s hard not to see similarities between Heather and Sam from the first book and Micky and Carol in this one, but at the same time they are also totally separate as well. While Sam enters the Kings Cross life after being convinced by another and with a mission to achieve, Micky chooses it because it is a world where he is comfortable and a place where he is looking to get in with a particular type of people and seeing where that road leads him.

Having only heard about Carol in snippets previously it was easy to see her as a victim, but getting to know her makes you realise she isn’t the nicest person, nor is she that innocent. From early on Carol got little sympathy for me, she was manipulative and selfish and it appears she has secrets of her own. Her association with Micky was curious, never quite trusting one another and both trying to get something from the other. Micky isn’t a fool, he is smart and he is wary but he does get talked into things. Even after telling himself she is not to be trusted that she is playing him, he still goes along with her ideas, against his gut instinct.

I loved getting back into the gritty Underworld of Sydney, albeit from a different angle. Sendall captures the atmosphere of that life and the control one person can have over a place but doesn’t make it too over the top, unrealistic, or even overly dramatic. The hidden threat and the secret agenda of nearly everyone involved means that everyone can be hiding something and not really knowing what people are thinking or are capable of makes for an enthralling read.

Much like Heather this story is one of boats, the underworld, and an outsider looking for a way in, but Sendall makes it much more than that. He has managed to create an elaborate story with intricate connections and complex and mysterious characters that all come together in an engaging and clever read. Flank Street is a wonderful continuation of the series and with a conclusion that boggles your mind and makes you rethink everything you have read Sendall makes sure to uphold your interest and eagerness for the next book in the series.

You can purchase Flank Street via the following

Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com | Amazon.com.au

Barnes & Noble | Createspace

More for the Heart (#2) by Ekta R. Garg

06 May 2015 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, Romance, Short Stories, Stories in Pairs Tags: ebook, ekta r garg, four stars, love, romance, short story, Stories in Pairs

Published: 7th April 2015
Publisher: Prairie Sky Publishing
Pages: 65
Format: ebook
Genre: Short stories/Romance
★ ★ ★ ★ – 4 Stars

Two more stories about the power of love. Two more stories about the characters you remember. Two more stories for the heart.

“Making The Proposal”: Readers learned in Two for the Heart about the end of Pooja and Akshay’s unique arrangement—get married and then prepare their divorce papers—but did you wonder how it began? Just how did Pooja and Akshay make this crazy deal in the first place? Find out in this first story in More for the Heart.

“Reminiscence”: In Two for the Heart, sisters Rose and Helen reconnect with great reluctance after an 11-year estrangement. These two women have spent more than a decade apart. What convinces Rose to stay this time around? Sit at the table with Rose and watch her internal transformation in the second story in More for the Heart.

Note: I was provided with a copy of this book from the author for review.

This second installment in Garg’s Stories in Pairs continues the stories from the first set but with a slightly different angle. In ‘Making the Proposal’ Garg rewinds the clock and offers a prequel of sorts to Pooja and Akshay’s story with additional information than what was provided originally. Once again getting involved in both these characters lives was wonderful and gaining more insight into their relationship and being given new information about their arranged courtship provides another level and depth to the story we already know. Pooja and Akshay are character you can’t help but love, they are great together and Garg demonstrates their new relationship and developing friendship naturally with banter, humour, and understandable uncertainty.

The second story, ‘Reminiscence’, does not continue the story on so much as offer an alternate perspective. With Helen’s sister Rose the new point of view it enables an insight into her character and through Rose’s reflections and self-evaluation a better understanding of her relationship with Helen is generated. While this does little to progress the story it does add to character development and builds on the sisters’ relationship with one another and highlights the hostility between them.

Garg is extremely clever in her construction of these stories, especially in these second installments that follow the first. The retelling of sorts with Pooja and Akshay, and the new perspective with Rose and Helen change how these stories are viewed but it also maintains the narrative and the feeling that has already been established. Once again I enjoyed Pooja and Akshay’s story a bit more than ‘Reminiscence’, though I couldn’t really tell you why. Both stories are clever and very skilfully told, but Pooja and Akshay have a relationship that you can’t help but fall in love with.

In terms of construction, Garg uses her words carefully and doesn’t waste them putting in things unnecessarily. Character opinions and intentions are made clear without needing long explanations and with such few pages to work with Garg manages to tell complete stories creatively and with style.

I would still love to see this collection as a novel, even with the alternating stories and character points of view, mainly because Garg’s stories are so sweet and despite the length of the stories they capture your attention and are quite interesting. Having said that I also love how Garg has approached telling these stories, I think it is clever and creative and I look forward to the next set of stories and seeing where Garg takes the series.

You can purchase More for the Heart via the following

Amazon | Amazon Aust

Barnes and Noble | Smashwords

In Your Sights by Elizabeth Krall

07 Apr 2015 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, Romance Tags: ebook, elizabeth krall, four stars, romance, romantic suspense, suspense

Published: 14th December 2014
Publisher: Self published
Pages: 280
Format: ebook
Genre: Romantic suspense
★ ★ ★ ★ – 4 Stars

Caroline Bready is being watched. Someone has posted a photograph of her on a mysterious website.
Still struggling to rebuild her life after the unsolved death of her husband, Caroline tells herself that the photo is unimportant. She drifts into an affair with a colleague; the relationship begins casually, but quickly becomes intense and disturbing.
After Caroline discovers the first victim of a serial rapist who has begun to attack women in Sydney, another photograph appears. Are the online images a threat, or simply coincidence?
Against a backdrop of deception and lies, Caroline finds herself drawn to an enigmatic stranger. Is he protecting her, or does he mean her harm?
If Caroline cannot distinguish friend from foe, it could cost her life.

Note: I was provided with a copy of this book for review.

Krall’s story is one that is filled with suspense and the unexpected which makes it a wonderful read. She is great at misdirection and red herrings and creating multiple mysteries to solve. The plot is fascinating and a wonderful approach for a mystery. There is a range of things happening in this story; romance, crime, suspense and intrigue, and Krall links them together aptly and intersects them with ease.

The characters are curious, certainly odd and peculiar, and unfortunately for some I didn’t have much of a connection with. They are not flat per se, but they were bland and despite a few being given a chunk of back story, it didn’t help bring them to life.

There is the good detective who stays awake worrying about the case he cannot solve, main character Caroline who is naive and a little foolish, she isn’t the brightest person for someone working in IT, and there is the emotionally abusive fling who Caroline has no misunderstanding about his relationship with her but she still manages to be blind to some of his faults despite it being clear to others.

The characters seem to be connected to the roles they play in the story which means they have little to them when examined on their own. They are at times simple and one dimensional but I appreciated them in the story and the support they provided in continuing the narrative. The mystery and the compelling plot pull you along so in that sense the characters play their roles well which adds to the suspense.

The events of the story appear to be unconnected but with overlapping events and characters coming together, soon the unconnected becomes connected and everyone becomes a suspect. Not knowing what to expect makes this an exciting read and Krall is skilled at leading the reader in one direction only to have it stop at a dead end or veer off entirely.

Krall’s strengths are in her ability to create a captivating story that offers suspense and intrigue and an ongoing whodunit story that never is what it seems. After a reasonable beginning the events of the early chapters come together in an exciting and fast-paced conclusion that even when secrets are revealed remains a suspenseful and thrilling read.

There is sexual content in this story, some of it rougher than most, and the threat of the Redback Rapist is an ongoing topic but Krall limits her descriptions and does not describe outright the sex scenes or makes it too graphic to read. Reece’s behaviour is clearly emotionally abusive and Caroline cannot see that which is frustrating as a reader but it makes the story believable in a way. As annoying as it is, it does show how manipulative people can be in abusive relationships and makes the victim feel like they are in the wrong. Krall uses dialogue quite cleverly to show how Reece twists Caroline’s words and makes himself out to be a nicer guy than he is. From very early on it is clear that Reece is a horrible person, but the way Krall works with this is on another level entirely and makes gripping reading as a result.

The problem I have is with the ending. On one hand it was a great resolution to the story, it was unexpected and intense, but on the other hand, around a different matter, it seemed wrong. I know Krall tries to justify it, but I still think that there could have been a better direction than the one taken. Other than that this is a great story, there is enough intrigue from the beginning to get you interested and it is maintained until the last pages.

You can purchase In Your Sights via the following

Where Freedom Rings: A Tale of the Underground Railroad by Steven Donahue

30 Mar 2015 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, General Tags: america, ebook, four stars, historical fiction, steven donahue, underground railroad

Published: 28th January 2015
Publisher: Self Published
Pages: 192
Format: ebook
Genre: Historical fiction
★ ★ ★ ★ – 4 Stars

The thrilling story of four slaves who try to escape to the northern area of the United States along the Underground Railroad in 1853.

Kelsa Colver leads her husband and two young sons on the dangerous trek after a fellow slave is murdered by a vindictive slave owner. Along the way, the Colvers are assisted by various abolitionists, including a neighboring farmer, a progressive priest, a sympathetic lawman, and notable figures Harriet Tubman and William Still. However, their efforts are impeded by a dark family secret, and the interventions of a corrupt clergyman, vicious outlaws and greedy slave hunters.

Note: I was provided a copy of this book for review.

The story Donahue has written about Kelsa and her family is a captivating tale and one that depicts the hardships people had to endure and the risks people like the Colvers took in order to have a better life. The life the Colver family on the plantation is hard and the tension is evident, each of them ever fearful of something happening to them. This fear is made worse by hearing stories from other slaves and knowing little mistakes can have major consequences.

While the Colvers personal experiences were not as horrific as those around them, the fear of their daily lives is enough to push Kelsa and her family into escaping and join up with the Underground Railroad in an effort to secure their freedom. There is a lot of danger surrounding the Colvers during their escape and Donahue makes it clear the ongoing jeopardy the family is in. The fact that they are being helped by a network of people doesn’t mean their journey is any less perilous and that their covers may be blown at any time.

Only knowing a small amount of information about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad it was really interesting to see how it worked and the secrecy of those involved. Operating by travelling through various means with the help of white people, as well as freed slaves, and reading about the effort they went through to ensure the survival and freedom of those in their care is pretty astounding.

The narrative manages to capture the tension and the immense pressure that is on the family as well as the abolitionists which adds wonderful drama to the story, never knowing what will happen. The fear Kelsa has about their journey is evident and Donahue expresses her worry in a realistic and very maternal manner. The harrowing journey from the south is filled with intolerance, vagabonds and thieves, as well as disasters that foil the best-laid plans. Quick thinking helps Kelsa navigate her family through the danger but the desire to survive is strong and sometimes self-defence is the only solution.

Kelsa is a wonderful character, she is strong willed and determined to give her family a better life, and she stands up for what is right, though ever wary of her circumstance. Everything she does is for the good of her family and she teaches her boys maths and how to read in order to give them a better chance at life. Her family is occasionally the reason they get in trouble but Kelsa handles it well, reprimanding them when needed and protecting them from others.

Donahue manages to express some of the reasons as well as the many risks slaves and abolitionists took in fighting against the law. The story demonstrates the dangers that faced those escaping and it shows that the journey to freedom was one fraught with danger and one that many took at risk to their own lives. Donahue never makes the lives of slaves or their escape seem simple, nor does he make it seem safe. The goal is always the north but the message is clear that crossing those borders is not always going to mean salvation or security and there may never be an end to the running.

One thing I liked about this story is while the story deals with slavery and living on a plantation, Donahue limits the graphic details about life for slaves without taking away its importance or the brutality. The experiences Kelsa and her family have are harsh but not explicitly shown, and many of the more gruesome and horror stories are told to them by people they meet or mentioned in passing, meaning the realities of their life and others are not ignored, but the details are kept brief and not too graphic.

Being based in a real part of history makes this story quite profound in a way. It demonstrates the hardships of life for slaves and Donahue approaches it with respect and understanding, never trying to make light of America’s past. The journey Kelsa takes with her family is a touching story that brings to life a fictionalised account of a journey that many real people took in hopes for a better life and is a reminder of the goodness of humanity but also the darkness.

You can purchase Where Freedom Rings via the following

Amazon

Amazon Aust

Amazon UK