Finding Grace by B. E. Baker

1. ..before my head cracked against the pavement, arms reach beneath my armpits. When I open my eyes, I’m looking at the upside down, still gorgeous, smiling face of Ben Newberg
2. "She won’t understand when I tell her that the greatest joy in life comes from serving someone else and forgetting yourself. But one day, hopefully soon, she’ll experience it all. And when she does? It will be glorious."

(Finding Home 1) Finding Grace by B. E. Baker

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Rating:

I recommend this romance novel by one of my favorite people, author Bridget E. Baker. Due to diligent research... I know that it is a 'Second chance romance' novel. Romance isn't my normal genre. I do understand "story" very well, however.

Bridget is very good at romance novels. What does that mean?

She's expert enough at story telling, and writing, that she plays the orchestra of the reader's emotions like a virtuoso conductor.

Considering this is a "clean" romance novel, you're not going to be treated to smut, porn, or vulgar language for the sake of entertainment. Considering that 'intentional clean restraint' Bridget has placed on herself, it takes considerable skill to keep the romance 'heating up'. She kept the dramatic tension and emotional tension growing right to the climax of the novel. (Yep, that was intentional. My bad. Not hers.)

If you're a fan of "love" in general, you'll enjoy this one. This is 'book one' in the nine book Finding Home series. I've only read this one book. It "concludes." I am extraordinarily impressed with this fact. I do not need to read another book in this series. I will - because I wonder if Bridget can play my emotions well enough to bring tears to my eyes eight more times.

Finding Grace had a beginning, middle, & end, it asked a 'story question' and answered it. Book complete. Review complete. My job is done

Crime & Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsk

Crime & Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsk

1. Nothing in the world is harder than speaking the truth and nothing easier than flattery.

2. Let my life go, if only my dear ones may be happy!
   

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Rating :

Recommend this classic work of literature. Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov “Rodya,”aka “Rodka” is our protagonist. He's ill throughout most of the novel. The book is primarily about his inner conflict. We come in, he has dropped out of college. You don't know until later but he has had Napoleon on the brain. He developed some ideas about ordinary & extraordinary folks. While still in college he publishes a theory on the topic. Later in the novel this becomes somewhat relevant. When we encounter him, he appears odd. Before long you can assume he's crazy. But is he? Because often he seems entirely rational. This becomes a theme in the book

Dostoyevsky examines a whole host of psychological ideas in this novel. Primarily expressed by our antagonist of sorts, police inspector Porfiry Petrovich, and our protagonist Raskolnikov.

While the story is a bit slow, the ideas can be rather thought provoking.

I learned long ago that classics are simply worth reading. 'Who's list of classics' can make the "all classics are worth it" a challenge.

And now, I've done my job. I recommended the book, told you generally what it is about. If you haven't heard of the novel, maybe pick up a comic book. When's the new season of Sponge Bob?

I had always heard of Fyodor Dostoyevsky & Tolstoy. This Crime & Punishment read is, for me, directly related to Jordan Peterson. It makes sense he would really like this book. After he had mentioned it in a dozen videos, I thought, "This is on his mind a lot." I decided to read it.

Turns out, it is rather deep, "psychologically" and a lot of it makes more sense than any modern day psychological association's general philosophies.

Generally : ----- Spoiler Line -----
Raskolnikov is struggling over whether to kill the local pawnbroker. He's essentially planned it and believing himself extraordinary, thinks he can get away with it. Why he wants to kill her... Perhaps that's much of what the novel is about.

Of Note :
It seemed to me, the most interesting bits of the novel centered on the antagonists, primarily Porfiry Petrovich, but the whole host of characters and why Dostoyevsky has them in this novel helps him flesh out the plot lines and manages to keep it interesting enough.

Likes / Dislikes :
I liked it when we would encounter long tirades by folks like Petrovich. Razumikhin's chattering can be rather amusing also, much like the ranting io Dox Quixote at places. Alan Munro did the reading for me, and he was absolutely brilliant. I stopped to read the book at points wondering if the dialogue was actually written as Mr. Munro was reading it.

My dislikes are petty. Even childish. I was moaning and groaning because I'm not Russian. The characters were not Bob, Ed, Cathy, John. Rather Dmitri Prokofych Razumikhin, Porfiry Petrovich, Ilya Petrovich (unrelated to, I think) Katerina Ivanovna Marmeladov, Pulcheria Alexandrovna Raskolnikov, Andrei Semyonovich Lebezyatnikov, Alyona Ivanovna. Believe it or not, culture is important. Trust me. I've lived in a foreign country for years then moved to another country. They call it "Culture Shock". You can get it from books as well.

The Technical : Critique Info
This is a classic for a number of very good reasons. What comes to mind in a "it's like" thought is War & Peace, 1984, When the Sleeper Wakes, even The Thing From the Lake, although 'why' is mysterious even to me. These are just books that pop into my mind when thinking, "This is like". Perhaps I'm thinking 'mood'?

Conclusion :
It's a classic, can keep you interested throughout, and is thought provoking. Read it.

My oldest brother Bob, who died too young, was going to get himself another college degree by reading. There was some program, if you read this certain list of "Classics" the place would give you a degree in, I forget, but I always thought it likely a very good education if you only sat down and read 100-200 books much like this one.

 

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✒ Written by: Fyodor Dostoevsk
🗣 Read by: Alan Munro
🔊 Format: Digital Audiobook & Ebook
🕑 Run Time: 20:43:00
📚 Length: 516 pages (Varies by edition)

(Life After 1) Huntress by Julie Hall

The room was packed wall-to-wall with huge, well-muscled guys! My stomach dropped. I’d been mistakenly drafted by the afterlife division of the NFL. This had to be a mistake.

Then I thought, "Eaten alive? How was that even possible when you were already dead?"
  

(Life After 1) Huntress by Julie Hall Review

My thoughts on Review spoilers, and ratings may be relevant before you venture below --- the spoiler line ---. Click the [Back] button there to return here if you take a look. Original draft review 05/20/2021. Final Review 1150± words, 5/6/2021

My Rating

I recommend this 3 star Young Adult, Christian, Fantasy novel... It is lathered in she-teen hormonal love/emotional insanity. It has enough bad writing in it to make you scream, yet enough wonderful story to make you cry, or at least think.... that is if you are a Christian or are inclined to consider living as if Christ loved you enough to died for you.

I know 3 stars isn't a ringing endorsement. Then my opinion on ratings makes that moot. I will make another confession shortly.

Despite the glaring shortcomings in this book, Audrey's story does have it's moments, and I never doubted where author, Julie Hall's heart was. The story, overall, was good enough to get some bragging rights that you can find on Julie's website .

Internet going out isn't precisely helping here....

Pre-confession: During the time I spent on skid row, 100+ Christians handed me Chapter 24 of this book. Those pamphlets never convinced me. But they did make me wonder enough that when I could no longer stand to live, I said to the God I didn't believe in, "Just let me die." That was December 29, 1969. I've never doubted His love for me since. I've doubted His sanity, His choices, His intelligence, I've called Him unkind names, I've sworn at Him, I've spoken to Him in languages I can't understand, then wondered what the hell I said. My life hasn't been terribly different from others. I think my kids love me. I think everyone who's ever loved me, still does. May not like me much, but I deserve that. The "Pre-confession" is to alert you to the fact that this book can reach really deep into some people. I'm one of them.

As a character Audrey, in Huntress, is about two stars above Holden Caulfield in pitiful. 3 stars. Hands down, she is infinitely better than Holden in every other imaginable way, but damn, if her comprehension of the human male is as portrayed in this novel, we are doomed as a species.

Confession: I've listened to the entire "Life After" series at least 3 times, possibly as many as 6 times. Always, sleeping, working, doing chores, shaving, showering, or otherwise not listening to it. You do wake up, take breaks, turn off the shower, so eventually you hear a lot of it. So to be fair to Julie (and to add 4 reviews to my 2021 count) I decided I would actually listen to the entire Life After series, one book at a time. I know this is a magnificent book. I know it is a pitifully bad book. Yep, both. The story is rather consistent. It is a good story from Huntress through Dominion (with a novella on Logan thrown in). The twists and character grown as the books go by can make it great fun. I cried, for personal reasons, and for our entertainer, Julie Hall's magic.

Okay, you made it pass the TMI section...

The book reminded, in some ways, of Frank Peretti's Darkness series. That is largely due to the prologue and epilogue in Huntress, but I'm cheating slightly here... I've actually read the whole series as well.

Generally: ----- The Spoiler Line ----- Audrey dies, lands in Heaven, entirely mind wiped (as in no memories of her life). Through no fault of her own she misses the (apparently) mandatory "Newly Dead, Welcome to Heaven Orientation". Then all 5 foot 3 inches of her gets assigned to demon combat duty. After the "assignment" Angel's double check to make sure God knows what He's doing, One Angel takes Audrey to meet her mentor and trainer, Logan.

Logan, a good looking, slightly older hunk, stops his combat training with another "hunter" to speak with the Angel who informs him he will have a new trainee to mentor. With Audrey the only other person with the Angel, Logan looks pass her and then says, "Great, where is he?"

Did I mention Audrey is a sheltered, confident, hormonal, and oblivious about males, teenage woman?

Audrey dies lands in "heaven" as a warrior with "Logan" as trainer. Romona becomes her nearly only friend. She's missed "orientation" that provides the newly dead all the details they need to fit in so "Audry" isn't fitting in at all.

Seriously, this novel is a baffling mess. Julie Hall does so many things right, I could kiss her. She also does so many things wrong... well the story makes up for almost all of that.

It all does make sense in way I suppose any born again Christian 17 year old hormonal confused dead girl would entirely understand.

My Notable Notes: One minute I want to strangle Julie for writing Audrey the way she did. Then I'm touched. Then my inner critic goes to sleep. Then Audrey tries to figure out Logan again... and I'm back to strangle mode.

Likes and Dislikes: If you haven't figured it out, I'm all over the place with this novel. Bad writing, but touching. I've critiqued a lot of manuscripts. This one would have taken me days to write. But when I can suspend my disbelief about Audrey's thick naivete about Logan in particular, I can roll with this story. Julie may have needed more help getting this story to market, but she clearly understands what it takes to tell a story and does a pretty good job at that.

The Technical: About the writing critique? Sorry. I'll need cash up front to do this critique.

Conclusion As I've "pre-confessed", I'm a Christian and the later chapters in this book rang my "too close to home" bell. But it is essentially a story about a confused girl thrown into a confusing (to her) situation, and then most the rest is her trying to figure out what most dead folks learned in "Orientation" which she missed for some unclear reason. Although there was mention of some people learning better by doing.

Read on: FIX THIS , 2021
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Links:
Author: Julie Hall
Narrator: Vanessa Moyen
Book Retailers: Julie Hall Retail Links
Read & Runtime: Chapters: 29 - Print length : 360 pages Runtime: 8h 48min

Calixta

“And this was the first time I died!”

“But if you are a mage and you received your power the second time you died, doesn’t that mean you are now obliged to work for the king?”

(Vanquishers of Alhambra 1) Calixta by Omayra Vélez

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My Rating:

I reluctantly recommended this 3.5 star fantasy romance novel.

Calixta is a whore house madam. Not just any old slut with good management skills. Sold into slavery at 8, she's been trained to be far beyond the best. She speaks, reads, & writes in several languages, talks intelligently about any topic. Her brothel is the best in the Alhambra. And Calixita herself wears the tattoo of an "exotic". Among the most beautiful and most extensively trained in her profession. Few of the royals can afford an hour with her. That was before the first time she died.

Arriving at death's processing center, Calixta did not have the proper items to be processed and was hauled into an emergency meeting with the Virtues. Among these were Wisdom, Justice, Hope, Love, Peace, to name a few. Their job is management on behalf of "Father" (aka "Boss of the Virtues") and these "Virtues" had unusual news for Calixta. She's special; and the dark, painful life she lived wasn't suppose to happen that way, and worse... her mission is not complete. She'll being going back to that body that was just shot in the chest while protecting one of her pregnant girls.

Generally:            ----- Possible Spoiler Line -----
Jadro is high level management of evil incarnate and his boss has high expectations of him conquering the entire world. He's been highly successful. He's already murdered the mentors of Alhambra's Vanquishers who are now almost entirely untrained. Most are unaware of who they are. He's just received information that the third Vanquisher has been identified.

Dark Matter

“Until everything topples, we have no idea what we actually have, how precariously and perfectly it all hangs together.”

“It’s like we get so set in our ways, so entrenched in those grooves, we stop seeing our loved ones for who they are."

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

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My Rating:

I recommend this interesting character driven 3.5-star science fiction quasi-quest novel where our protagonist and antagonist is Jason Dessen. Jason is not just Jason. (Yes, sounds confusing. Read it & it's not confusing.)

Our protagonist Jason has chosen a road less traveled. He could have been somebody. Awards, accolades, admiration of his professional peers. No one doubted that Jason was brilliant and likely would fast track to the top. Even Jason knew it and in rare moments regretted it.

Instead of fame and fortune, he chose instead, Danielia and his son Charlie. Rather than winning fantastic awards, being admired as the best among his profession, he chose family nights, wine, and warm fires on cold nights. He'll wash, Danielia can dry the dishes.

What Blake Crouch does in Dark Matter is peek behind this veil we think of as reality.

Generally: --- Possible Spoiler Line ---
There has long been a hypothesis that everything that can happen, has happened. In this theory, every time anyone makes a life altering choice, a new universe is born. Each choice opens a door in a maze of universes.

Warrior Fae Princess

“The lion, the yeti, and the dingy hotel suite,” Charity said as Devon ran right. “One wonders why that never became a beloved children’s book.”

“The time will come when you need to make a choice. ...—to give her a life—you must take the hard road,...”

(Warrior Fae 2) Warrior Fae Princess by K. F. Breene Review

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My Rating:

Recommended 4.5 star fantasy paranormal romance novel. Charity and Devon are our protagonist and co-protagonist in a continuation of the Warrior Fae series, the eighth novel in the Demon Days, Vampire Night world. In this novel we are primarily trying to save Charity from herself. A quest novel.

Additionally, Ms. Breene is beginning to wrap up the multitude of "loose ends" in the Demon Days, Vampire Night world. Eight books into a series "highly recommending" is overkill. If you've read eight, you're mumbling to yourself at this point (04/01/2021), "Can you hurry up, Katie?" Be patient, there is a publish date for Book 9: Revealed in Fire.

Generally: --- Spoiler Line, cross at your own risk ---
Chairty is reaching her magic puberty and her magic is literally knocking people around. Her lack of control of her magic endangers herself and those around her. Much like any teenager, there's emotional chaos going on.

Warrior Fae Trapped

“Well, didn’t you find yourself a handsome young man? Congratulations. Just remember, they don’t come trained. You have to do that yourself.”

Macy stepped up next to Charity. “How are you doing?” “If I said ‘fine,’ would you believe me?” “If I said ‘yes,’ would you believe me?”

(Warrior Fae 1) Warrior Fae Trapped by K. F. Breene Review

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My Rating:

Recommend this 4.5 star paranormal fantasy romance novel primarily about Charity, our protagonist, a girl from the under belly of Chicago. Raised by a violent alcoholic father, and mother who abandoned her when she was 16. Determined, Charity not only survives but wins a scholarship to UC of Santa Cruz where we eventually meet our co-protagonist Devon, who had a workaholic father, and mother who rejected him as her own blood in his hour of need.

This is the 7th book in the Demon Days, Vampire Nights (DDVN) world, and the first book focusing on this set of characters, Warrior Fae 1? K. F. Breene has not disappointed. Once I finished the "Fire and Ice" Trilogy focused on Reagan Somerset, I doubted Ms. Breene could equal that literary work in her "Magical Mayhem" Trilogy that focused on Penny Bristol. In this first book about Fae in the DDVN World, K. F. Breene reached new depths of connecting readers with her co-protagonists.

After finishing this book in under 24 hours, I've struggled with the decision to wait, or immediately re-read the entire series.

Generally: --- Possible Spoiler Line ---
Sam, who took in Charity as one of her pet projects is one of the rich beautiful people on campus. Unlike her rich beautiful friend, Charity wasn't in college to party and have a good time. Her full scholarship was her ticket to a life unlike her childhood.

Natural Dual Mage

“Okay, look, I don’t read subtle. What is going on?” I asked, annoyed.

You think Ms. Bristol is bad? Just think what it must be like when your girlfriend’s dad runs hell.” Reagan pushed a glass of whiskey at me.

(Magical Mayhem 3) Natural Dual Mage by K. F. Breene Review

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My Rating:

I recommend this exciting 3.5 star paranormal romance novel about Penny Bristol, et al in the Demon Days, Vampire Nights World. In book 3 of the Magical Mayhem Trilogy., "Natural Dual Mage", we witness the conclusion of the Penny Bristol coming of age, "is-this-going-to-be-a-tragic-unrequited-love-story-novel"?

An Additional Comment from the Peanut Gallery:
This project evolved beyond it's original scope. Books 1-3 were "The Fire and Ice Trilogy" primarily about Reagan Somerset. Next, the minor "Fire and Ice Trilogy" character, Penny Bristol, gets her own complete spin-off "Magical Mayhem" trilogy. This is where we are at. There are now two books containing "Warrior Fae" in the title and all the books are now in the "Demon Days, Vampire Night" series. The last (unpublished) book appears to return to Fire and Ice protagonist Reagan (if I'm following the gossip correctly.) So if you're confused, as I get at times, the core set of "co-protagonists" and the "world" remain consistent across all the books, but the actual primary protagonist may change from book to book.

Generally: --- Possible Spoiler Line ---
In Natural Dual Mage we open with our protagonist Penny under the influence of her new trainer, the infamous bounty hunter, "homicidal maniac" Reagan Somerset, whom everyone who's read this far, loves dearly. Infamous because Reagan is something like a sexy female cross between "Dog, the bounty hunter", "Hulk Hogan", and Hardluck Hank. All charming, dangerous, and prone to unpredictability.

The Burning God

“Dying was easy. Living was so much harder—that was the most important lesson Altan had ever taught her.”

“Her voice, thin and reedy, faded without echo into the frigid air. But she screamed it again, and then again, and then again. It felt so good to say that she'd survived, that she'd #!@% finally come out on top, that she didn't even care that she was screaming to corpses.”

(Poppy War 3) The Burning God by R. F. Kuang Review

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My Rating:

I highly recommend this 3.5 star novel/trilogy. It's sort of a historical novel, like Outlander, obviously far east of Scotland. The quasi historical fantasy of ancient Asia is expertly woven into a brilliant story about a pantheon of gods. Additionally, it's about how dealing with this pantheon of gods on a personal level makes the characters both powerful and crazy.

Match those powerful crazy god-filled-folks against the techno-advanced first-world-power-society who worship "the one true god" -- generously salt it all with political intrigue, backstabbing, hope, love, clashing of gods and hopelessness, then you've pierced the first level of depth to this trilogy.

Generally: --- Possible Spoiler Line ---
It gets deeper still. Yet, while reading/listening to this final book in the trilogy, The Burning God, I largely felt detached, almost uninterested. I can't identify why I felt this way. I was interested, anxious in all the places I should be, and so on.