July and August Reads

Reviews July August

Giant Problems, Naked Crow 8

PZ Walker

P Z Walker’s Naked Crow, Sheila, and her friends (Jeremy, Josey, Wendy & Mike) are faced with a ‘giant’ problem at the Mighty Oaks Resort. All while caring for a group of young, native American artists.
Meanwhile, Owners Vinnie and Alice have their own problems to contend with.
Could they all be linked?
A great, rather bloody, romp at the interface of naturism and the ancient magic of the Tribes. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and was held captive by the great characters,

It is in need of a bit of tidying but I forgave that.

5 Stars

Siren Spirit

Elizabeth M Hurst

A short book, but it is the right length for the plot.

I enjoyed reading this tale of two timelines and two romances. There are no great messages or keys to the hidden mysteries of life, the universe etc.

The characters are likeable, the erotic content is gentle and the ghost scares nothing apart from the cat.

Overall a light and pleasant quick read.

4 Stars 

Broken Veil (Harbinger Book 5)

Prism Cloud (Harbinger Book 4)

Iron Garland (Harbinger Book 3)

Jeff Wheeler

The third to fifth parts of this very popular series while perfectly readable and enjoyable did not add much to the story.

It kept me quiet, I paused and put the Kindle down and went and did something else for a bit, came back and read a few more pages.

3 Stars

No Where Girls

Teuta Metra

Nowhere Girls is at one level quite a dark read, corruption and crime form the overarching background to the whole story. However, it is a wonderful story of the will to survive.

Superimposed on to this gloomy backdrop is the story of three girls attempts to escape and lead a better life. The girls drive and determination to escape the gravitational pull of Albanian society takes them along different paths. Paths that intersect from time to time enabling changes of storyline to flow smoothly.

A very different take on a similar theme to James Gault’s The Redemption of Anna Petrovna.

I just wish that the main character, Sara, wasn’t such an ‘Eeyore’ character.  

4 Stars

Turn Left at Istanbul, Escaping Shirley

Richard Savin

Time it was,
And what a time it was
It was . . .
A time of innocence
A time of confidences
In writing a humourous memoir of a 1969 road trip Richard has accidentally written a wonderful eulogy for a bygone age of innocence, freedom and a world (more or less) at peace.

This is the story of his (and his travelling companion) first task in a new job. To drive his boss’s brand new Jaguar car from London to Calcutta.
They cross borders that are closed today, they pass ancient relics that are now lost to the world. They shop for a wing mirror, meet a drug lord, eat fabulous regional food (& some dross) and buy bits of the Taj Mahal from a small boy with a knife.
You couldn’t do this trip, this way today. Yes, it is funny but it also made me feel wistful for that era of optimism.

5 Stars

A Charmed Life

Paul Rouse

This is the story of a young Australian news cameraman/T.V. Journalist told by the people around him at various points in his life. His ex-girlfriend, a cousin, his agent and several others all contribute to this tense story, mainly set against the wars in Iraq and the Kurdish independence struggle.
A well-plotted tale, stylishly written. That is where the star got lost.
While the multiple points of view approach enables the author to see all the events through the eyes of a direct observe it means that the timeline, while generally moving forward, shuffles around quite a lot.
We also never really get inside the head of the hero, we just get to hear the remembered speech through other people’s personal filters.
That said the book kept me engaged to the final scene.

4 Stars

A Flower in the Wind

James Gault

Our star crossed lovers meet…
Hoa is a young Vietnamese girl sent to school in Singapore where she meets and falls for political activist Tim, a young American of Asian descent.
The group of activists they join are a strange little group of non-activists. They crave more action and well one thing leads to another. Then things get strange.
The tale is tightly written, maintaining a tense atmosphere throughout.
The two main characters are engaging if a little naive.
The plot while holding together pushes credibility more than a little towards the end. However, so does Romeo and Juliette. If Shakespeare can get away with it, maybe it is not an issue.

4 Stars