Under Central Park: The Amulet’s Secret by Diana Wurfbain Spinola MG Fantasy, Independently Published in 2022, 415 Pages What I Didn’t Like: Firstly, I’ll say this didn’t feel like a middle grade novel. 415 pages is a lot for a middle grade novel, the title is a mouthful, and we start the book by following... Continue Reading →
Angel From the Rust by Jason Link A Science Fiction, 2023 by Phoenix Forge Press, 416 Pages What I Didn’t Like: Some overused adverbs. A few times similes are even used within the same sentence. It’s a bit extreme. Some flat characters. The implication of some being good or bad is clear but they feel... Continue Reading →
Progress Report by Roman Lando A Science Fiction, Independently Published in 2022, 234 Pages What I Didn’t Like: Not sure where I stand yet on the voice. On one hand, the idea of writing out your final thoughts at the end is a popular one that could work. On the other hand, this narrator is... Continue Reading →
Shampoo & Conditioner by M.L. Ortega A Mystery/Thriller, Independently Published in 2022, 101 Pages What I Didn’t Like: The story is very bare bones. The plot is the focus, which is fine, but you don’t get many chances to connect with the characters. It feels like a rushed story. This is Book 2. While it’s... Continue Reading →
The Shroud by George Bachman A Fantasy, 2022 by Sublime, 398 Pages What I Didn’t Like: Wordy, often unnecessarily so. I don’t mind beautiful language and poetic descriptions but this was often a bit much. Underlining. I could not figure out WHY certain words, phrases, or paragraphs were underlined. They weren’t linked in my ebook... Continue Reading →
Sky Chase by Lauren Massuda YA Fantasy, 2021 by Water Dragon Publishing, 272 Pages What I Didn’t Like: There are some comments about a character's weight that are not at all needed. It made me cringe a bit whenever it was mentioned. There’s a big multi POV cast that can be confusing. There are a... Continue Reading →
Einstein in the Attic by Dana Dargos A Science Fiction, Independently Published in 2022, 357 Pages What I Didn’t Like: This won’t affect my rating but it’s something that may help you decide between ebook and paperback. The print on the ebook is tiny and cannot be resized. Go for the paperback. The dialogue is... Continue Reading →
A Broken Clock Never Boils by CJ Weiss A Mystery/Thriller, Independently Published in 2022, 275 Pages What I Didn’t Like: I sometimes have a problem keeping characters straight when their names are too close. That being said, Rick and Ryan were too similar for me. I had to backtrack and figure out who was who.... Continue Reading →
ShegoraTH by Dima Tsyptsiura A Short Story Anthology, Independently Published in 2022, 120 Pages What I Didn’t Like: The formatting is stilted and clumsy. It gives the narrative an odd pace. I can understand some strange line breaks for poetry but the flash fiction would’ve been better served in paragraph form. There’s nothing to grab... Continue Reading →
Members of the Cast by George Beckman YA Historical Fiction, Independently Published in 2021, 265 Pages What I Didn’t Like: Some scenes are sort of skipped over and explained to us later (like the winter formal) making it feel a little lopsided in pacing. I would’ve liked to explore a few of those scenes in... Continue Reading →
