By Peter Hassebroek on December 28, 2011
Grief and guilt ripple through Heaven Again by H. C. Turk, but not in a morose or self-pitying way. Despite emotionally weighed-down characters and tragic events, this compact, engaging novel that takes place in fictional locales in Florida compels the reader more to contemplation than anger, tears, or depression.
Posted in Fiction, Literary, Reviews | Tagged book review, dogs, Fiction, Florida, greyhound, HC Turk, Heaven Again |
By LK Gardner-Griffie on December 10, 2011
LK: First of all, I’d like to thank the LL Book Review for hosting the Tattered tour.
Posted in Book/Blog Tours, LK Gardner-Griffie, Promotions | Tagged blog tour, contest, Fiction, giveaways, Katie McCabe, kindle fire, LK Gardner-Griffie, misfit mccabe, Tattered, young adult |
By Peter Hassebroek on November 29, 2011
Street Raised by Pearce Hansen is a basic revenge drama set in the grimly depicted environment of the East Bay area in California in the early 1980s. Oakland street hood, Speedy, gets released from a prison in the northern part of the state, shoeless. He ventures home, encountering a few adventures and picking up a kitten along the way. In a long opening chapter, we see the complex mix of violence and compassion that makes up the protagonist’s character. Once home, Speedy reunites with his younger brother, Willy, who’s become a crack addict during Speedy’s long incarceration.
Posted in Action/Adventure, Fiction, Reviews | Tagged book review, crime drama, Fiction, Pearce Hansen, Street Raised |
By LK Gardner-Griffie on September 1, 2011
Remember those humiliating moments during childhood and adolescence when making a public mistake? Or when someone outside the family has been subjected to the dorkiness that is your parents? If so, you’ll have an idea of what it’s like to be Darla McKendrick…
Posted in Family Drama, LK Gardner-Griffie, Young Adult/Juvenile | Tagged book review, contemporary, family saga, Fiction, Lisette Brodey, LK Gardner-Griffie, Squalor New Mexico, young adult |
By Peter Hassebroek on August 25, 2011
Writing about what you know and have experienced can be a great tonic to exorcise one’s demons while remaining authoritative at the same time. It can also turn into a self-serving rant. Thomas Thonson is a veteran of the Hollywood film industry and the theme of his unpretentious collection, You Don’t Die of Love, is Hollywood and its people, particularly Harry Dare, an old time actor of Westerns whose private life was more dramatic than his cinematic one.
Posted in Fiction, Literary, Reviews | Tagged book review, collection, Fiction, hollywood, short story, thomas thonson |
By Peter Hassebroek on August 12, 2011
Collectively, Inklings (Very short stories and other babies born of ink) by Aparna Warrier, is shorter than a conventional short story. Undoubtedly the shortest book I’ve ever read without pictures.
Posted in Fiction, Literary, Reviews | Tagged aparna warrier, book review, collection, Fiction, flash fiction, short story |
By LK Gardner-Griffie on August 5, 2011
A book’s cover is its calling card and this cover is gorgeous. A lot of times I’ll read a book and go back and look at the cover and realize how the cover didn’t quite capture the story, or how there are bits of the cover which don’t quite fit with the tale inside. But in this case, I couldn’t imagine a more perfect showcase for The Devil’s Garden.
Posted in Literary, LK Gardner-Griffie, Science Fiction/Fantasy | Tagged adult, Carina Press, corruption, courtesan, devils, fantasy, Fiction, gods, Jane Kindred, LK Gardner-Griffie, magic, politics, romance, The Devil's Garden |
By LK Gardner-Griffie on July 19, 2011
It’s not often I have the pleasure of reviewing a book prior to release, so I’m especially honored to have the opportunity to review Born To Be A Dragon the day before it launches.
Posted in Action/Adventure, LK Gardner-Griffie, Young Adult/Juvenile | Tagged Action, adventure, Born To Be A Dragon, dragons, Dragons Forever, Eisley Jacobs, Fiction, foster child, friendship, juvenile fiction, LK Gardner-Griffie, middle grade |
By Peter Hassebroek on July 8, 2011
Collected stories, like songs on LPs, often share a theme or tone related to its title. In that sense, the title of Wade Alan Steele’s collection, A Sudden Dominance of Shadows, correlates to the opaqueness of many of its stories that delve into the murky psyches of its protagonists. Otherwise, though, the disparate styles and quality of the stories makes this book more like a collection of B-Sides.
Posted in Fiction, Literary, Peter Hassebroek, Reviews | Tagged book review, dominance, Fiction, shadows, short story collection, sudden, wade alan steele |
