Angel: Letters of Esther (The Romans Series Book 2) by C.L. Rosario; Female Centered Companion Book to Bromantic Contemporary Fantasy

Angel: Letters of Esther (The Romans Series Book 2) by C.L. Rosario; Female Centered Companion Book to Bromantic Contemporary Fantasy 

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

C.L. Rosario’s previous book, And Then They Fall in Love was a Magical Realism Contemporary Fantasy novel about a circle of male friends called The Troubadours who receive word from a mysterious stranger known only as La Bruja (“The Witch” or “The Stranger “) who tells them that they need to help Jean Luis Larose, one of their own, to find love before he dies. What followed was a lovely thought provoking meditative look at fate, synchronicity, coincidence, magic, romance, true love, and the importance of maintaining a good friendship. It was an excellent book that captured the male group of friends. I would describe it as not just a Romance novel but a Bromance novel.

Well if one focuses only on one party in a Romance novel, they are really telling only half of the story. In And Then They Fell in Rome, we are given insights about many of the female characters and are given as much depth and agency as their male counterparts so they aren't just shallow love interests. However, they are largely seen from the perspective of the male characters so compared to them, they are cyphers. Well written cyphers but cyphers none the less.

Rosario's next book, Angel: Letters of Esther more than makes up for that lack. In fact, I wouldn't even call it a sequel so much as it is a companion piece. It takes the same story and gives a largely female perspective. It focuses mostly on Esther Consuelos, Jan Luis’ potential love interest. We also get some solid insights into La Bruja who now has a name, Ariel, and some potential clues to her real identity.

This volume also provides a more streamlined narration that is easier to follow. It mostly focuses on Jan Luis and gives the rest of The Troubadours smaller, more supporting roles. It loses the complexity of the previous novel but since Jan Luis is the central Troubadour in both books, it makes sense that his story would wrap up in this volume.

Jan Luis and Esther meet at the Miami Grand Prix. The two click but a strange discovery about a shared coincidence from their paths suggest that there are higher powers at work bringing them together. An eventful weekend causes the couple to weigh their passions, faith, goals, intimacy, desires, standards, and the division between body, heart, and soul to find out what they really want in life and if they are compatible.

Both Jan Luis and Esther come across as fully developed characters. Since Jan Luis is the sole major Troubadour in this book, we are mostly exposed to his life and views. Technically, there isn't anything entirely new to Jan Luis that we didn't know before from his past. Even the strange previous connection between the two lovers was revealed in the previous book. We are familiar with Jan Luis’s past. This book is more interested in his present. 

As we remember in the previous book, he had yet to be paired off though his friends were. This book shows him moving from a hard edged cynic thinking that he is better off alone to a romantic who is open to the possibility of letting love into his life. It is a character trajectory that transforms him into the person that La Bruja and the Troubadours envisioned that he would become.

Jan Luis's strongest moments occur when he is alone and away from his initial peer group of The Troubadours. Since they are moved to the side and reduced to supporting characters, this book deals with what happens when friendships recede and characters grow up and move on.

The previous book was the be all and end all of their friendship at times even eclipsing their romantic relationships. It reveals the universal truth that sometimes friendships are more important than romance. This book shows the opposite.

 What happens when friends let other people and situations in their lives and phase out the original group. They don't do this out of meanness or because of fights but because of different circumstances, busy schedules, more people and commitments, and maturity. They have entered lives that are harder, more complicated, and busier. Sometimes early relationships fall away.

The Troubadours’s bond is still close and they still have some great reunions but they have evolved. Jan Luis can't rely on them as much as he used to. He spends most of his time in Rome with a new group of friends and has other interests, other goals, and other problems that have moved him far from his honorary brothers. It's a time where he has to figure out who he is without any help from his old friends.

 As I mentioned this is practically the female counterpart to And Then They Fell in Rome and it shows. Esther is by far the most developed character. She has many different facets to her character that reveals her complexities and depth.

She is a publicist for Formula One so she carries a very high class, fast living, public, athletic and energetic presence on the job. The kind that doesn't mind frequent travel and hobnobbing with classy elite individuals watching the races as well as managing the information on drivers and crews who work at them. It also breaks quite a few barriers to read about a woman involved in the still mostly male dominated world of auto racing. Her strong willed tough personality reveals herself as a woman who will not accept being sidelined or mansplained so of course she would excel in such a world.

There are also softer edges to Esther's character largely through her spiritual beliefs and questions about higher concepts. She is religious and considers herself as a “Christian but not that kind of Christian.” She is very accepting towards people and views that her religion is highly critical of. She uses it instead to aspire herself to live a decent charitable kind life. 

However, she has high standards mostly towards herself. She has specific views about sexuality, intimacy, love, and marriage. They are resolute but she is wavering. There are many times when Esther’s emotions and desires take over and she questions whether she has the views because of her faith in Christian doctrine or fear of being in a relationship. Is she putting off close relationships for her God or herself?

One of the most intriguing subplots is when Esther reunites with an ex. The potential for a rekindled romance is there even though she still loves Jan Luis and he is involved with a friend of hers. But more importantly than the romantic aspects are the deep conversations between them over quantum physics and higher consciousness. They open Esther to other possibilities and move her faith forward from the binary either or interpretation that she previously held. 

These conversations also bring awareness of the magical realism that surrounds the narrative. Through most of the book, the magical realism is more subdued as compared to its predecessor. Mostly it's reduced to revelations about what happened in the previous book and conversations about those topics. These conversations offer different theories about fate, coincidence, predestiny, and synchronicity. 

This volume posts different theories and analysis without fully committing to one or the other. The characters live in a potentially fantastic world and this book provides a potential key for them to understand it. It's almost like the first book showed the magic while the second book gives the realism, the answers to the previous book’s questions.

The magic returns as Ariel does to the narration. Now she has a name and a private life of people who know her and assist her in her endeavors. Before, there were possibilities that she didn't exist or wasn't even human. Now we know more about her and while she is still enigmatic and ethereal, she is more well rounded and more human in personality (though maybe not in reality).

There is an intriguing reveal about Ariel and a motivation over why it was so important for Jan Luis to fall in love. It won't be spoiled here and while somewhat arbitrary at first, in hindsight both books succinctly led to this twist. It becomes not a shocking twist but a natural resolution to two books where circumstances are never coincidence, where people are fated to meet in the right place, time, and right moment, where Higher Powers are watching and give signals for those who observe and listen, and where magic and realism exist side by side. Just like two lovers, they are destined to be together.

 

Killing Lisa by Toby Dorr, Time Capsule of 1986 by Pierce DeMars, Shadow Work Demystified by V.V. Phoenix, Keep On Glowing Guided Journal by Robin Emtage

 

Killing Lisa: The Life, Crime, and Execution of Lisa Montgomery by Toby Dorr 

Toby Dorr’s Killing Lisa The Life, Crime, and Execution of Lisa Montgomery is a powerful thought provoking book about crime, female killers, mental illness, and a stinging indictment against the death penalty. 

On January 13,2021 1:31 a.m. in Terre Haute, Indiana, Lisa Montgomery was executed for the murder of Bobbie Jo Stinnett who was pregnant at the time of her death. Montgomery cut the baby from Stinnett's womb through a makeshift Caesarian section to pass it off as her own.

This book is written by Toby Dorr who was incarcerated in the same prison as Montgomery and befriended her. It's a unique perspective that acknowledges the crime Montgomery committed but also the complex nature and character of Montgomery the person without justifying her actions. 

Dorr, who was incarcerated for providing guns to a felon, met Montgomery in a crafting class. She was stunned that the gentle soft spoken woman with a talent for tatting, quilting, and knitting, who shared snacks, drew pictures and bookmarks, and exchanged stories about their children could also be the same woman who committed such a violent crime.

Dorr’s book tries to reconcile the gentle friend that she knew with the troubled woman who committed murder. Dorr saw a woman who was not a cold blooded killer but had a deeply fractured mind which turned Stinnett into a casualty of Montgomery's psychotic break.

Dorr reveals information from Montgomery's past not to defend her but to understand her. It's important to understand why a person commits murder to recognize the signs so it doesn't happen again. 

In Montgomery’s case, the murder was preceded by years of physical and sexual abuse. One incident was so traumatic that she suffered brain damage. She was raped by her stepfather, impregnated by her stepbrother, suffered an abusive first marriage in which she gave birth to four children, and had a happier second marriage but the emotional and mental scars had long set in. She coped with the abuse by dissociation and was eventually diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, PTSD, and DID. 

Besides Montgomery's mental state, Dorr saw a lot of blame from those who ignored her or cast aside her problems. Montgomery appealed to a relative who was also a deputy sheriff, Family Services who removed Lisa's sister from their parents but not herself, a doctor who sent her home without reporting her rape, and family court where she openly testified against her stepfather. No one intervened so the abuse continued and the troubled girl became a disturbed woman.

Dorr also cited flaws in the mental health care and legal systems. Since Montgomery lived far below the poverty line, she could not afford mental health treatment and was denied long term care. She received no therapy, no medication, no follow up, no diagnosis until it was far too late. She also had an attorney who was inexperienced in capital cases and barely scratched the surface of Montgomery’s psychological state and did not disclose Montgomery’s violent past. Dorr sees her friend who had been destroyed by the people around her long before she ever took a life.

Besides giving a detailed profile of her friend, Dorr turns her book into a plea against the death penalty. She sees it as an archaic form of punishment that does nothing to stop violent crimes or the circumstances that lead to the murder in question. She believes that all it does is create more deaths and more grief stricken friends and families.

Dorr does a commendable job of capturing her friend and making her case against the death penalty. She makes the readers aware that Montgomery was a person whose life and circumstances led to this moment and if she had been helped sooner, then both she and Stinnett would still be alive. She makes a good case mostly by appealing to emotions to show the dangers of the death penalty and a society that encourages capital murder while at the same time condemning individuals for it.

However her book is not particularly balanced. That was probably her intention not to go into the details of the crime itself, the means, the encounter, Montgomery's motives, and the investigation. She was laser focused on her friend but forgot that there was another person involved: Bobbie Jo Stinnett.

She probably wanted to keep Montgomery the focus but ignoring Stinnett removes an important part of the story. Dorr dedicates the book to both women but does not give us Stinnett as a person. We don't know anything about her, her background, her past, or her life. She left behind a husband, family, friends, and plenty of dogs (she was a dog breeder), but we experienced none of that.

Perhaps Dorr did not know much about her. Perhaps she didn't want to compromise her view of her friend. Perhaps she thought that if she focused on the murder and the victim, then the reader would lose their empathetic perception of Montgomery. Either way this is technically a three person story, a triangle: Montgomery, Dorr, and Stinnett and Stinnett's angle is obviously shorter than the other two’s.

Regardless of whether readers agree or disagree with the position that Dorr takes or find holes in the way that she told it, her book definitely opens conversations about violence, illness, guilt, innocence, and whether justice is truly met when one is executed for murder or if it creates a greater cycle of violence, grief, and despair.

Time Capsule of 1986: American Life, Culture, Breakthroughs, and World Events in Full Color With Real Photos Includes Timeline of the Generation of '86 (Year in History Books) by Pierce DeMars 

The 80’s was an interesting decade and 1986 was monumental for many reasons. I was 9 years old, attending 3rd Grade at Longwood Elementary School, and living in Eglin Air Force Base Ft. Walton Beach FL with my parents, older brother, and three younger sisters. This book is a bright, colorful, informative look at this particular year.

The book offers an engaging snapshot of life during this time. It includes important news events like The Challenger Explosion, he Chernobyl Disaster, and The Reagan-Gorbachev Reykjavik Summit.

Chapters include Everyday Life including Food, Fashion, Work, School, Arts and Culture including Mainstream and Alternatives in Music, TV, Cinema, and Literature, Sports including Triumphs, Records, and Scandals, the World in 1986, including National and International News, the Life of the American Family, Science, Technology, and Innovation, and Life of the Generation of 1986. . 

For those who lived through that year, it reopens several memories. For those who didn't, it gives an interesting widespread look at how people lived before they were born.

One of the more interesting chapters is the final one that goes through a timeline that someone born in 1986 would have experienced. Milestones include being born in an analog world and when the Cold War was still present, to being 3 years old when the Cold War ended, 5 when Soviet Union dissolved, 7 when the World Wide Web was made public, early teens when the first Internet connections arrived, 15 during 9/11, in their 20’s by the time social media was introduced to the public, 22 when Barack Obama was elected US President, 30 when Donald Trump was elected for his first term, 34 during the COVID pandemic, and 40 this year during a time of continuous AI, political unrest, and the struggles of maintaining a work-life balance.

Shadow Work Demystified: A Step-by-step Guide to Cultivate Inner Peace, Heal Deep Trauma and Emotional Triggers, and Overcome Limiting Patterns to Reclaim Your Personal Power by V.V. Phoenix

The Shadow Self is a Jungian archetype that describes the unconscious part of the personality that is hidden within and encompasses all the parts that are ignored or buried. It compromises many of the more negative emotions and thoughts like anger, ignorance, fear, sadness, envy, greed, selfishness, and other parts that are often hidden. This book encourages readers not to eliminate those traits but to understand, manage, and integrate them. 

The chapters are interactive and engaging by using esoteric and practical advice.

 Chapters include The Shadow Within, Stop Running-The Shadow’s Already in the Room, Spotting Your Inner Saboteur, Before The Dig-Setting The Ground For Inner Work, Meeting Your Shadow, When The Going Gets Tough, Living Wholeheartedly, and Stepping Into the Light.

The book presents advice, personal experiences, and exercises to bring the Shadow Self forward and work alongside it to understand the entire self. For example Chapter 5: Meeting Your Shadow includes sections on Talking To What's Hidden, The Clues in Your Dreams, Shadow Journaling, Letting The Shadow Be The Artist, Calm Observation, 3-2-1 Shadow Process, and The Good/Bad Box. The exercises include using active imagination, dream interpretation, writing prompts, art prompts, mindfulness techniques, dialogue with the shadow, and asking questions about the shadow.

Keep on Glowing: A Guided Journal to Reclaim Your Radiance and Own Your Next Chapter by Robin Emtage 

This book is an excellent companion to Robin Emtage’s previous book, Keep on Glowing: Your Guide to Graceful Empowerment and Unstoppable Glow. Instead of using primarily words, personal anecdotes, this journal focuses on activities, interaction with the material, and personal experiences from the reader.

The book is divided into six chapters. It includes an Introduction-How to use these pages, glow tracker guide, your glow baseline, and my glow intention map, Radiant Mindset-Reconnect with your thoughts, truth, and inner light, Sacred Self-Care-Nourish your body, rhythm, and radiant means, Glow Rituals-Anchor your glow in joyful, intentional routines, Protective boundaries-Reclaim your energy, peace, and emotional space, Unapologetic Expression-Speak up, show up, and radiant as your full self, and Glow Forward-Your glow promise and closing reflections.

The entries prompt readers to look inward to answer their own questions and leave plenty of space to answer them. For example Chapter 1: Radiant Mindset includes activities like entries on “Define Your Radiance,” “Stop Shrinking, Start Shining,” “Slow Down to Shine,” “Release and Remember Your Worth,” “Build Trust Within,” “Honor Your Timing,” “The Rhythm of Resilience,” “Speak to Yourself With Love,” “The Overgiver,” “Glow Freely,” “Your Radiant Self,” “Name Your Glow,” “Reflect Your Glow Shift,” “Letting Go, Inviting In,” “Live Your Truth Out Loud,” “Your Glowing Future,” and Glow Within: A Spiritual Reset.”

Each entry includes Glow Affirmations and Glow Activities and some also feature other questions and suggestions. For example “Glow Within A Spiritual Reset” features a Glow Affirmation that says “I am divinely guided, deeply rooted, and fully aligned.” The Glow Activity says “Take a few moments of quiet. Light a candle, breathe slowly, or close your eyes. Then reflect: What does being spiritually aligned mean to me right now? Other questions for the entry include “Where in my life do I need to surrender control and trust more?” and “When was the last time that I felt connected to something greater than myself?”

The chapter also includes list activities like 2 “,Glow Snapshots,” “The Glow Reframe,” “Mini Glow Moments,” “This Month’s Glow Focus,” and “7 Day Glow Reset.” They ask various questions about specific activities. For example the first “Glow Snapshot” says “Today's Glow Intention,” “One Thought I Released,” “One Act of Self-Kindness I Gave Myself,” “A Moment I Feel Radiant,” “Evening Glow Gratitude,” and a “Mood Check In.”

The Truth Chamber by Duncan Ritchie; Intricate and All Too Familiar Political Thriller

 

The Truth Chamber by Duncan Ritchie; Intricate and All Too Familiar Political Thriller 

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: Duncan Ritchie’s political thriller, The Truth Chamber might seem familiar. All too familiar. It concerns a presidential election during a time when political parties have become toxic towards each other and acts of violence, assassinations, and conspiracies are the order of the day. It's only a slightly harsher step from life in the United States right now.

The general presidential election is in full swing and Texas governor Mack Leach and Georgia senator Anna Hoffman look to be the front runners for the Republican and Democratic Party respectively. Unfortunately a series of violent events including acts of terror, mass shootings, multiple murders, and assassination attempts keep this from being a normal election year. 

Retired Navy SEAL Liam Driscoll, FBI agent Abby Reis, and investigative political reporter Caitlin Kincaid have to weed through the various leads, suspects, and witnesses to find the truth and the heart of the conspiracy behind these acts. 

Then there is The Truth Chamber, an AI tool to determine if the suspect is lying or not, similar to a polygraph test but more accurate, more thorough, more analytical, and far more painful if the subject is caught lying. 

The Truth Chamber is a lot. A lot of characters, a lot of plots and subplots, a lot of suspense, and a lot of twists. At 1072 pages, it is longer than most similar thrillers which gives it plenty of time to develop characters and the plot accordingly. 

However the length can also be a downfall as well. At times it's a bit unwieldy for its own good. Sometimes it's hard to keep track of who is who and where they fit into the story. Some subplots are just padding. 

The final chapters continue far longer than they should. There are multiple places where they could have stopped only to have some other complication occur to add more pages. 

It's a thriller that pushes itself to excess when it really could have told the same story and carried the same suspense with fewer pages, fewer chapters, and a more minimalist tighter approach. 

However if you ignore the length and excess, it's actually a very engaging read especially when comparing it to the real life events and people that inspired it. Both candidates have real world comparisons who are particularly obvious, especially Leach’s real life counterpart. Even some of the sound bites, personal scandals, and sycophants run parallel to his real life inspiration.

Hoffman however is more of a composite of several women, mostly those who have challenged the real life Leach prototype. She is a more polished, intellectual, big picture thinker than the more bombastic aggressive combative Leach. She has a strong moral compass but isn't afraid to compromise those morals if the situation arises. 

Leach and Hoffman are two candidates who will fight each other with everything that they have, even shed blood if need be. Well one would be willing to shed blood even if they don't need to. The other would have to think about it and weigh the options first.

The supporting characters like Liam, Abby, and Caitlin are the usual characters that you would find in such a work like this. With tragic pasts, they are dedicated to their work because their personal lives are in turmoil. They have clandestine meetings with secret informants at the regular. They want to get to the bottom of this investigation and aren't above pushing boundaries to do it.

They are interesting characters and are worth rooting for but very typical in this type of subgenre. These characters represent the groups that would be involved with Liam representing the military, Abby representing law enforcement, and Caitlin representing the media. They are more archetypes of those types of characters than developed as individuals in their own right.

The investigation and crimes themselves are the right kind of gripping and chilling particularly knowing how close they are to reality. We have seen presidential campaigns that had assassinations, assassin attempts, insurrections, potential election interference, and challenges towards the legitimacy of the results. 

In the past ten years each election year has been just as troubling as the previous one. That's what keeps the suspense high in this novel. Knowing that it's only a few turbs away from reality and that in theory, we are living inside a political thriller of our own.

One of the most provocative plot points in the book is the eponymous device, The Truth Chamber. It is a terrifying instrument especially considering that the people using it don't let things like due process, civil liberties, Miranda Rights, or having an attorney present get in the way of using it. 

It is practically a torture device because when the AI interface believes that the person strapped to it is lying, they are given electric shocks. The interrogation chapters have a ghoulish aura because they appear straight out of a horror or dystopian science fiction film. 

It makes one wonder how far people will go in the new normal of constant violence. Will old laws and standards have to change? Should they? It's chilling to even consider.

Eyes Behind Belligerence by K.P. Kellenborn, How to Lose The Life You Love A Memoir of Conditioning Collapse and Sovereignty by Mike Karame, Barside Manner by Brian Baleno

Eyes Behind Belligerence By K.P. Kellenborn 

 Eyes Behind Belligerence is a powerful and highly relevant novel about racism, xenophobia, cultural identity, patriotism, and what it means to truly call oneself an American even when others won't define you as such.

The Japanese-American population of Bainbridge Island, Washington State felt the impact of the attack by the Japanese Imperial Army on Pearl Harbor. Suddenly, barely tolerated racist jokes and stereotypes become the norm. Members of the community are ostracized or treated with outright hostility by white neighbors, schoolmates, church members, and authority figures. They are forbidden from having possessions that might be used as weapons or short wave radios believing that they could be used for spying. Finally, they are sent to internment camps.

This is a heartbreaking novel about a shameful time in American history which unfortunately is still in practice today just with new names, faces, and targets for racist and xenophobic abuse. It's staggering how quickly certain groups are seen as enemies and how easily many can be swept up in paranoia and propaganda. 

The moments before and during the times in the camps feature dehumanizing practices used to isolate, divide, and internally destroy the people who are targeted. Some of the more insidious actions result in detainees not only trusting the white officers holding them but in their fellow inmates. Some act as inside informants. Others resort to random acts of vandalism and for mini gangs for survival.

 Sometimes division between Japanese born immigrants who came from Japan and settled in the US (issei) and those with Japanese ancestry but lived in the US their entire lives (nissei) is revealed. If they can be divided, it becomes easier for the American authority to break them.

The book is largely told from the points of view of teenage boys Goro/Russell Hamaguchi and Jimmu/Jim Yoshimura who are swept up in that generational divide within the camps and their own families and the racial and cultural divide from the government surrounding them. 

Both are Japanese-Americans whose parents fled to the US either before they were born or as children. They consider themselves more American than Japanese. They adopted American names, hardly understand their families’ first language, and have fully assimilated into the society around them. 

Russell in particular is fond of the country in which he lives. He mocks his parents’ traditional ways and scoffs at their ideals like honor and family loyalty ahead of individual liberty. He considers himself just as American as the white kids that he attends school with, maybe even more so.

Unfortunately that patriotism serves little use for him in a country that shows right away that it has no love for anyone who was born different. They don't see an American boy. To them Russell is Japanese and is treated like an enemy. Unfortunately his Japanese elders aren't any warmer either. Some like his siblings basically think that he sold out and question his loyalty. A fistfight with one of his closest friends reveals the buried resentment and lack of belonging simmering within him.

Jim also is torn between embracing his cultural heritage and assimilating into the world around him despite its rejection. Unlike Russell who treated assimilation like a calculated strategy for survival, Jim’s dismissal is fueled by personal trauma.

Jim’s journey is probably the most emotional even before the war begins because of his older brother's suicide. His grief over the death, his family's reaction to it, and the reasons for those actions lead him to question and defy his heritage. While many see community, Jim sees emotional abandonment and it takes a long time within the book for him to recover from the loss.

The two young men’s outlook changes inside the camps. Russell goes through periods of defiance such as defending himself from a racist guard, continuing correspondence with a Filipino-American girlfriend, and joining a gang of troublemakers in the camps. He ultimately tries to adapt, adjust, and find ways to ensure his friends and family's survival. 

Jim does the opposite. He starts out as a mostly pacifistic sensitive kid unwilling to fight alongside Russell and the other tougher kids. He tries not to do anything that would result in punishment and be the complacent dutiful detainee. 

Jim eventually tires of the mask of obedience that he is forced to wear because the officers don't care. He will always be considered an enemy and in moments of self-fulfilling prophecy, he becomes that defiant rebellious enemy. They could only push him so far enough by dehumanizing him before he pushes back. When he finally does, it's a moment of catharsis for himself and the reader.

Reading a book like this makes it easy to see the conflicts that are still relevant today so we can study them, read about them, learn from them, and maybe someday do better.

How to Lose a Life You Love A Memoir of Conditioning Collapse and Sovereignty by Mike Karame 

How to Lose a Life You Love: A Memoir of Conditioning, Collapse, and Sovereignty is a meaningful, moving, and inspirational memoir about having and losing it all, and what happens afterwards. Mostly it's about having the resilience to pick yourself up and seize a second life.

Author Mike Karame had a childhood and young adulthood of strife and conflict. His parents’ tense marriage was rocked by bouts of temper, arguments, accusations, and emotional breakdowns resulting in a divorce.

 Karame describes his childhood in war and battle analogies because the arguments felt like a disruption of the peace that he sought. He and his siblings had to navigate their home like a minefield waiting for the next explosion to occur from their father's angry tirades and their mother's tearful silence. 

Karame’s childhood in Beirut was also surrounded by outside wars as well. He describes life in Lebanon as a “simple brutal algorithm. Your religion determines your power. Your sect determines your identity.”

Karame recalled explosions occurring during innocuous moments of watching television or studying in class. Tanks rolling down the streets, soldiers marching in formation, and people sprinting for shelters were commonplace. With wars occurring both inside and outside Karame's home, it's no wonder that he wanted to escape any way possible.

Karame later entered a law career but eventually felt unfulfilled by it. His interest in caring for and riding horses led him to a different path: opening up a horse club. Even though his friends thought that he traded a life of luxury for training horses, he said that he wasn't trading down, “(He) traded up.” It gave him a chance to do something that he loved and gave him personal satisfaction. He loved teaching people to ride and connect with horses and added to his own pursuits by learning kitesurfing, paragliding, deep sea diving, and other outdoor adventures.

This would normally be the end of the story. Someone leaves the life that tied them down and made them miserable and finds the career and life path that makes them happy. In Karame's case however, this is the middle of his story which means there were a lot more changes for him to go through and far more experiences for him to learn from.

A series of problems including a failed romantic relationship, the deaths of his parents, separation from his twin brother, and financial struggles culminated in Karame having to sell the horse club and leaving Lebanon. He had to find the strength and courage to start over in a new country where he was virtually a stranger, Australia. 

Karame described his life in Australia as a “collapse” when he encountered dishonesty from colleagues, unpaid bills, and potential bankruptcy. Despite this he purchased and worked in a bar/restaurant and maintained a relationship with his companion, Kate. He referred to the end as a demolition because a demolition “when you finally stop fearing it, is the beginning of clean ground.”

Karame and Kate traveled by caravan through the Australian outback. The connection to nature, vastness of travel, and the quiet privacy gave the couple a much needed slower pace. They ended up traveling for almost two years heading nowhere in particular. This trip gave them the freedom that they needed.

The tour also helped Karame look at and listen to himself objectively. In the silence, he examined what went wrong in his life and what needed improvement. Sometimes one needs to remove all of the barriers and noise before they can discover who they really are. That is what this tour meant to Karame: an opportunity to find himself.

This book is a memoir that shows readers that a person might have many opportunities and live many lives. They just have to 

be ready to find them.

Barside Manner by Brian Baleno 

 A trend this year seems to be short anthologized slices of life Contemporary Fiction novels set in specific places, usually dining or music establishments, and around ordinary people. The works are short on major plots but long on setting and characterization. This year I reviewed Where The Wave Broke by Robert Rooks, The Travel Man and The Writing Writes, The Writer: Taking Kev to Sizzlin’ Meats and Salads by Kevin Cann. I might even throw in books from years past like Lunch Ladies by Jodi Thomson Carr, The Lindens by Barney Jeffries, Tales From Whiskey Tango From Misery Towers by James Aylott, and The Cabin Sessions by Isobel Blackthorn for sharing many similar qualities with these works.

We can add Brian Baleno’s Barside Manner to this oddly specific subgenre. Just like its predecessors, it captures the immediacy of a small setting and closed circle cast of characters. Despite the small space that confines this specific written universe, Barside Manner presents an intimate close up look that is rich in detail and purpose.

Freddy is the bartender at the local Pittsburgh bar where he greets his regular customers and the occasional new faces. He listens, advises, comforts, provides a sympathetic ear, and sometimes reveals his own personal struggles while his closest associates drink, laugh, joke, bemoan their fate, and engage in friendship and fellowship that are guaranteed until Last Call.

The book itself doesn't really have much of a plot. Mostly it's about characters debating getting rich quick schemes, figuring out the next steps in their lives, changing jobs, changing relationships, moving up, or moving down in life. Plot isn't as important as character and setting. 

We get to know the characters through their dialogue and conversations. They talk about politics, whether AI will take over the world, whether the Steelers have a shot at the playoffs, complain about their jobs or bad relationships, and just about everything else in between. They don't come to agreements but they sure love talking and arguing about it.

The bar is the type of place that is practically a character in and of itself. Freddy makes sure that it's clean and inviting for guests to enter. He knows the usual drink orders and greets both regulars and newcomers jovially. It's cozy, somewhat dim, kind of smoky, has a stench of alcohol but also has a charm and friendly atmosphere that invites characters and readers inside for a few hours.

We also get some insights into the characters that inhabit this confined space. Since there is alcohol involved, they are at their most vulnerable, open, loquacious, reckless, and honest. It is a place where they can forget their troubles for a few hours and someone, usually Freddy, will be there to lend an ear, offer a word, or at the very least fill up another glass.

There is Enzo whom Freddy describes as a “Pittsburgher’s Pittsburgher.” Tough, mouthy, loyal to his family and friends and particularly sports teams. He will be the first to insult the Steelers or the Pirates if they are losing but don't you make the mistake of criticizing them in earshot if you are from out of town. Not unless you have two hours to kill to sit through a lecture about the history of either team.

 There's also Spike, Enzo’s friend. He is a muscular surly man who might strike up a conversation, brandish a fist, or both sometimes during the same discussion. 

Edward LaRoche, AKA Fox Chapel is from a different background than Freddy and the others. His nickname comes from the more affluent area of town in which he lives, a life of wealth and privilege that only exists in his fellow patrons’ fantasies. 

Bob and Jan are a septuagenarian married couple who treat the patrons and Freddy like surrogate children. 

Then there's Freddy who has struggles of his own. At 29 years old, he knows that he has to make changes in his life but is uncertain how to pursue them. He wouldn't mind attending college to obtain a degree but thinks that he is too old.

 He and his girlfriend Lana, a doctoral student trying to get her PhD, have a loving but at times contentious relationship as they discuss their next steps: marriage, moving in together, or breaking up and moving on. As Freddy remarks by quoting U2: “(He) still hasn't found what (he) is looking for.”

There is a complacency that surrounds the characters. It says that things are okay for now. As long as they have a decent job, a roof over their heads, a place to go and destress, maybe some good friends or a loved one then everything is okay. Why aspire for anything better or different? Just stay in the same places, ordering the same drinks, have the same arguments, and remain comfortable.

Many of the situations in the characters' lives involve making changes. They seek money, love, better opportunities, innovation, something new and different. Their actions serve as a reminder to remove from their benign comfort zones to enter different possibilities that test their potential and deliver fulfillment beyond settling. They occur when the characters make changes so they aren't the same people that we met in the beginning.

This book reminds us that we can find pleasure in the ordinary everyday routine but we should also look for the changes that provide the breaks in that routine and challenge us to be different, better people. 

The Shattered Moonstone (Brightstar Manor Series #1) by Patience D. Schoene; Spotlight Stolen By Witty Sarcastic Tone and Gabby Gargoyles

 The Shattered Moonstone (Brightstar Manor Series #1) by Patience D. Schoene; Spotlight Stolen By Witty Sarcastic Tone and Gabby Gargoyles

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

This review can also be found on Reedsy Discovery.

Spoilers: Patience D. Schoene’s The Shattered Moonstone, the first book in The Brightstar Manor Series, has all of the positive traits of an excellent Dark Contemporary Fantasy. However, two things elevate this book from good to extremely great. They are the sharp witty sarcastic tone that comments on and subverts the dark energy of the plot and setting and two brilliant supporting characters that steal the spotlight from their bemused protagonist.

Tamsin Greer, a private investigator has inherited Brightstar Manor in the town of Port Townsend from her deceased Uncle Sullivan. As she settles into her new home and befriends the twin caretakers, Jolvaan and Margarith, a pair of bubbly gargoyles, Tamsin discovers old secrets, hidden magic, and sinister fantastic creatures who have a few scores to settle with the Manor and its current inhabit.

This book has an ominous atmosphere and a neophyte protagonist who needs to be shown the ropes of this odd place. It operates on old fairy tale codes which exist solely in the magical world.

There are sinister creatures, such as demons and vampires, that live within and surround the house. They all have their own histories, standards, and guidelines on how to address them, ask for and grant favors, and sometimes fight against. It's enough to confuse a person and yet it's how this society operates and keeps the darkness from consuming everything.

The dark ominous tone of the setting is contrasted with a sharp sardonic wit that the narration carries throughout. The tonal division keeps the meta commentary fresh and prevents the book from getting lost in its own Gothic horror. 

Sometimes characters call events ahead of when they occur. Tamsin herself knows that she is caught up in a paranormal mystery and reacts like a person who was taught her whole life that monsters weren't real. Now she not only believes in them but has to accept that they live around her like the strangest HOA ever.

The chapters also add to the overall humor with titles such as “Gargoyles Don't Gossip (They Observe),” “Tin Foil, But Make it Fashion,” “Eight Hundred Years of Side-Eye,” and “Don't Take That Tone With Me, I'm Granite.” They are like episode titles for a sitcom from Hell.

The titles alert the reader that while there are genuine shocks and eerie plot points, the book keeps them at an emotional distance. The meta tone injects fear with a playful understanding that subverts and makes light of the plot’s events.

Another breath of fresh air is the appearance of gargoyles, Jolvaan and Margarith. I like to think that gargoyles have become prominent creatures in Fantasy Fiction because many authors, like myself, grew up with and were heavily influenced and inspired by the Disney animated series, Gargoyles.  

To see these characters who were once on the outside fringe of magical creatures gain prominence and establish themselves as defenders and protectors of households, demonic intimidating figures in appearance, and loyal and devoted caretakers is a credit to a pop culture item that still holds up well in terms of animation, storytelling, and characterization. The animated series still continues to resonate even 30+ years later in subsequent works like this one.

In this case Jolvaan and Margarith are a witty addition to this cast and steal just about every moment they are in, drawing attention away from the somewhat generic protagonist, Tamsin and are certainly far more interesting than the bland potential love interest, Naya. The gargoyle gals are a strange combination of dedicated defenders of the homestead and everybody's favorite wine aunts.

They act as plucky comic relief and providers of ancient wisdom. In one chapter, they are cleaning the house singing their own version of Salt N’ Pepa’s “Push It.” (“Clean it real good!”) In another, they offer exposition information on Tamsin’s uncle and his bargains with certain demon houses. In another, they are threatening a demonic intruder with all of their strength if they ever come anywhere near their girl, Tamsin again. 

They may be funny but remember they have sharp talons, fangs, and demonic appearances for a reason. They are also dangerous to an enemy and are not to be trifled with if crossed. They will just make themselves look fabulous and have a witty retort while doing it.

As characters Jolvaan and Margarith embody what a book like The Shattered Moonstone is. A Dark Fantasy Novel with a sharp edge that merges with the ominous energy and becomes its own commentary. 

No Room to Live by Kyle Fields; Brilliant Subversion On Alien Invasion Tropes

No Room to Live by Kyle Fields; Brilliant Subversion On Alien Invasion Tropes

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: Kyle Fields’ No Room to Live isn't just aware of and acknowledges the tropes in Alien invasion Science Fiction. Instead it plays with them, confronts them, critiques them, and subverts them providing a different approach to the subgenre.

Central Pacific pilot Kup Winston survives a collision with a UFO and encounters an enigmatic alien called The Warden. Unfortunately his Good Samaritan gesture creates more problems as The Warden reveals an upcoming invasion project targeted towards Earth. 

The complex narrative moves to various locations and involves various characters, humans and aliens. Hawaii, Texas, Australia, Vanuatu, and Iceland become important strategic locations for the aliens and we see how these changes affect the characters that live there. 

Besides Kup whose original encounter becomes a catalyst for the incidents that follow, it includes Jerry Morgenstern, a Texan attorney, Leilani Damonati, a Hawaiian senator, Hildur Einarsdottir, an Icelandic guide, and Kahealani, Kup’s pregnant wife among others

 Each character goes through various emotions connected to this invasion. From confusion, to hostile suspicion, to curiosity, to empathy, to fury, to resilience in survival, to diplomatic reasoning, to adjusting to the new normal. They reflect the various choices that people would make when faced with this odd situation. 

Some would fire at the newcomers with their guns blazing. Others would at least try to communicate to find out the intent or negotiate terms. Some would welcome aliens with open arms. Others find a new minority to kick around.

 The human characters are complex and within this specific situation have to question their own positions, loyalties, values, and thoughts towards crossing boundaries and breaking laws. No matter what the alien's real intentions are, it's clear that the human race on Earth will never be the same again and many of those old structures will alter if not completely break.

The humans are not the only complex characters in the book. The aliens also are very layered. Kup’s time with The Warden reveals this. There is suspicion along with a survival instinct that Kup is near a creature that might do him harm. Then The Warden tends and cares for him revealing a softer side and we see what might become an alien-human friendship novel. 

Then something changes and we learn something different about The Warden and the aliens’ plans. Kup’s hurt is more evident because of The Warden's betrayal. Within a few chapters our perceptions of the characters change accordingly.

There are also other complications involving the aliens and their society which provide wry commentary on our own. Many of the human characters form genuine friendships with the aliens. Notably Hildur’s relationship with one of the newcomers provides a sincere contrast to the one established between Kup and The Warden. 

It's a way to demonstrate that the aliens are no more a monolith than the humans they encounter. Similar to their Earth counterparts, the aliens have different complex emotions, motives, behaviors, and thoughts about this new world and the people who dwell within it.

There are also deeper themes in the book. Aliens from outer space as a metaphor for immigration is not a new concept. It's been used in works like Alien Nation and episodes like Twilight Zone and Outer Limits among others. 

This book however runs full force with the concept exploring the different legal, political, social, moral, and ethical concerns that would appear in a situation especially if the aliens were found unsuitable in their previous worlds.

It's this stigma of aliens being outsiders in both their home worlds and here that garners the most attention in the book. The human characters learn that the aliens’ former world had very strict social structures and legal requirements over how people were supposed to look, what position they were supposed to hold, and how they were supposed to behave within them. These are impossibly high standards for anyone to hold, so the aliens’ arrival makes even more sense.

This revelation provides a bitter edge that humans may judge the aliens’ home world for these arbitrary regulations but are they any different than the ones here? In fact that makes the aliens’ arrival even more questionable that they might eventually go through the exact same situation here. 

Once again they might find themselves outside a society that refuses to accept them forever searching for a place to belong, a world that they can call home.

 

Empire's Cost Forged in Paper (The 500 Year Journey Book 2) by William H. Brothers; The Maritime Master in An Age of Peril by Michael Thomas Price

 Empire's Cost Forged in Paper (The 500 Year Journey Book 2) by William H. Brothers

William H. Brothers’ Empire's Cost: Forged in Paper is part of an exhaustive comprehensive look at 500 years of Dutch History and the impact that the country had on Europe, North America, and the entire world.

This book focuses on three generations of the Schutt Family from the 16th-17th century, a family that starts out as smiths and metal workers but become involved in business enterprises that create a network of several countries and businesses.

This book is rich in fascinating detail of the history but never loses the human impact and the personal touches that make this a story worth telling. For example we see Jansen and his father Wilhelm forge weapons. We see the process, intense labor hammering them over the anvil, and managing the fire with the bellows. We also see the stress involved in filling a large order. 

However, here is where this book goes beyond a dry recital of historical facts. We see what those weapons can do. Jansen travels to the battlefield and sees the weapons that he forged in action against soldiers on either side. He also sees what happens when a slight flaw in creation can cause great harm when it is unchecked. It definitely teaches Jansen a thing or two about hardship, violence, and to never accept slipshod work.

The approach to business is both historical and contemporary. The historical aspects can be found in the focus on Dutch products such as paper, china dinnerware, iron products, cheese, wine, and in one of the more provocative chapters tulips.

 The book goes into the legendary tulip mania and how quickly this little flower became a central figure in Dutch economy, a status symbol for the wealthy, and then just as quickly lost public interest (but still created a gorgeous landscape throughout the Netherlands). Various characters such as Jensen's son Hawk, are caught up in the windfall and the subsequent crash.

Despite the products such as paper, tulips, and other goods being transported by ship and cart, readers recognize many of the issues that are still surprisingly prevalent in modern business. Characters have to diversify their brand to keep up with the times. Some sacrifice efficiency and excellence for easy money and speedy production. 

There is added pressure to please guild officials, wealthy customers, and the general public. Some question a world that is becoming too fast, too greedy, and too connected to keep up with. No matter what time period, these issues recur throughout history and modern day. 

The Maritime Master in An Age of Peril: Based on the Life of Captain Matthew Price 1777-1821 by Michael Thomas Price 

Michael Thomas Price’s The Maritime Master in An Age of Peril is a fascinating, gripping, and revealing account of his ancestor, Captain Matthew Price who was a sailor.

The book tells of Price's early years serving under his father who was also a captain, then moves into his adulthood, his captaincy, his voyages, his crew, and various adventures traveling from one sea to the next. Even though he marries and fathers five children, it's clear that the sea is his real first home.

The book is a fascinating look at sea voyages from the 18th-19th centuries and the people who braved the waters putting their own lives, crew’s lives, cargo, and ships at risk to deliver them. It's a rough life, a thrilling one to be sure but the book makes the reader aware of the hardships.

Price travels from his native New England to Britain, Russia, France, the East Indies, China, Guadalupe, Jamaica, Bali, Turkey, and India. He experiences various countries and cultures and is changed by his encounters with them. His travels give him a larger perspective and understanding towards other people.

This is particularly noticeable in Price’s changing views towards slavery. He first becomes aware of the deplorable institution while serving under his father. He questions the practice and to his credit doesn't transport them when he becomes captain. However, he passively accepts and justifies it. 

Those justifications disappear when he encounters people from other races. He bonds with black sailors and recognizes that many people that he left behind in the United States would only see their skin color and not their loyalty, hard work, intelligence, and souls. Price's eyes are opened by his experiences voyaging around the world.

The book makes readers aware of the excitement and adventure but also the hardships in sea travel. There are moments when the voyages are monotonous and the crew are at one another's throats.

Characters develop friendships with crew members that are sometimes closer than family. Price is close to Randy who goes to sea as a child just like him. Randy ascends to first mate and his loss completely devastates Price.

One of the most harrowing and emotional chapters occurs when Price is the sole survivor of a shipwreck. His ship is torn to shreds by the foul weather and people who served under him through many voyages are suddenly lost to the ocean’s waves.

 He is left alone, ragged, thirsty, lost, and clinging to life. He barely survived the experience and only chances to survive by the kindness of strangers. This section opens up the risk and danger that such a life contains. One where you see much, experience much, but also lose much in the process.