The Sunflower Widows by Matthew Fults; Building Community Through War and Grief

 

The Sunflower Widows by Matthew Fults; Building Community Through War and Grief 

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

This review is also on Reedsy Discovery.

Spoilers: War brings many victims not just those who were killed but in the survivors especially those who have lost loved ones during war. For the friends and family members, the loss brings long term grief and sorrow. Even when the reasons to go into war are understandable, it still brings violence, death, and heartache. Sometimes the only things that a survivor can do is continue and find positive means of survival. One of the ways is to form a community of those who have had similar experiences so they can share their loss together. That's what happens to the women in Matthew Fults’ novel, The Sunflower Widows.

The Sunflower Widows tells the story of four women from a small Ukrainian village who have lost husbands and other loved ones in battle, particularly during the recent Russo-Ukrainian War. They meet at the home of Kathryna, an elderly woman who is familiar with death and grief. She befriends three younger widows, Yulia, a newlywed, Anna, a middle aged wife of a career soldier, and Natalya, a suddenly single mother. They form a network of support, understanding, and love.

The women's stories are individually told through flashbacks that focus on their lives and relationships before the war then moves to the present as they form a tight bond of sisterhood that encourages laughter, tears, empathy, and understanding. They are fascinating characters coming into their own separate lives before they come together as a group.

Their past stories are moving, detailed, emotional, and sometimes even funny. For example, Yulia and her husband Maksym have a meet-cute when she and her female friends have a flirting match with him and his male friends. In their one and one battle of words, they both emerge as the winners because they agree to date. The date blossoms into a relationship that evolves into a happy marriage for a time.

The flashbacks feature memories that become precious because they are gone. Even the most mundane of activities carry significance that they didn’t before. Anna’s grief is haunted by conversations that were started but never finished about how she and Borys saw their future particularly with or without children.

Their past memories parallel with their new normal in which they have to live without their loved ones.Natalya tries to put up a brave front for her infant son while her world falls apart around her as she mourns her husband. Dmitryo’s death. Her conflicts in being present for her son while wanting to withdraw into herself and her memories are understandable and relatable especially by those who have experienced similar loss. 

They don’t even have to be widows to understand the pain that these women go through. Kathryna herself was unmarried but is no stranger to death. As a child, her father was killed in WWII before she had the chance to really know him. She empathizes with these women because her mother went through the same process.

Because the characters are at different stages in life, the deaths feel like an interruption of what would be a normal process of one life transition to another. Yulia wanted to have a longer marriage to Maksym than the one that ended early and abruptly. Anna was looking forward to Borys’s retirement and spending her twilight years with him. Natalya now has a child, Zdeno, who will grow up never knowing his father, Dmitryo. Putin robbed them all of those chances when his Russian Army invaded their country.

The cause of the war is to fight against the invaders and for Ukraine to maintain its independent sovereignty. The four women understand that and want to live in a country free of invaders and Russian authority disrupting their cities, homes, routines, and daily lives. But agreeing with the cause doesn’t make the grief any less bearable and their husbands any less missed. This acknowledgement of courage and sacrifice can be seen when Kathryna lays out two more chairs when she meets the other three women. The reason that she sets the two empty chairs is because “there will always be widows.” 

The Sunflower Widows has a strong theme of community and togetherness. In their mutual grief, the four women are there for each other. They listen to each other’s stories offering tea and conversation. The other women hold and sit for Zdeno becoming honorary aunts. They encourage each other to change jobs and relocate if they have to. They wipe away one another’s tears and wrap their arms around each other with loving embraces. 

In collaborating and communicating with each other and drawing other mourners in, the Sunflower Widows learn that while grief never really goes away, there can always be something positive found in sharing it with and helping others. 

The Last Ritual by Dragos Gaszpar; A Fantasy That Is Sometimes Too Dark and Somber For Its Own Good

 

The Last Ritual by Dragos Gaszpar; A Fantasy That Is Sometimes Too Dark and Somber For Its Own Good 

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: When a book starts with the line “we killed God,” you know that you are in for a dark somber time. That's what you get with The Last Ritual by Dragos Gaszpar, a dark Epic Fantasy which is mostly set during extensive battles between mortal enemies.

A group of traveling companions have spent centuries fighting against the beastly Leath. After some of their companions are killed in their latest battle, they think that they have an advantage when one of their own, Tarra returns from captivity with a Leath named Skar in tow. Having one of their enemies in their camp gives them an opportunity to study and understand the Leath and fight them smarter rather than harder. 

The somber tone is the book’s biggest strength but oddly enough is also its biggest weakness. It answers a fundamental question of whether a book can be too dark for its own good. The Last Ritual says, “yes.”

The tone is what makes this Fantasy novel realistic which sounds like a contradiction in terms but in this case it works. It serves as a deconstruction of tropes which are often found in Fantasies.

While battles are the norm for many novels and death is expected, that's often a side feature of the conflict. In this case, victory in war gives way to endless slaughter and the heroism faced by the characters is switched instead for brutal inescapable violence. There are no wins when enemy armies have been fighting against each other for a long time. Instead, it is a resigned weariness that forces them to move forward because to end it would lead them to wondering what the point was in all of the fighting in the first place.

The constant battles can be weary not only to the characters but to the Reader as well. The book starts out suspenseful as some characters are met with death pretty early giving an intentional ill ease. But the fights and violence are so frequent and repetitive, that battle fatigue sets in. It becomes harder to remember strategies, motives, and actions. After a while, the battles are interchangeable. The Reader squirms with impatience and even boredom mirroring the emotions of the characters who live for the fight but are sick of it as well.

The dour nature can be found not only in tone and plot but in character as well. The companions face not only the Leath but disagreements from within. For example, Tarra who has spent time with the Leath suggests a more communicative and understanding approach that encourages dialogue and negotiation with them. Her colleague Silanna is more fiery tempered and is in favor of slaughtering every Leath and letting the god that they just killed rise from the dead to sort it out later. Melaan, who serves as the primary protagonist, hovers between the two ideologies, violent fury at the Leath and empathetic humanity, especially the more that he talks to Skar and sees a multifaceted complex individual and not a mindless monster. 

The characters face their own views about mortality, prejudice, xenophobia, and what happens when the enemy is more within than outside. They argue and bicker a great deal amongst themselves. Just like the battles they often go back and forth on a regular basis. However, just like the fights against the Leath, the characters' personal struggles become tedious and cringy. At one point they stop an emergency situation just to have another argument that gets more shrill, irritating, and makes the Reader root for the Leath to end it. The protagonists' feelings towards each other also plays into realism that the constant struggle against the Leath is what holds them together as a unit. Without it, they wouldn't be close or even friends. 

The Last Ritual is a book that thrives on being as troubling and morbid as possible. It works but it also goes a long way and leaves the Reader feeling hollow and empty.

 

All Silence Must Cease (The Peacebringer Series Book 2) by Raymond W. Wilkinson; The Women of Vespa Academy Are Back in a Brave New Bloody World

 

All Silence Must Cease (The Peacebringer Series Book 2) by Raymond W. Wilkinson; The Women of Vespa Academy Are Back in a Brave New Bloody World 

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews 

This review is also on Reedsy Discovery.

Spoilers: If there is one trend that has stood out among the books that I am reading this year so far, it's the abundance of sequels. I have read nine sequels so far so many that I am considering making a separate Best of Category just for sequels at the end of the year. It's not just that they are common sequels either. They are sequels to books that were favorites in years past. This year, I read Wallace House of Pain by S.M. Stevens, the follow up to Beautiful and Terrible Things which was my #1 Contemporary Fiction book last year. I also read Merchants of Light and Bone by Erika McCorkle and The Penny Arcade Mother's Care Orphanage by David Neuman the continuations of Merchants of Knowledge and Magic and Kaleidoscopic Shades Within Black Eternity respectively, both of which were my top favorites from 2022. Not to mention the continuing adventures of The Forge Trilogy in The Shadow Guardians Series by G. Russell Gaynor, The Others by Evette Davis, The Mantis Gland Series by Adam Andrews Johnson, The Everlan Trilogy by Conor Jest, and The Angela Hardwicke Science Fiction Mysteries by Russ Colchamiro. Well we can also add All Silence Must Cease, the second book in The Peacebringer Series by Raymond W. Wilkinson, the follow up to To End Every War which was my favorite book of 2023.

To End Every War was a unique book in the Epic Fantasy genre in that it wasn't an Epic Fantasy. I mean it was. It was set in an Alternate version of our world in 1902 where Elves, Dwarves, Giants, Centaurs, Selkies, demon-like Abraxas, and Fairies exist alongside Humans and in this case attend university together. There were the usual tropes that can be found in such works: arcane mysteries, magic, strife among various kingdoms, and so on. 

But what set it apart was that the focus was on the characters, a circle of female friends and their conflicts with each other and adjustments to living in a new environment away from home. No epic quests, no good vs. evil battle. Just six women of different species, backgrounds, and personalities learning to live with and like each other, more Feminist than Fantasy. In my previous review, I compared it to “Lord of the Rings meets Mary McCarthy’s The Group” and said that “it's not an Epic Fantasy with an All-Female cast. It's a Woman's Fiction Novel that happens to have a Fantasy setting.” I did not exaggerate.

The second volume is less character driven and more plot driven but no less interesting. Alongside the individual characters and their internal issues within themselves, each other, and their peers, it also puts them into the larger scope of warring communities, secret societies, political backstabbing, and their own roles as future community leaders, influencers, and fighters. 

The women are definitely rife with personal trauma that has affected their lives in Vespa Academy. Esmeralda Vespa, the Human future Duchessa, becomes a central figure in various power struggles. She weighs potential marriages and obtains a very dangerous rival with an unstable prince.

Zabel Lusine, an enigmatic Elf is pregnant and has a secret marriage to another Elf while her husband's guardian is her patron. Her body is also inhabited by a simulacrum, a violent Dark Elf named Shamir.

Viatrix Corna, a scholarly Dwarf finds her image of her family and species called into question. She has to deal with her father having an extramarital affair, her brother being part of a Socialist organization that is planning violence, and her grandfather being a member of a secret society that finances many of the happenings in the other lands.

While Alya Pamoroyan, an Abraxas, is studying in Vespa Academy, her kingdom has been attacked. She is anxious about her parents who are reported missing and her newly married sister, Dina who will soon be right in the thick of things.

Kirsi Takala, a Selkie, is struggling to put a hold on her violent nature, which all Selkies possess (and makes them good but terrifying fighters). She also is trying to solve a mystery involving her mother's time in Vespa and the dark secrets that led to her dismissal and a murder.

Kamila “Kam” Ruszo, a Human/Fairy hybrid is going through physiological changes as her body transforms into a more Fairy-like form. She also learns that her mother is a spy and assassin and has the Royal family in her sight.

The six women's struggles are both external and introspective, mixing the personal and political. There are great moments that collide their private lives with their public and pushes them into a wider circle of influence and change.

One of those moments involves an assassination attempt during a public event. The characters also face various conflicts such as Kam’s with her mother, Viatrix with her father and brother, Kirsi with bullying students, Alya with Dina, Esmeralda with the prince, and Zabel with Shamir during the attempt and its aftermath. These intertwining conflicts change their lives by pushing them onto darker, unsettling, and unstable paths.

The larger big picture events surround the characters but except for some violent moments and allegiances of older friends and family members do not directly involve them. Being peripherally involved might not be the same way as physically involved but it is no less traumatic.

They might be on the edge of the events, but those edges are becoming narrower and they will soon be thrown in.

Right now they have to live with the consequences of other’s actions. They worry about family members being exiled or disappearing. They are disillusioned by family members who walk violent and treacherous paths. Their darker sides become even more present as they give into violence, sadness, and rage. They weigh the changes that will be made to end these conflicts. 

The strengths in both this and the previous book is the tight sisterhood and solidarity that form around the main characters. In this book, we still see that each character is able to put her own worries aside and use her talents to aid the others. Whether it's Viatrix’s scholarly pursuits, Kam’s interest in sneaking in and out of forbidden places, Zabel's intuitive wisdom, Alya's stoic rationality, Kirsi’s obstinate energy, or Esmeralda’s leadership and big picture thinking, these women always find a way to help one another through their various struggles. Which makes the ending all the more questionable, darker, and potentially even more tragic.

As the book ends, each character is recruited by secret organizations, go home to fight in their own way, make advantageous marriages and alliances, and settle into private lives in their kingdoms while becoming involved with the local political scene. In other words, they have to take larger parts in the worlds around them.These changes could mean that they will not only participate in the upcoming conflicts but will be forced into becoming enemies with each other. 

The school motto might be “To End Every War” but war seems to be what is going to happen. The characters have to decide whether they will take part or stick together to find a way around war and end it.

Redemption The Last Order by Anirudh Vaishya; A Broken Reflection by Shelly M. Patel

 

Redemption: The Last Order by Anirudh Vaishya 

Redemption: The Last Order is a screenplay that is both cerebral and thrilling. It is equally a mental challenge and adrenaline rush. It would be interesting to see how it resonates as a film for moviegoers who like action military movies and those who like psychological and political thrillers. 

On his first mission PFC John Brandt is the only survivor in a strategic fiasco that ended with the deaths of his crew, a base destroyed in a nuclear standoff, and injuries that put him in a coma for five years. When he awakens, he is informed that he was in a simulation and the memory was one of his lieutenant’s. He’s awake but the rest of his team are still in their comas and his CO has died. His superiors are very interested in how he broke from the simulation and woke up as though his brain is somehow immune to the computer interface that his teammates are still in. Meanwhile, his journalist girlfriend, Amanda, is missing while covering a high profile story in China and war between the US and North Korea seems inevitable because of interference from Su Hyang, a former US ally/informer turned traitor. Weapons threaten to rain down on both sides and one location hits a bit too close to home for Brandt, literally. 

This is a very effective Thriller. The opening is tense as Brandt is faced in a worst case scenario that is meant to have no positive resolution. Every decision is calculated for him to lose which puts him out of his element. It’s an overwhelming and traumatizing experience that plays on many of the fears and anxieties of being in a warzone and knowing that every decision that one makes could be their last. 

That this is a simulation offers no comfort. In a way, it is very similar to The Manchurian Candidate or other films that play on the plan of brainwashing military personnel. They study the fears and anxieties and don’t have any considerations about what it might do to the participants. It is a microcosm of the concept of war itself in which people in the higher echelons send those in the lower to fight and die, testing their resolve, physical endurance, intellect, adaptability, strategy, and survival instincts. They send them to die and consider the results either unfortunate mistakes, acceptable losses, or satisfactory when more on the other side are killed.

Brandt’s relationship with other characters flesh out his personality. While there are many characters such as his mother, friends, and colleagues who awaken Brandt’s protective nature, there are two in particular that serve as counterpoints to Brandt’s journey. The first is Amanda. Sometimes romances are a distraction or an unnecessary subplot in the genre but in this specific case and context it works. 

Amanda is just as dedicated to her journalism career as Brandt is to his military career. Their encounters are not a passionate romance between lovers but a partnership of equals who use their different talents to report the truth and protect the people doing so. Their relationship is a realistic coupling of people in high risk stressful situations. They gravitate towards each other as an emotional release so when things are settled, they have a hard time functioning with the day to day dilemmas and conflicts like where are they going to live or what their future plans are. 

The other emotional counterpoint is Brandt’s father, Charles. He seems like a quiet unassuming guy but we later learn that he is more involved than he lets on. In an extended flashback, one of the highlights of the script, we learn Charles’ backstory and his close connection to the current events. We see him as a young inexperienced brilliant student and his allyship with another character. We also see how these past decisions shaped his son’s future and those of other key players. The tragedy is human error caused this situation. Things were done and said at the wrong time,place, and circumstances. Decisions were made that only peripherally involved the lead characters but led to distrust, suspicion, and a lifetime of rage, despair, revenge, and compliance. 

Redemption: The Last Order is the kind of screenplay that keeps you at the edge of your seat but makes you think about what you just observed. It says a lot about patriotism, free will, mind control, domination, propaganda, and what it really means to fight, die, and live for your country.

A Broken Reflection by Shelly M. Patel 

This is a shorter adaptation of this review, the full review can be seen on LitPick. 

A Broken Reflection presents an absorbing investigation with multiple viewpoints and leads but ends with a resolution that is disappointing, overdone, and does very little to make this variation unique or stand out from others.

Claire and Stephen seem to have an idyllic affluent married suburban life but it's all surface. There are cracks in their home life that are becoming more evident. Stephen has had many extramarital affairs and Claire is being seen by many colleagues and acquaintances as unstable and temperamental. Stephen’s infidelities and Claire's characteristics become more evident when a woman known to the couple has been found murdered. Claire is seen as a primary suspect especially when it turns out that the deceased woman was Stephen’s mistress. As bodies pile up, evidence gathers, and Claire and Stephen become more suspicious towards each other, Claire conducts her own investigation to clear her name. Meanwhile a very devious pair observe the events with their own agendas. Jessica has a dangerous fixation for Stephen and Cole is stalking the object of his affection: Claire.

There are some engaging bits, particularly as the characters are introduced and the investigation consumes them. Since the book is told from multiple viewpoints starting with Claire's, we already see the imperfections but not outright. Our sympathies move back and forth between Claire and Stephen depicting one another as abuser and victim, innocent and guilty. This causes the Reader discomfort and suspicion as we search for the real answers.

We peer into the points of view from various characters and we experience quite a few obsessions and potential motives. No one in this book comes off particularly well or likable. When the murders occur, it's not necessarily a question of whodunnit and is more who wouldn't do it?

By far the two most intriguing characters are Jessica and Cole. It says something in a cast of unstable dangerous people, that these two are the worst. Jessica is conniving and manipulative in her approach while Cole is more immature, having an almost adolescent crush on Claire. They take different pursuits towards the objects of their affections. These two are not a mentally well duo.

Unfortunately as interesting as the investigation is, the resolution is every bit as disappointing. Because of spoilers, it won't be revealed but let's just say that it's a cliche that is often found in soap operas and Psychological Thriller.There is a final twist that salvages the reveal somewhat, but it undermines what had been revealed so far and could have done with it. 

The ending of A Broken Reflection shatters what would have been a clear image of a good suspense novel into pieces.

The Emissary (The Selalian Chronicles Volume 1) by Peter Krausche; Immersive Science Fiction Puzzles and Enchants with Immense Plot, Superlative Characters, and Visceral Setting

 The Emissary (The Selalian Chronicles Volume 1) by Peter Krausche; Immersive Science Fiction Puzzles and Enchants with Immense Plot, Superlative Characters, and Visceral Setting 

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: I know this is going to be a good year book wise (I can't speak for any other reason though, especially Presidential wise). But it will be a good book year when I have already found a candidate for the Best Book of 2025. Peter Krausche’s The Emissary first book in The Selalian Chronicles.

This book has everything that I love in a Science Fiction novel dialed up to eleven. An immersive visceral detailed setting. A wide spread plot that covers various situations, worlds, and time periods. Some puzzling points that hint at future revelations and hold the Reader's interest. A large cast of multifaceted deep characters. Strong themes that are relevant to their society and our own.

The book begins with a long prologue about Philip Brannon, the head of a religious order called The Selalian Society. He recounts a romance and short marriage with a mysterious beguiling woman, Silana who introduced him to her unique views.

This prologue is a self-contained story into itself which could be a separate novella. There are hints of a connection to the main plot but so far they are not expressly stated. It lends itself to speculation about its involvement in the overall book leading us to make our own speculations. It is also a nice romantic story of two very different people that shake up each other's worlds and make them think about things that they previously hadn't. 

Silana sees beyond her people's arrogance and prejudice to understand human concepts like love, devotion, and basic empathy. Phillip opens himself to deeper concepts of spiritual consciousness and universal connections. Silana settles into a marriage with Phillip and Phillip transcribes an account of her otherworldly origins. The events of the novel proper is the account.

The majority of the book is set on the planet Piral after an event called The Galactic Diaspora. Some strange ominous occasions that herald trouble are on the horizon. There are rumors that the Millennial Peace is coming to an end and greedy opportunistic monarchs want to stretch their rule to other kingdoms. The women of the spiritual Selalian Order are in disarray after the mysterious death of their High Priestess and a young inexperienced one was installed in her place. Catyana, a future acolyte for the Order, has frightening potentially prophetic dreams. There are a group of enchantresses with murderous violent intent who are responsible for mysterious deaths and misfortune. An amnesiac stranger, named Vilam Tavisan, arrives and befriends a small circle of women, notably Catyana and Nova, a woman with hidden powers and ties to the Selalian Order. There are hints that a figure from mythology called The Emissary might have finally arrived and what a coincidence, Vilam fits many of the signs. Could he be the foretold Emissary and if so what does that mean for the future of Piral and the rest of the universe?

The details in Krausche’s Piral setting are massive and quite impressive. He put together a timeline at the end of the book that illustrates the important events in the world’s history that are important to the text and some that the book hasn’t referred to at all (or rather hasn’t referred to yet since this is a series). They give background information to events like the forming of the Selalian Order and what caused the Galactic Diaspora and the results afterwards. It puts the book into a wider scope that involves the entire universe and no doubt carries important information from volume to volume. Also, it shows Krausche’s ability to create a complex history of his fictional universe.

This is one of those plots that involve a wide cast of characters and in this case various worlds. Even the prologue, which is seemingly unrelated, reveals that Earth is an active participant in this narrative. Things that happen in Piral are connected to things that happen on Earth. The fact that the religious society that is a large part of Piralian life has a small but growing sect on Earth suggests that these completely separate universes will soon have to unite on some future date. So this is unknown through most of the book but perhaps is acknowledged by Phillip’s time at least in some capacity. 

It’s also worth noting that there are some suggestions that time is not linear in this book. Philip is revealed to be the Earth Selalian Order head through a dialogue that identifies him as such in the early 90’s. In the prologue set in the early 80’s, he reads Silana’s account that we assume is most of the novel. It makes sense that Philip is reading historical documents of people that existed in the past. But what then muddies the water is within the text, Vilam begins to dream about Philip and Silana’s wedding and even indicates that he knew them. So he is having dreams in the past of the man reading about him in the future that he may have known or had even been in the past. Perhaps these are prophetic dreams. Perhaps this is proof of reincarnation. More than likely, time in this series is not linear but cyclical. Things that some characters remember are not just what happened in the past but what will happen in the future. These thoughts require Readers to pay attention to the details as they make their own interpretations. 

While the sweeping plot and intricate setting are well written, the heart of the book are the richly detailed characters. The characters go through various trials and challenges that bring out their complex motives and fluid personalities. Two characters for example, Soshia and Maralena start out as maids and comic relief characters. Soshia is particularly humorous when she openly and blatantly flirts with Vilam who is bemused but then receptive to her advances. Then she is put through a very traumatic violent situation and we learn about her and Maralena’s backstory. We find out that they are more than we originally thought.

Catyana is another character who evolves quite a bit both in terms of her gifts and through her own personality. She is a very shy, passive young woman with a large talented family. She has odd quirks that confuse and sometimes upset her so she tries to suppress them as much as she is able to. A shocking experience intensifies her power but also almost drives her insane. She is able to access a much higher power and receive training by the Selalian Order where hopefully she can learn to increase and hopefully control her abilities. This trajectory could lead her down a path of great wisdom, authority, but also insanity.

Many of the characters from opposing kingdoms or ideologies are also portrayed as understandable. Some are driven out of revenge over the deaths of loved ones. Others are motivated by a desire for power when they themselves are marginalized. Some want to maintain the status quo and are afraid of the changes on the horizon so are desperate to hold onto what they can. Some of their actions improve things and bring people together and others create more dissension and division.

Nova and Vilam are at the center of the various conflicts and become catalysts for many of the other characters to facilitate their own paths and personal journeys while reflecting and traversing their own. Nova is a leader with great power and wisdom which she contains or wields when necessary. Quite often she is an observer that mentors and guides others to achieving their potential but still has emotional ties to the people involved.

Vilam also goes through a brilliant journey, particularly when he begins to exhibit the traits of The Emissary. Many of the characteristics are done by accident or without meaning to. He is someone who befriends and defends various characters like Soshia, Nova, and Catyana. His protective nature towards those around him as well as his humility when confronted with this prophecy show that he is the right person. He is a simple but kind man who leads because it’s the right thing to do not to gain accolades or fulfill someone else’s prophecy. He fits the type of reluctant hero, someone who makes a good leader because he doesn’t want to be. 

Vilam’s regular guy persona briefly declines in one chapter where he uses one of the foretold weapons of the Emissary. His voice changes and speech patterns become more elevated. His posture and movements become more strident and he uses his weapons as though they were attached to him. Vilam briefly disappears leaving The Emissary in his place. It's an awesome but haunting transformation especially because it's only temporary and he reverts back to his original self. Vilam’s change might involve a complete evolution or overhaul of the man that he was into the man that he is destined to become. 

The Emissary is an immersive experience that captivates and puzzles Readers. The first book leaves a long-lasting impression which the next volumes are challenged to fill.

Scars of The Heart by Bob Van Laerhoven; Around the World Trip Into Loss, Grief, Love, and Terror

 Scars of The Heart: Short Stories by Bob Van Laerhoven; Around the World Trip Into Loss, Grief, Love, and Terror

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Bob Van Laerhoven knows how to take an around the world trip through different countries right into the dark and damaged hearts and minds of the people who live within those countries. Alejandro’s Lie focused on the aftermath of a dictator’s reign in a fictional Latin American country and the effect on its people, particularly a man who was just released from prison and has PTSD. 

His follow up, Shadow of the Mole is a dual narrative set in WWI France involving a psychiatrist's obsession with an amnesiac patient and the patient’s manuscript which might be a novel or his memories of being cursed by a Romany couple. 

With his anthology, Scars of the Heart: Short Stories, Van Laerhoven does what he does best: peer into the tormented minds and heavy hearts of people in different interesting locations. It is less an around the world trip than it is an “around the human psyche” trip.

The best stories in this anthology are: 

“The Abomination”- In Syria, the narrator is part of a terrorist cell called the Shabah. As he languishes in a Doctors Without Borders facility with an amputated arm, he thinks about his life and what he did to get to that point. 

The Narrator is written to be a truly delusional and angry man. He sees himself as a wrestler or a superhero that he calls The Abomination. His fantasies about fictional heroes and villains, toxic masculine attitude, and confidence in his virility fill his mind with delusions. 

While in the hospital, he is faced with the reality of his actions. It is a reality of broken and injured people, dead bodies, friends and family members violently taken away from their loved ones, a country torn apart by war and hatred, and his own damaged body. His missing arm is a testament to the lives that he took.

Unfortunately, reality comes too late for The Narrator. His violent fantasies are all that he lives for and even when someone reaches out in kindness and compassion, all he knows is rage. All he can feel is anger and toxic pride. The only way that he can act is to commit destruction towards others and ultimately himself.

“Scars of the Heart”- In Belgium, a photojournalist is captivated by Jean-Claude, an octogenarian who tells his life story of being a soldier in Algiers. Jean-Claude recalls his colleague Bisserund who participated in a mission that ended in betrayal. 

Most of the story is a character study of Jean-Claude and his memories of Bisserund. He recalls details about his appearance, personality, and their experiences. It shows that in stressful times, particularly war, friendships develop. Sometimes the people that we encountered during those times are more vivid to us than our own family members. 

The twist in the end offers some interesting reinterpretations of the narrative, particularly Jean-Claude’s voice. It forces the Reader to reflect on what we were told about Jean-Claude and Bisserund. How much of it was real and how much did Jean-Claude make up? How much were his actual memories or how he wanted those memories to be? What about his confession? Why did he feel the need to tell the Photojournalist? Was there a connection between him and Bisserund like Jean-Claude hinted? Were guilt, remorse, illness, or fear of getting caught the reasons behind his end? 

In the end, we are given so much but at the same time not enough. This leaves us to investigate Jean-Claude’s story in our own minds and make our own interpretations about what we were told and what was revealed.

“The Bogeyman and Regina The Street Wench”-In Liberia, a reporter nicknamed the Bogeyman is covering the war torn city of Monrovia. He takes shelter with a nun, Sister Sponza, who is trying to escape with the children in her care. One of them is Regina, a girl who has lost her leg and seems to see right through the Bogeyman.

This story shows how stressful times can make strange friendships. The Bogeyman, Regina, and Sister Sponza are thrown together during violent circumstances. They come to depend on one another to survive. A cynical reporter, a selfless nun, and a former child soldier would have very little need to be together, but now here they are. 

This is also a time of sacrifice and asking questions of oneself and others. Some people rise to the occasion while others do not. Sister Sponza asks a question of The Bogeyman which leaves him to question his motives, the corners that he cut in the past, his earlier plagiarism, and his own egocentric desires to make something of himself. 

The Bogeyman has to examine himself to see whether he has the courage and fortitude to do what Sister Sponza asks or whether this will be the latest in his catalog of disappointments.  

“Abducted and Raped by Aliens”-In New York, failed author, Penman reflects on his ongoing rivalry with Stanislas Nakowski, a fellow writer who has an active sex life and writes about UFOs and alien abductions.

This story has one of the most memorable narrative voices with Penman’s third person point of view. His strange speech patterns like repeating the phrase “looky-looky” or non sequiturs like “this wet and slimy cold invading my nostrils is the swamp-stench of animal sex, eternal sex, war sex” portray him as someone who potentially shows signs of ADHD, or some neurological disorder. 

Penman's thought process could be someone who has difficulties processing information either from birth or trauma. It is also worth noting that he is addicted to cocaine and that may play into his mindset. His thoughts could just as easily be reflective of a mind that is slowly losing connections to reality.  

Stanislas himself is a memorable foil to Penman’s narration. He not only believes and writes about UFOs but he seems obsessed with them, almost aroused by them. A witness's story of an abduction is often interrupted by Stanislas’ lewd commentary and his interest in the witness’ sex life. 

He also had prior history of sexual assault in Kosovo when he and Penman’s paths crossed before. He is fueled by his sexual experiences and many of them either had violence during or afterwards. Stanislas equates sex, violence, and aliens in some crazed fantasy life.

With Penman and Stanislas we are experiencing two men whose minds are traumatized and fractured from earlier events. Both are completely unstable, unhealthy, and are bound to lives of further alienation, frustrations, violence, rage, and death.

“Lilies of The Valley”-In a WWII concentration camp, a Romany girl cares for her brother and ensures their survival by having sex with the guards. 

The Narrator is a resourceful young woman who is brought down to the most basic survival instincts and she knows it too. She was once a talented dancer and her brother an accomplished violinist but none of that matters now in the camps. 

She only uses her talents to be granted favors such as extra food or to live another day. Her morality and self-respect have long ago disappeared and now she is numb and unfeeling to what the guards do to her. The Nazis took everything that was precious to her leaving a broken shell.

Just when the Narrator thinks that she is devoid of all feelings beyond living for the next day, she is given a final tragedy, one that fills her heart and mind with rage. She uses her beauty and mind to engage in a one on one battle against one of the guards and others.

The Narrator becomes a blade of revenge and uses it against those who hurt her. As though she were the human embodiment of karma, she commits an act of vengeance that is equal to the cruelty that was inflicted upon her. 

“The Left-Handed Path of Tantra”-In 1970’s Antwerp, Johnny Di Machio had plenty of nightmares, particularly about a time when he was sexually assaulted as a boy. 

Johnny tries to live a normal life in Antwerp selling books and dating women, but he is completely haunted by these nightmares. His past eats away at him making him unable to function in the present. He has tried many means to overcome his trauma: sex, drugs, travel, meditation, seeking advice from psychologists and gurus. 

Johnny comes close to becoming romantically involved but he freezes upon intimacy. The nightmares and memories won’t leave. Johnny is an adult whose mind is frozen inside his bitter abused violent childhood. 

When Johnny is finally confronted with his memories, he has to evaluate his character: what happened, what he did, what he didn’t do, who was the perpetrator, and who was the real victim in the past. He is confronted with the truth and only when he has the truth can he actually begin to come to terms with himself and finally heal.

But One Life: The Story of Nathan Hale by Samantha Wilcoxson; Interesting Historical Fiction Novel About Nathan Hale Goes Beyond His Final Words

 

But One Life: The Story of Nathan Hale by Samantha Wilcoxson; Interesting Historical Fiction Novel About Nathan Hale Goes Beyond His Final Words

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: Probably if it wasn't for Nathan Hale’s final words, we probably wouldn't know much about him at all. Nathan Hale (1755-1776) was a school teacher who took up arms during the American Revolutionary War. He volunteered for an intelligence gathering mission in New York City but was caught, exposed, and eventually executed. His final words were, “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” These words proved to be an inspiration to many of the Patriots fighting for American independence and are still remembered as one of the most important quotes in American history.

Just as she did with her previous work, Luminous: The Story of a Radium Girl, Samantha Wilcoxson's But One Life: The Store of Nathan Hale, brings to life a historical figure who lived during important times. They are written as regular normal people that are caught in dramatic and tragic events that are beyond their scope. They heed the call, rise to the occasion, and make their mark during their time and for the future.

Wilcoxson never loses sight of Hale’s ordinariness. In fact, that is a key part of this book. Most of the plot focuses on his university years and his teaching career. The Revolutionary War does not even kick off until halfway through the book. His time as a spy only features in the last two or three chapters (more on that later). In fact during University, Hale is seen as a tag along kid brother following his elder sibling Enoch around. This earns him the nickname “Secondus” (Second) to Enoch’s “Primus.” 

Hale is someone who stumbles upon the world at large rather than charging headlong into it. At Yale, he and his classmates which include future spymaster, Benjamin Tallmadge are aware of events like the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party but are not involved in them. Mostly they study and debate whether taxation without representation is unjust and whether they are really considered British or American citizens. Like many college students before and since, Hale and his friends become aware of a larger world around them and discover their political and social identities, emphasizing and sometimes annoying everyone else with them. Their early contributions to  American independence consist of knowing that such a thing is possible and identifying as Americans. They probably never thought that the road to independence would become so bloody and violent. 

Hale’s post-University but pre-Revolution career is a series of ups and downs, some of it affected by the changing world and some of it from his own difficulties. His first teaching job in Haddan Landing is such a disaster that he resigns before Christmas and accepts a much better position in New London. His courtship with Betsey Adams is troubled by contrasting ideals and differing future plans. He even becomes more involved with the concepts of liberty and independence instead of just talking about it. He has the radical notion of educating girls as well as boys so they can embrace the enlightened values of freedom and education. He speaks out in support of the Suffolk Resolves, a declaration that rejected the Massachusetts Government Act  and resulted in the boycott of imported goods because of the Intolerable Acts. When the shot is heard around the world at the Battle of Lexington and Concord, Hale officially enlists. This decision becomes a deal breaker for Betsey who ends their relationship but it leads Hale directly towards his inevitable destiny. 

Hale’s military service is rich in details about the hardships that soldiers and civilians endured during war time. From the freezing conditions, to frequent illnesses, changing orders, disgruntled enlistees, and of course the threat of violence and death in battle, this approach takes out the mindless propaganda and leaves the realism that is involved in warfare. Hale’s hopes boil down to staying alive and hoping that this fight will be worth it in the end. Maybe his country will have its independence and  Hale might gain some significance. It’s only towards the end that both goals come to fruition but not without Hale making the ultimate sacrifice.

While the book does a great job of humanizing Hale’s journey and making him a real person, it also confused me at first. I read most of it wondering when we were going to read about Hale becoming a spy. Why was the most important historical fact about Hale pushed so far towards the back of the book? After all other books like 355: The Women of Washington’s Spy Ring by Kit Sergeant put espionage front and center and Wilcoxson only devotes the final third to Hale’s missions. I was curious until I  read the chapters that covered Hale’s spying. It turns out that he wasn’t really that good at it. 

In Wilcoxson’s laudable effort to humanize Hale and the other early American patriots, she makes the Reader aware of their flaws. While Hale was a dedicated Patriot, an excellent soldier, and probably a terrific forward thinking teacher, he was not so adept at the spy game. In his first and only assignment, he manages to gather some intelligence but his cover is easily blown and he is very quickly discovered. It’s kind of humorous especially compared to Sergeant’s work where Meg Moncrieff Coughlin, Elizabeth Burgin, and Sally Townsend have much more successful multiple missions as members of the Culper Spy Ring and one may have even been the notorious “Agent 355,” one of Washington’s most successful female spies and who still to this day has remained unidentified. I was disappointed when I came upon Hale’s chapters and preferred the rest of the book, but after much thought I realized that was the point. 

Nathan Hale was not some super spy secret agent. He was just an ordinary guy thrust into an extraordinary situation. One that in some ways he was unprepared for, but rose to the occasion anyway. He was someone who was proud to be one of the many who fought and died for his country and ultimately summarized those feelings with the right words. 

New Book Alert: To End Every War (Book One) by Raymond W. Wilkinson; Complex Occult Academia Feminist Fantasy of Female Friendship is the Best New Book of 2023

 

New Book Alert: To End Every War (Book One) by Raymond W. Wilkinson; Complex Occult Academia Feminist Fantasy of Female Friendship is the Best New Book of 2023

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Well the year is over. Time to close it and open the next one with a bang and a review of the best new book of 2023. That honor goes to Raymond W. Wilkinson’s To End Every War. It's a complex superb Occult Academia Feminist Fantasy novel about a group of women who represent different species in their world and are united for the common cause of building peace and stopping war between the various people and nations.

In 1901, Vespa Academy is the most prestigious and well respected university. Students all over their world attend alongside classmates and faculty of different species. There are Humans, Dwarves, Elves, Fairies, Selkies, Giants, Abraxas, Kitsunes, and Centaurs, to name a few. Many of the countries in which they come from are at war with each other and they all have a shared history of domination and oppression.

 During her first year at the Academy, Esmeralda, the Human Duchessa of Vespa is determined to do something about it. She arranges for four women from different species to be roommates to open up potential friendships and communication and to put an end to the various wars that surround them. After all, if people fear what they don't understand, then understanding is what needs to happen.

Besides Esmeralda, the potential roommates are: Viatrix Corna, a scholarly and devout Dwarf whose parents are professors at the Academy, Zabel Lusine, a quiet and mysterious Elf who is hiding various secrets from her past, Kirsi Takala, a wild Selkie (a water creature like a siren) who is struggling with her addictions, and Alya Panosyan, a serious minded and stern Abraxas (half person half-bull) who has spent much of her life fighting and isn't quite ready to lay down her weapons. Other characters also become important to this newly made quintet like Kamilla “Kam” Ruszo, a saucy Human/Fairy hybrid sophomore who is on academic probation, Bernie, Esmeralda’s loyal assistant, Violeta AKA Doppel, a look alike and spy for Esmeralda, Dina, Alya’s more reserved sister, Erna, a bullying Giant and Warden, and Snow, a naive Centaur. Through their tumultuous first academic year, these women study, attend classes, fall in love, learn things about their families and their world, suffer great loss, achieve mighty victories, and cultivate a deep friendship that changes all of them.

To End Every War is a strange combination of Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, and Mary McCarthy’s The Group. It is an Epic Fantasy with amazing world building and wide sweeping plots. It is also a first rate Women's Fiction novel in which each character experiences personal struggles, challenges, and conflicts that changes their outlook and strengthens their bond with each other. 

Each character is masterfully explored as individuals and as a group. Not in some time have I read a novel about such a memorable team of friends and thought, “I wish that I could be one of them.” The lead seven characters: Esmeralda, Viatrix, Zabel, Kirsi, Alya, Kam, and Bernie are rich and vibrant in a way that transcends genres and makes these women relatable and identifiable to their modern day Readers. There is not a weak link in the chain. 

To illustrate the interconnectivity of the characters, Wilkinson inserts some clever narrative approaches. Incidents are repeated across chapters so each of the main female characters have different interactions and responses to the same events. 

One incident involves Esmeralda, the four future roommates, and Bernie meeting each other on the gondola that takes them to the Academy. They have some serious disagreements and a burst of magic caused by an unwilling Zabel stops their infighting. 

Another incident occurs during a school gathering when the protagonists are faced with various personal, familial, and political complications. It culminates in an assassination attempt and the discovery of a betrayal and a potential conspiracy.

These events are recalled by each character giving her own perspective based on her personality, experience, and biases. Their encounters reflect different emotions such as defensive, rational, anxious, irate, worried, curious, self-absorbed, preoccupied, confused or hopeful among others. It's rather like having several eyewitnesses giving their own accounts of the same event. You probably would have several different versions that describe the basic facts of the event but pepper it with their own assumptions and feelings about it. 

Say a two-car collision is seen by five people (including the two drivers). All will agree that two cars hit each other and the name of the street where the collision occurred but there will be five different versions of who hit who, the amount of damage, the trauma that occurred, and the emotional impact. 

The character’s different perspectives of the same events develops them as representatives of their separate homogeneous communities, students involved in a wider diverse community, and women who are questioning their societal roles, life goals, and separate identities.

The world building is detailed and sneakily subversive. Like many other fantasy works, To End Every War, has a map to provide visual information about the world. It's beautifully illustrated and looks very familiar. The outline depicts some recognizable features such as a large country in the east that covers almost that entire half, a chain of islands and a large peninsula to the north, and a boot shaped nation in the south. Yes, it's actually a refurbished map of Europe. That and the fact that the years are organized similar to how they are in the western world, during the school year of 1901-1902, suggest that To End Every War is not set on a completely new fantasy world, but an alternate version of Earth. Perhaps the time and place setting and the theme of countries in constant war is also a reflection of our history, specifically during the World Wars. Maybe the union of the female characters to work out their issues with communication and discussion rather than weapons and declarations echoes the real life formation of organizations like the League of Nations and United Nations.

It is also very important to note the academic setting of the book. It's no coincidence that the opening features several women leaving their individual countries to encounter each other on their way to college. Going to college is not just an educational experience as students use their studies and major to prepare for their chosen career and life trajectory. It is a social experience as they leave home, taste independence, meet other students and staff that are different from them sometimes for the first time, and become involved in important causes that they become passionate towards. 

In this new environment the characters have to spend a lot of time together, talking to each other, fighting, learning, and gaining a wider understanding. In meeting other people, the characters look at their old worlds and countries with less affection and unwavering loyalty. They recognize the flaws within their nations and how they contributed to the constant state of war that they have been in for generations. They also become aware of those who benefit and profit from the species’s division. They realize that in the various conflicts, their nations failed to unite against a real enemy that might be larger, hidden, and more powerful.

This is a wide sweeping Epic Fantasy with strong themes of developing connections across borders, obtaining knowledge and wisdom through learning and education, and achieving peace and strength through unity. To End Every War is also a strong Feminist novel about the importance of creating and developing a foundation of sisterhood. Vespa Academy is co-educational and there are plenty of male characters. In fact, many are paired off in the end (and the male characters are just as well written as the females). But this is definitely a woman's book. The female characters are the stars and are rich with nuances, development, and good writing. They embrace leadership opportunities within their species and cultures and are individualized by their personal journeys. 

The main characters have their previous world views shaken. In fact, what stands out is not the epicness of political infighting, magical quests, secret conspiracies, and sweeping battles. It's the individual journeys and internal changes that make the book. This is not an Epic Fantasy novel that happens to star female characters. It's a Woman's Fiction novel that happens to have an Epic Fantasy setting. Characters use magic and fight with weapons, but they also fall in love, attend class, fight with family members, and rely on each other for physical, mental, and emotional support.

As they go through these experiences, each character develops and changes. Esmeralda, an idealist, learns how to be an effective leader and future ruler for all people not just her own. Viatrix discovers some heartbreaking revelations about her family and the Dwarves in general that alters her once arrogant worldview. Alya learns that strength can be found in peace and to trust those she thought were her enemies. Kirsi makes an effort to get off of her self-destructive path and gains a more positive forward thinking outlook. Zabel reveals her troubled background and accepts assistance from her friends. Kam learns to reconcile and gain closure with the two halves of her heritage. Bernie steps out of Esmeralda's shadow and makes her own voice heard.

There are wonderful moments as the characters interact with each other strengthening their emotional ties. Viatrix is asked to be Kirsi’s minder, a task in which she is first unprepared but then results in a deeper understanding between the two. Alya and Zabel’s people are sworn enemies, but Alya helps Zabel through a mental breakdown. Kam uses her skills of sneaking around forbidden areas like the Academy’s Dark Library to find important information that will aid Esmeralda and the others. Esmeralda is very protective towards the other women. Bernie is the chronicler of this account and capture her friend's voices and actions out of love and friendship. The main characters in To End Every War are wonderfully written as striking individuals that form into a perfectly working team.

To End Every War combines the immense world building of an Epic Fantasy and the intimacy and emotional core of a Woman's Fiction novel to create a masterpiece that transcends both genres and inhabits one of its own.

Lit List: Escape From Mariupol A Survivor's True Story by Adoriana Marik As Told To Anna K. Howard; Humans Without Borders by Madhava Kumar Turumella, and Anna and Reggie Rapasaurus by William F. Harris and Stacey Roberts, Illustrated by Poormina Madhushani

 Lit List: Escape From Mariupol A Survivor's True Story by Adoriana Marik As Told To Anna K. Howard; Humans Without Borders by Madhava Kumar Turumella, and Anna and Reggie Rapasaurus by William F. Harris and Stacey Roberts, Illustrated by Poormina Madhushani

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Escape From Mariupol: A Survivor's True Story by Adoriana Marik As Told To Anna K. Howard

A longer and more detailed version of this review is on LitPick Reviews.

Adoriana Marik is a tattoo artist and merchandiser who lived in Mariupol during the Russian-Ukrainian War. Escape From Mariupol recounts her personal experience living from the invasion, to her attempts at surviving in a violent world, and her eventual escape to the Czech Republic and the United States.

Marik’s book is a detailed, moving, suspenseful, and graphic account of the reality of living in a country torn apart by war. Her descriptions such as walking zombie-like and numb through a devastated almost apocalyptic city is a true moment of heartbreak.

These moments evocatively capture the angst of the average citizen when they are caught unaware in a situation that shatters the world around them.

There are also passages where Marik conveyed the desperation and sacrifice of surviving in a violent world and the resilience to help others in the same situation. For example,Marik took her dog, Yola, to every location and made sure wherever she went, her fur baby came with. Marik kept hold of her pet out of unconditional love and to care for someone during those dark days. Marik even cited Yola as a motivation for her to stay alive and keep going during the war.

Marik's survival instincts continued as she sought refuge in the Czech Republic and United States. She moved from place to place taking pleasure in the few little things that she could, a drink of fresh water, some biscuits, a friendly face, a warm bed, and of course Yola’s loyal presence.

Escape from Mariupol, reveals Marik as a complex woman of great strength, spirit, and courage to survive, leave a world torn apart by war, and then to recount her experience with her own words.

Humans Without Borders by Madhava Kumar Turumella

Madhava Kumar Turumella’s Humans Without Borders is an idealistic and hopeful plea for everyone to reach beyond borders and personal identification and to help others on a global, selfless, altruistic scale. To help other people because they are human beings and part of a wide global community instead of thinking of someone as being from another country, race, religion, sexuality, or identity.

Turumella reveals many of the mindset traps that people fall into like exploitation and cognitive dissonance when they categorize, place, and then use others for their own gain. They think of people as “the Other” and create tighter restrictions against them, deny them refuge, and treat them horribly once they arrive. When those mindsets are displayed, dehumanization inevitably follows and it becomes easier to threaten, attack, commit violence, isolate, and eventually kill someone else. Turumella illustrates how easy it is to fall into those mindsets, especially ignorance and cognitive dissonance based on our own limited personal experiences and assumptions. No one is immune from thinking this way but it is important to recognize and make active efforts to change that mindset, think about others, and reach out to help them.

While borders can never truly be erased and it is important to recognize one's home country, Turumella instead offers a way for Readers to minimize the importance of those borders and for governments to be more open and accepting in offering aid, resources, security, and sanctuary to other countries. The European and African Union are examples that while flawed (Turumella cites Brexit and the problems preceding it as one example), still feature countries making consistent and meaningful efforts of working together to create positive change not for one country, but for all of them.

There is one formatting issue that I must address. The chapters are numbered differently than they are in the Table of Contents. It can make for difficult reading especially if the Reader reads the book in E-book format and uses the links to lead them to the chapter. However, this flaw does not deter the book from its central themes.

Turumella insists that this book is not a call for revolution. It is not an altogether new or novel idea either. Instead it is a call for unity, understanding, empathy, and kindness. It is a reminder that while we may have our differences, we are all human.

Anna and Reggie Rapasaurus by William F Harris and Stacey Roberts, Illustrated by Poormina Madhushani

William F. Harris, Stacey Roberts, and Poormina Madhushani worked together to create a bright, vibrant, entertaining children's picture book about friendship and the importance of reading and learning.

Anna, a human girl, loves hanging out with her best friend, a dinosaur named Reggie Rapasaurus. One of their favorite things to do is going to the library and read books together. The book explores all of the imaginative adventures the two take as they read.

This is an engaging story that encourages a love of reading in its young Readers. The two imagine themselves in faraway places like the desert and explore and learn new things about the stars through the power of books.

Reading encourages bonding and communication and the book skillfully explores that through its own words. There is a rhythmic quality to the words almost like a rap number. Some of the pages like “You are a good reader like Anna and Reggie. Reading opens your eyes, so clap your hands, make a wish! Clap your hands, make a wish!” encourages participation and interaction.

The illustrations are bright and vibrant. They reflect Anna and Reggie’s daily routine at the library and the more fanciful trips through their imagination. Reading is exciting when people can imagine the worlds envisioned through the words on the page.Madhushani shows that transition between reality and imagination beautifully.

Through the engaging words and bright illustrations, Harris, Roberts, and Madhushani (as well as Anna and Reggie) reveal the book’s theme, “United we read, together we grow.”

Weekly Reader: The Protrectress by Ayura Ayira; Erotic Power Play Between Demigoddess and Mortal Is Sultry, Sexy, and Surprisingly Sweet

 

Weekly Reader: The Protrectress by Ayura Ayira; Erotic Power Play Between Demigoddess and Mortal Is Sultry, Sexy, and Surprisingly Sweet

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Erotic Fiction often consists of sexual power play between two or several parties. It often is a one on one battle in which the characters use their most basic weapons of their body and sexuality to score against their rival turned lover. Their attraction towards each other is delayed until the end when the struggle is over and the lovers are separated or move their relationship from the sexual to the emotional.

The Protectress by Ayura Ayira is one such example. It's an erotic novel which is actually a power play between a demigoddess and a mortal man that is sultry and sexy, but ends up being surprisingly sweet.

Tilelli, the Protectress of the Golden Kingdoms, is at war against invading armies that would turn her beloved kingdom into a dystopia. She is a leader and inspiration for her people and is destined to lead them to a new future. If she is removed, all is lost. During a strategic attack when she and her army claim victory only to find themselves retaliated by their cunning enemies, Tilelli is left unguarded and unarmied. Left alone, she is rescued by Bashir, a seemingly loyal stranger. It turns out Bashir is hardly a convenient knight-errant in the right place at the right time. In fact, Bashir is an opportunist who seizes a golden opportunity for himself when he makes the Protectress his prisoner and tries to make her his sex slave.

Tilelli is a woman of great strength and power, one whom Bashir severely underestimates. He is of the limited opinion that being a woman and royalty that she will be easy to break. He clearly does not know her. Bashir may have pined for and grown obsessed with her, but he will have a difficult time getting her to submit. She is clearly the dominant presence in the story despite her captivity. 

Bashir puts Tilelli on edge. He alternates between being charming and being brutal. He has long lusted after Tilelli and until she practically fell into his vicinity. He uses his masculinity to bring her down to his level. But what turns her on is not sexuality, but his humanity.

As expected with erotic fiction, the sex scenes are plentiful and passionate. The characters' sexualities are used as weapons against each other. Each scene is like a small battle or challenge between them where one is a victor only to be the loser next time. It is a passionate dance with no clear winner except each other.

Normally, I am not a fan of erotic fiction where one character kidnaps another and forces them into bondage sexual situation (I mean how consensual can it be if one of the parties is forced into it?) However, in this situation because the two characters are equals in temperament and control one, is not wholly dominating over the other. It's more of a competition between two strong minded individuals trying to bring each other down and then find that they enjoy the conflict and becoming worthy opponents rather than sexually charged enemies on opposite sides.

Surprisingly, this spicy novel has some sweetness when Tilelli and Bashir join forces. Their sexual biplay transmogrifies into a real partnership. They no longer seek to dominate one another. Instead, they bring the best in each other.

The Protectress is a novel that has plenty of heat and spice but just a small amount of sugar to make not only the sex sell but the characters as well.

New Book Alert: Where the Witches Dwell (Everlan Book One) by Conor Jest; Effective Epic Fantasy with Great Characters, Intriguing Plot, and a New Imaginative World

 

New Book Alert: Where the Witches Dwell (Everlan Book One) by Conor Jest; Effective Epic Fantasy with Great Characters, Intriguing Plot, and a New Imaginative World

 

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: Conor Jest's Where The Witches Dwell is an effective and enchanting epic fantasy with many brilliant characters, intriguing plot angles, and enough unique angles to create an excellent imaginative world.

Roulic is part of a race called the Ancient Ones. Roulic is on a mission to look for his missing family and to help residents of the Kingdom of Doth to prepare for war against the neighboring kingdom of Dandoorthose. While helping some old friends, Roulic is drawn to a mysterious forest where a family of witches dwell who offer their assistance if he will help them.

Where the Witches Dwell has some memorable characters and events that pay tribute to epic fantasy tropes but also are able to make the book its own instead of relying on cliches. The very concept of Roulic and the Witches belonging to a group called the Ancient Ones is brilliant. They aren't completely human, but not elven either. Instead, they are long lived and eternally youthful in appearance. They also seem to be intuitive and are skilled in sorcery. They are separate from humans dubbed, "Mortalkind." The witches for example live apart from Mortalkind in the woods and most fear and avoid them.

Other Ancient Ones adapt. Because Roulic is youthful in appearance, he has voluntarily lived with different families over the years as an unofficial adopted son and worker. After a few years, when Roulic's family ages and he doesn't, he moves on. He doesn't have any long term living arrangements but because of this nomadic lifestyle had plenty of surrogate family members.

Many of the tasks that Roulic faces are well written. Roulic first meets witch and future love interest, Ravenna when he rescues her from a curse in which her hair is intertwined with the ropes of a bridge, thereby becoming a part of the bridge herself.

Another task involves Roulic visiting a kingdom of gnomes. It is nice to see gnomes take an active role in this fantasy series, when they are often nonexistent in other works unlike elves and dwarves who are everywhere in fantasy.

Characterization is strong particularly with Roulic and the Witches. Roulic is the type of hero that we expect from the genre: brave, honest, courageous, and empathetic towards others. He has many mortal friends and tries to help them with their struggles while dealing with his own. He has some great moments, particularly with Ravenna when they fall in love. He also has a dark past in which he has to face up to.

In contrast to the affable and empathetic Roulic, the witch siblings live apart from Mortalkind and mostly interact with each other. They clearly care about each other as when some are put in danger, the others will aid them. They also recognize the larger picture of what will affect everyone else, eventually will affect them. So they offer as much magical assistance as they can to Roulic, but in a standoffish way.

Because of their mostly isolated nature, the moments where the Witches interact with other characters outside of their family are made even more heartfelt. The Mortalkind outside the woods originally were distrustful towards them and now are welcoming because of their assistance. A slow burning romance develops between Jillian, a witch and Callian, a mortal showing how both sides accept and adapt to each other. 

Where the Witches Dwell is an enchanting beginning to a hopefully magical series.