Category: Book Reviews

Trigger Warning: The book reviewed in this post, A Killer’s Reflection by Cheryl Denise Bannerman, contains depictions of rape, drug and alcohol abuse, child abuse, sexual abuse, homophobia, violence, and foul language. If any of these subjects trigger you or you otherwise wish to avoid them, proceed with caution.

Happy Monday, everyone—or Tuesday, depending on where you are. I want to start the week with another book review, this time of an erotic thriller. (Yes, I have wandered back into the “erotic” genre!) This book, a brief but compelling psychological thrill ride, is A Killer’s Reflection by Cheryl Denise Bannerman.

A Killer’s Reflection follows Douglass Randall Coleman, Jr., as he grows from a straight-A student in the projects to a soldier in the U.S. military and, finally, a full-grown man with a job and kids. On the outside, he is charming, hardworking, and, well, perfect. At least, that’s what his mother would tell you. Yet everything is not what it seems. Douglass is a party boy with an addiction to alcohol, women, and drugs of all kinds. He also harbors a dangerous secret: the voices, the voices in his mind which won’t shut up, and an unyielding temper and need for control that push him into committing the most heinous acts imaginable.

Bannerman gives readers Douglass’s perspective for most of the novel but, especially during the second half, she also shows us glimpses into other key characters: Tara, a woman in Douglass’s sphere of influence (and danger); Dr. Reed, a female therapist Douglass has been talking with on the phone since his Honorable Discharge from the military; and Rhodes and Kreegan, homicide detectives hell-bent on making certain that Douglass gets what he deserves. But can they prove that this modern-day Casanova has done anything wrong? Or will Douglass Coleman, Jr., get away with murder again?

In 125 pages, Bannerman creates an intricate world of mystery, mayhem, and murder with only Douglass at its center. Unlike many thrillers, the mystery does not lie in who did it as much as why he does it and if he will be caught. Bannerman’s writing made me constantly wonder not if Douglass was going to snap but when. She drops subtle hints as to Douglass’s triggers and the trauma which made him that way, allowing readers to guess at what will happen without spoiling the plot.

Bannerman’s captivating storytelling is due in part to the fact that she thoroughly utilizes the resources available to her and lets the reader know about those resources. In the first chapter from Dr. Reed’s perspective, Bannerman begins by citing her sources for Dr. Reed’s diagnosis of Douglass. These citations give a level of credibility to her work that is often missing in other tales involving mental illness. Still, I feel that the citations would have been best placed at the end of the book rather than accompanying the chapter. The read would have been smoother for this chapter without the resources there, and they would have made more sense along with the childhood abuse statistics and resources.

I loved being shown the killer’s side of the story, the why’s and how’s and childhood issues which made him the man he is by the end of the novel. However, I felt that the structure left something to be desired. For the most part, we follow Douglass from start to end in chronological order. While Douglass’s childhood is key to understanding him, starting the book with his childhood makes the ending somewhat anticlimactic. Had his childhood and years in the military been interwoven into the narrative present—i.e. Douglass’s adulthood—I think the tension would have been that much stronger and the plot that much more compelling.

In addition to feeling anticlimactic, the final chapter feels rushed. The reveal of the big twist—which I will not discuss in detail here due to spoilers—happens rather quickly, as does the explanation behind the twist. More interactions among Douglass and the surprise characters would have made for a slower reveal and, therefore, a more satisfying ending. Douglass’s reaction to it all is also rather mild compared to the development of his temper to that point. In the face of betrayal, I expected him to have a complete mental breakdown, but his anger appears muted compared to his earlier reactions. When he knows he’s doomed, why would he hold back?

I also found many grammatical errors. For those most part, these did not detract from the reading experience. However, one repeating error became tiresome: the narration sometimes slipped from third person to first person. There are moments when this shift made sense, namely when entering Douglass’s thoughts. Yet not all of the shifts are during Douglass’s thoughts; sometimes it occurs for no reason, along with some instances of going from past tense to present tense and back again. These issues are only a matter of more thorough proofreading. If Bannerman releases a newer Kindle version that has been edited/proofread again, I would not hesitate to recommend this book.

Despite these critiques, I think A Killer’s Reflection is an exciting page-turner right for most thriller fans. There are depictions of violence and even more of sex, including rape, but so long as you are not sensitive to or triggered by graphic images, you will really enjoy this novel.

If you want to read Bannerman’s A Killer’s Reflection, you can find it as an e-book on Amazon. To learn more about Cheryl Denise Bannerman and her other works, check out her website at www.bannermanbooks.com.

Do you know of a book I should read? Want me to review your work on this blog? E-mail me at thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com or message me on Fiverr.

Happy Saturday! I’m sure my American readers are still decompressing from Thanksgiving and, considering I’m sick and not up to doing much, I decided I will start this weekend with a book review for The Art of Winning by Matshona Dhliwayo.

The Art of Winning is a quick compilation (approximately 113 pages) of 100 inspirational quotes and mantras by Dhliwayo. These quotes are framed by Dhliwayo’s “Winner’s Manifesto” 1 and 2. The work has been highly praised by a wide range of successful individuals, from Olympic gold medalist Adam Kreek and multi-Grammy nominated producer/engineer/songwriter Mitch Goldfarb to former Hearst Newspapers CEO Bob Danzig and New York Times bestselling author Shawn Achor. After reading the book, I can see why.

From a form perspective, this book is simple but effective. Each quote/mantra reads like one or two short, free verse poetry stanzas. Many utilize repetition so that each line builds on the one proceeding it, both in rhythm and in message. This poetic presentation coupled with the short page count make for a quick read, although you’ll want to slow down to fully consume the messages of these quotes.

I found that the wisdom in this book is nothing new but it’s also something that people usually don’t keep in mind, especially during hard times. I know that many of these positive thoughts escape me when I encounter stress and obstacles (often replaced by very bad words). He doesn’t necessarily say “do this and this and you’ll succeed” and he doesn’t guarantee that anything will change overnight. Instead, his wisdom is like that provided by philosophers and gurus, building blocks for making your own life more positive and successful. It may take a while of consistently following his advice but it will yield results so long as you keep at it.

One of my favorite “rules,” as Dhliwayo calls them, reads:

Let go of negative thoughts.

Let go of negative memories.

Let go of negative desires.

Let go of negative people.

 

Regret poisons your thoughts.

Doubt poisons your dreams.

Fear poisons your hopes.

Insincerity poisons your deeds.

–Matshona Dhliwayo, The Art of Winning, “Rule 40”

As you can see, this isn’t anything new or groundbreaking; in fact, many people would argue that it’s common sense. That, however, is the genius of Dhliwayo’s rules. They’re simple and easy to understand but are also things that we tend to forget about, such as how negativity poisons our lives and how our souls are more important than our material possessions.

For all this praise, I have a couple issues with this book. The first is more a matter of conflicting world views than the quality of the book itself. I have said repeatedly that I’m spiritual but don’t belong to any particular religion and that I’m specifically not Christian. This book makes many references to God, Jesus, and the Bible. If you’re offended by such content, you might want to avoid Dhliwayo’s work. However, the advice transcends religion. Everyone can get something from this advice and, frankly, you can choose to ignore the few Christian references or reinterpret them within your own belief system and still gain some spiritual and life direction from it.

My second issue does affect the quality of the book, at least in my opinion. While there is a “Winner’s Manifesto” at the beginning and end and Dhliwayo provides a list of praise for the work on the first few pages, I felt that the book lacked a well-defined purpose. The rules are tied together by the kind of advice they give as well as the “Winner’s Manifesto” framing device. Still, I’m not sure what Dhliwayo wants readers to get from this book. Is this just advice that you should refer to when you’re feeling stressed and hopeless? Is it a 100-day plan for improving your attitude and your life in which you read a new rule each day? Is it for getting your life back on track, keeping it on track, or both? A quick introduction explaining who Dhliwayo is, why this advice is important, and how to use it would be very helpful in guiding the reader’s experience and ensuring that he/she gets the most out of this advice.

All in all, The Art of Winning is a great book to keep at your bedside. You can use it to start your day on a positive note, recharge you when you’re too drained to continue, or fuel your brain when you’re in need of philosophical contemplation. As of right now, I can only find it on Amazon in paperback format for $9.99. However, it’s worth a read, especially for those of us who find it hard to stay positive (guilty!).

You can also learn more about Matshona Dhliwayo and his other works through his Amazon author page.

Know of any works I should read? Want me to review your book on this blog? E-mail me at thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com or message me on Fiverr and we can arrange something. You can also reach me on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Tumblr.

Good evening, my valued readers. Tonight I’m taking some time out of my increasingly-busy schedule to let you know about the release of the next story in the Honeycomb series. This novelette, only 51 pages long, is called Honeycomb: Lethal Cargo by Wren Cavanagh.

Spoiler Alert: The following recap briefly refers to events in Honeycomb: Revelations, so proceed with caution if you have not read that novelette yet.

Honeycomb: Lethal Cargo picks up right where Honeycomb: Revelations left off. After a monstrous encounter at the debtor colony on the planet Honeycomb, the Triton has finally left that God-forsaken planet with its cargo, its crew, and a slew of ex-convicts who have repaid their debts and are eager to go home. Unfortunately, it also harbors a rather dangerous stowaway, one which even the diligent crew cannot see in its current hiding place.

Honeycomb: Lethal Cargo follows the Triton as its crew and passengers attempt to outsmart this deadly menace. What tragedies will befall the cargo ship Triton? Who will survive? Is it even possible to survive a foe that can be anywhere–or anyone?

As with Revelations, Lethal Cargo takes readers on an imaginative journey of suspense and mystery. Cavanagh and Notch Publishing House have provided another fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat piece, and I think that fans of classic science fiction will be pleased. As it is only 51 pages, it’s a quick read and I don’t think you’ll want to put it down until you’ve read the entire thing from start to end.

An extra bonus is that Amazon sells the Kindle editions for Lethal Cargo and Revelations together for $2.98. If you already have the first novelette and only want to get the second, you can buy the second novelette by itself on Amazon through this link.

I’ll try and have a combined review of Revelations and Lethal Cargo in the near future. Unfortunately, as you can tell from my previous post, my schedule is packed and I can’t guarantee when it will be up. Until then, give the Honeycomb series a read for yourself and leave your thoughts in the comments section below. I’m sure that Wren Cavanagh would love to hear them.

Do you know of any small-press/indie books that are coming out? Want to help extend their reach? E-mail me at thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com and we can discuss featuring the release in a future post.

 

Well, here’s to another week, dear readers. I’m going to be rather busy this week, but I would still like to start it on a lighter note with my latest OBC review. In my previous post discussing outlines, I mentioned that I reviewed a book called Book Blueprint by Jacqui Pretty on OnlineBookClub.org. To my surprise, the review was approved and published not long after I released that post. As before, I can’t copy the review here for exclusivity reasons, but I can give you a brief feel for the book and post the link to the thread on the OBC.

Book Blueprint is a how-to book which helps entrepreneurs to write their own book in order to promote their businesses. It’s particularly interesting for budding entrepreneurs who need to establish themselves as experts in their fields. I read it because I’ve been entertaining the idea of writing a book for self-employed writers, but the details beyond that were hazy. Pretty’s work has certainly put me on the right track, and I’ll be sure to return to it in the future as I work towards my goal of writing a book to promote my business.

I know that, as writers already, my readers may not think Pretty’s advice worth pursuing. However, writing a book of this caliber is much different from writing fiction, poetry, and even other nonfiction works such as essays. Book Blueprint guides readers through the entire process from choosing the right idea and the right kind of book to using the right language for their audiences. Being a fiction, poetry, or nonfiction writer will give you an edge in the process but this book will give you the tools with which you can best use this edge.

To read my full thoughts on Pretty’s work, please follow this link to the OBC review.

If you want to review books for the OBC or would like to have your book reviewed on the site (or just want to find some good books for a discount), you can visit OnlineBookClub.org or you can get the basic information from my post covering the reviewing opportunity.

 

To start off the weekend, I’ve decided to review a quick, cute children’s picture book called Oscar the Loveable Seagull by Mark Johnson. Since it’s a children’s picture book, your kids might appreciate it more than you would but I still think it’s an amusing read for people of all ages, especially if you’re looking for something heartwarming to help you and the child(ren) in your life end the day.

Oscar the Loveable Seagull follows Oscar, a seagull with peculiar blue feet who’s loved by everyone despite being the odd man out. As his siblings get stronger, Oscar remains weak and unable to fly. One day he falls out of the nest and his parents cannot get him back up. They care for him as long as they can but the day comes when the entire family must move on. Much to their distress, Oscar’s parents have to leave him behind.

With the help of an eagle and a dog named Cooper, Oscar learns how to gather food and care for himself. He grows stronger and more confident each day with the help of his friends, but will Oscar ever be able to fly? Will this loveable seagull ever be reunited with his family?

Overall, Johnson has written a very entertaining story which I would gladly read to my own children if I had any. It contains lessons about nurturing others, never giving up, and how being different doesn’t mean you have to be ostracized. Especially in the “dog-eat-dog,” “us vs. them” mentality of modern American culture, I think that these lessons are very important for children to learn in order to create a loving, mutually-beneficial society.

While lessons are very important for a children’s picture book, the characters and plot are even more crucial. Johnson manages to create very pleasant characters, particularly Oscar (he is, after all, the loveable seagull). My favorite characters, however, are the wise old eagle and Cooper the dog.

These two animals, while they have nothing to gain from it, selflessly put aside their predatory instincts to help this defenseless young bird (reluctantly) abandoned by his family. The eagle most certainly seems bizarre since eagles hunt seagulls rather than help them (as Johnson points out in the book). There are many cases of dogs raising abandoned kittens, a gorilla and a kitten or a dog and deer being friends, and other mismatched animal pairs in domestic situations, and it’s an area which Johnson definitely uses to his advantage in order to engage readers.

My one problem with the characters is that I wish the eagle had a name. All of the other side characters had names but, for whatever reason, the eagle did not. It’s a bit annoying and, given the rest of the effort put into this story, seems a little lazy. The lack of name does not detract from the character or the book, but a name for the eagle would have been nice.

As a very young children’s book (think around preschool or kindergarten age), the plot is simplistic. Nevertheless, I was able to identify a fully-developed plot with some anticipation and a desire to know if things turn out well for the main character. That well-defined arc, I think, will help young readers remain interested in the book while not being so complicated as to confuse them. I know that I, from an adult’s perspective, appreciated having even the slightest plot in this book, so I’m sure that parents and other caregivers will be happy to read their children this story without getting bored.

The illustrations are very colorful and do Oscar’s signature blue feet justice. A professional—or at least some talented artist—clearly did these drawings and child readers will love seeing Oscar’s attempts to fly and his days playing with the eagle and Cooper. The pictures also remind me of images from stories I read when I was little, a piece of nostalgia which parents will like to see.

While the illustrations are beautiful, I wish that the font for the text were different. The Kindle e-book I got from Amazon shows what appears to be Times New Roman font for the text, perhaps at 12-point but I’m not sure. It was very small and almost lost within the illustrations. I would have preferred the font to be bigger, perhaps even bolded, but at least big enough that I could easily see it contrasted against the illustrations. As with the eagle’s name, this aspect did not detract from the overall quality; it’s a personal preference and very well could have just been an issue with my device.

The story is short, fast-paced, and has the feel of the author telling the story right to you. Children will be captivated by the drawings and Oscar’s loveable nature, while the parents will find a throw-back to their own childhoods and appreciate the lessons about never giving up and taking care of each other. It reminded me quite a bit of Janell Cannon’s Stellaluna, a book which I loved when I was a child. I highly recommend Johnson’s Oscar the Loveable Seagull for my readers with children, who are about to have children, or frequently babysit a friend’s or family member’s children.

You can buy Oscar the Loveable Seagull as an e-book for $5.99 on Amazon. Also be sure to check out Mark Johnson’s blog, Facebook page, and Twitter account for more information on the author and that fuzzy oddball seagull.

Do you know of any books I should read? Want your book reviewed on this blog? E-mail me at thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com or message me on Fiverr and I’m sure we can arrange something.

 

Update 1/23/2020: Recently, a comment has been left by the daughter of the author of this book revealing some information about the events within the book and acts committed by the author that make it so that I can no longer condone the reading of this work. I have since been in contact with her to discuss this information and what actions to take regarding this review and any others for works by Frank Mares that have appeared on The Writer’s Scrap Bin. For this reason, I have removed all links to the Amazon page for the purchase of this book and to the author’s blog. However, this review will remain live so that readers can see the daughter’s account in the comments section below. Comments have been closed for this post so that the young woman cannot be harassed for telling her side of the story through this blog.

Disclaimer: As with The Spirits Control Your Love Life, Soul Mates: A Psychic Love Affair by Frank Mares does not necessarily reflect the views or belief system of The Writer’s Scrap Bin, its authors, or its readers. Reincarnation and similar supernatural/spiritual concepts drive the book and traditional religious belief systems are questioned. If you take offense to any of these topics and/or otherwise wish to avoid them, proceed with caution.

I’m going to start off this hectic week with a review of a new, fun, and emotional book by an author I have previously discussed on this blog, Frank Mares. The novel, Soul Mates: A Psychic Love Affair, is the second book in Mares’s 50 Shades of Psychic Love series and the sequel to The Spirits Control Your Love Life.

Mares classifies Soul Mates as “paranormal” instead of “nonfiction” and most of the names have been changed but, overall, it’s a supposedly-true account of Mares’s own experiences with love and the spirit world; he only altered the genre and names for liability reasons and because, admittedly, a lot of the content seems outlandish.

Soul Mates: A Psychic Love Affair fills in some of the holes left by The Spirits Control Your Love Life, including Mares’s (known as Nick in the book) relationship with a woman he truly loves named Megan and their constant cycling in and out of each other’s lives. Even when both have married and started their families, Nick and Megan can’t manage to stay away from each other permanently. Little does Nick realize (until later in the book), the spirits have choreographed this dance for them and they’re about to kick things up a notch.

Mares starts us off with a seemingly-unrelated love affair between a cowboy named William and the female owner of a saloon, Kate, whom William has nicknamed “Willow.” We then return to Nick’s middle-of-the-road single days at the Tiki apartments, which we received a glimpse of in Mares’s first book. In addition to following Nick’s on-again, off-again relationship with Megan, we watch Nick’s second marriage to Karol take form, evolve into a family and business partnership, and, finally, unravel. All the while, Megan lingers in the background, sometimes as a part of Nick’s life and sometimes only in Nick’s mind.

What do the spirits have in store for Nick? What does Megan have to do with it? And how does the concept of “soul mates” play into this tangled web?

Soul Mates is an emotional rollercoaster that shows us that even the accidents and coincidences in our lives are well-planned; the good and the bad are all for our spiritual growth and it’s up to us to make it out the other side stronger. I found myself much more quickly engaged with this book than The Spirits Control Your Love Life, especially since Mares manages to maintain the same quirky and humorous narrative voice that he established in the first book. More importantly, I became very emotionally invested in Nick, Megan, and even the side characters, which made the read much more enjoyable.

As with the first book, Mares addresses the good, the bad, and the ugly of everything, including himself. He’s not shy to call himself (a.k.a. Nick) a pig for being so focused on women’s looks and he admits when he’s done something wrong or, some might say, kind of creepy. His brutal honesty makes me laugh out loud, and it’s one of the reasons his writing style keeps me engaged. Mares’s all-encompassing approach also makes sure that nothing is left out, and so I felt I was getting as complete a story as I could possibly get. There were even some notes from people like Megan and references to books by other psychics, which made me feel as though I was getting a well-rounded view of Nick’s relationships and the spirit/psychic world.

Unfortunately, his unfiltered thoughts did lead to one (incredibly minor) aspect of Soul Mates which bothered me. Nick shows empathy toward Karol in regards to her migraines but, in some passages, the narrative tone makes it sound as though Karol’s migraines are a strain on him and his lifestyle. Mind you, Karol grows to be a real witch and I don’t approve of how she handles their marriage, but I am also a migraineur and I took personal offense to this tone. Of course, I just had my worst migraine attack in months this last Friday, so I might be touchy about the subject. Either way, migraineurs should try and bear with him because the rest is worth reading.

In a way, I feel as though I were experiencing two separate books. The first half reads more like the first book, an exploration into the spirit world and how it affects our everyday lives. The second half sustains this theme—enhances it, in fact, as Nick’s choices are more directly dictated by his spirit guides—but I felt a turn toward a more psychic romance/detective novel atmosphere. The latter half is where I would say the “outlandish” content comes in, but the book continues to be entertaining and compelling nonetheless. I have the compulsion to say that these halves could have been separate books, and yet they are so intricately entwined and inseparable that I cannot think of any logical way to split them.

The earlier chapters include a brief summary of the first book. I was a bit relieved to have had this section. I had read so many books and short stories since I read The Spirits Control Your Love Life that I couldn’t remember many crucial details; Mares’s summary helped to refresh my memory. This summary also makes it possible that a new reader could come into this book without having read the first one, although I highly recommend reading Mares’s first book if you’re interested in the spirit world and reincarnation.

In particular, Mares presents an interesting take on the “soul mates” concept which, in hindsight, seems obvious. A prominent theory is that groups of souls travel through each life together with the relationships changing each time. Mares addresses this theory and explains that soul mates are not the stereotypical, perfect romantic partner. Instead, they are the other members of our soul groups, the group which we deliberately chose to stay with during each life. I personally prefer this definition of “soul mates” and find that Mares explains it very well through his psychic readings with Brenda and his father.

I am captivated by the love/spirit connection which Mares emphasizes in his books. However, he repeatedly touches upon a concept in Soul Mates which captured my attention even better than his love stories: his psychic visions about economic issues in the U.S. I’ve found psychic books about love and relationships to be a dime a dozen; one about a psychic’s personal insights into our economic future, well, that’s a diamond in the ruff. The fact that Mares has a strong background in investment makes me even more interested in his economic views when coupled with his intuition. I want him to continue with 50 Shades of Psychic Love but I still thought it worth pointing out that Mares has a variety of observations to share with the world.

I came across several proofreading errors in my copy. Mostly the errors include missing words, repeated words/phrases, unnecessary hyphens, missing or misused punctuation, and switching between “Brian” and “Bryan” as the spelling of Nick’s son’s name. Overall, these mistakes do not detract from the book. However, they become distracting after a while.

My favorite line from this book reads “while it is fulfilling to do so, writing a book for the most part is a money losing venture.” While this is often the case, I think that Mares has hit the mark with Soul Mates. At 290+ pages, it’s a long read. However, it is also entertaining, heart-wrenching, and spiritually stimulating.

A lot of the content seems out there and, in truth, I’m still trying to sort out how much of it I believe. I label myself a “skeptical believer,” meaning I’m very open to the paranormal but I still take everything with a huge grain of salt, so it takes more than you’d expect to make me fully believe. Nevertheless, I’ve found a kindred spirit in Mares because he validates many of my beliefs in this book. Maybe I believe him, maybe I don’t. All I know is that I agree with Mares on one thing: everything happens for a reason.

Due to recent information that has come to light since the publication of this review, all information regarding the sale of this book has been removed.

Warning: Blackmail (Skeleton Key #1) by Anna James Watson is erotica and thus rated X. Proceed only if you are 18 years of age or older and are comfortable with this genre and the topics it entails.

I have a special announcement regarding one of the first books I ever reviewed on The Writer’s Scrap Bin, Anna James Watson’s Blackmail (Skeleton Key #1). About a month ago (I am so behind the times!) the novel was re-released with a brand new, beautiful cover on Amazon. It’s the same book that I fell in love with but with an even more gorgeous, professional cover.

Book cover changes are common in the publishing industry (look at how many there are for Harry Potter). It’s even easier to make these changes with e-books, one of the advantages of self-publishing and small-press publishing online. However, they’re still a reason to celebrate, especially when the cover is as stunning as this one (simple but stunning).

Join me in congratulating Watson on the re-release of Blackmail and wish her luck on the rest of the Skeleton Key series.

If you want to check out Watson’s erotic novel, you can find it in Kindle and paperback format on Amazon.  Be sure to check out my review of the book and also follow Anna James Watson on her various social media accounts, all of which you can find listed on her Twitter account under @annajameswatson.

Have any exciting news about indie-published books? About your own works? E-mail me at thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com or drop a line in the comments below and I’ll put your news in a future post.

 

Warning: Is She the One? by Bob Boog contains some foul language, discussions of nudity and sex, and issues encountered by mixed-race couples. If you have problems with such topics or otherwise wish to avoid them, proceed with caution.

 

As promised, my post today is more upbeat and not as sad as yesterday’s post about my cat dying. Today I’m bringing you another book review, this time of a romantic comedy. Admittedly, I don’t often enter the romance area of literature, not even romantic comedy (although I have been known to, on a rare occasion, dabble in erotica). However, I made an exception to review Is She the One?: A Partly True Romantic Comedy by Bob Boog.

As “a partly true romantic comedy” indicates, this book follows a (probably) partly-fictionalized version of Bob Boog as he attempts to find “the one” and settle down into married life. Bob is a 27-year-old real estate agent living in Valencia. Young with a good job and living in a fairly-populated area, finding “the one” shouldn’t be too hard, right? Even with all these marks in his favor, it’s still harder than you might think. However, Bob’s luck is about to turn around.

A psychic at an open house informs Bob that he’s about to meet the love of his life, his future wife. According to the psychic, she’s a dark-haired beauty who doesn’t care about the material things and has the strength of a tiger. Within a year, the psychic claims, he will meet her. To Bob, it’s too good to be true. After all, “the one” which she has described matches his tastes almost exactly; his future wife even fits his “Goldilocks rule” (i.e. no more blondes). However, the psychic gives him two very important pieces of advice that he must follow in order to meet this woman: he must be proactive in finding her and he must make himself worthy of whom he is looking for.

The next 136 pages takes the reader on Bob’s adventures leading to him meeting his future wife. He goes through multiple serious relationships, each one ending for one reason or another, goes to bars with his friend Joel and sleeps around, and, finally, meets a woman that he might want to keep around: Roxanne. She’s a feisty, direct, no-bullshit Guatemalan immigrant who knows what she wants and how to get it. They become good friends, they like each other’s families, and—for the most part—they get along well. The only problem: is she “the one” for Bob? And is he “the one” for her?

Boog’s work is a quick, funny read that you won’t want to put down until you’ve finished reading it. The end result is no real mystery, but the journey kept me engaged and enthralled enough that I wanted to know what becomes of Bob and Roxanne. Boog’s writing style is simplistic, easy enough for any reader to follow, but also masterful enough to be comedic on purpose. (Trust me, it’s easy to make a reader laugh by accident; it’s not as easy to make them laugh when you want them to.) He does use foul language but it’s to the work’s benefit; it adds an extra layer of humor and a more realistic feel to the narrative without throwing in cussing unnecessarily, which often bogs down one’s writing.

The memoir feel of Boog’s writing blurs the line between fact and fiction so that, to be honest, I don’t know what made this romantic comedy “partly” true. I would have liked to understand better what, if any, of this actually happened but, in a way, it’s best that I don’t know. I mean, the best part of “partly true” stories is the mystery and the lack of boundaries between fact and fiction, right? In the end, it doesn’t matter if any of it was true. I felt a connection to Bob and Roxanne (although my connection to Roxanne was much stronger) and I cared about how their story ended, and that’s all that matters.

I went back and forth on my feelings towards Bob. Sometimes I thought he was a perfectly nice guy, sometimes I thought he was a self-centered jerk, and other times I just thought that he was average, that he was, well, just human. I think that Bob at the end of the book is a more grown-up version of Bob in the beginning, and that’s one of this work’s greatest strengths. Most of the characters grow and flesh out, whether it’s because they actually change, as Bob does, or because Boog slowly exposes us to the defining features of their lives, as he does with Roxanne.

Joel, though…he’s a jerk from start to finish, and jerk is the mild version of the word I want to use. Still, he serves as comic relief and a foil to Bob, so his rather two-dimensional personality didn’t bother me. (I was giddy when I found out that big playboy Joel who comes to work with a hangover is actually a Star Trek and Star Wars fanboy. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fangirl for many things, but there’s just something about learning that a jerk like that is secretly geeky that makes me laugh.)

The interactions between Bob and Roxanne are, by far, the glue that holds the book together. While I really appreciated seeing Bob’s efforts in between seeing the psychic and meeting Roxanne, I also feel that the book really starts once he and Roxanne meet at a nightclub. Their day-to-day life together is so sweet, so real, and so funny that I would kill to have a relationship that good. Sure, they had their fights and disagreements, but who doesn’t? It just shows that they’re human and that they don’t hide their feelings from each other.

As a romance novel, the book is a little cliché. I didn’t exactly see anything groundbreaking for what I’ve heard about the genre, although I really appreciate that Boog skips out on a lot of the melodrama and the guys speaking poetically. That’s part of the reason why I usually avoid romance novels; it’s too cheesy, too worn-out, too unrealistic. Boog, fortunately, side-steps that issue all together. That’s not to say that the book is without its own cheesy moments. At times, the book grows a little too preachy in regards to how love should be and how to tell if someone is “the one.” Still, I expect those sorts of things from the genre and, after rolling my eyes, I was able to move on without getting caught up on it. Mind you, the questions which Boog raises about romantic love are important; I just wish that they hadn’t been overtly stated so often.

All in all, Is She the One? is a good read for singles looking for “the one,” or even readers in committed relationships who don’t know how to tell if they’re with “the one.” The book isn’t necessarily a cerebral read, with the exception of the number “40” being used often, which is a literary device indicating a lot of something (think 40 days and 40 nights from the Bible). Even if that was just a happy coincidence based on facts, I found myself smiling at it. However, this book doesn’t need to be cerebral. It does its job—telling the story of a man finding true love—very well. More importantly, it caught and kept my attention immediately, and I’m very eager to see where Boog’s next book takes us.

Speaking of which, Is She the One? also includes a preview of Boog’s next romantic comedy, Love Isn’t Easy. Almost immediately there’s a tie-in with a loose end from Is She the One?, one which I found especially amusing, and so you’ll want to make sure you read that sneak peek as well.

Right now, the Kindle version is not up on Amazon. I will let you know when it is available, or you can go to Bob Boog’s website, www.3funnybooks.com, and watch for when he posts the link to it there. While you’re there, be sure to check out his other books based on his experience as a real estate agent. Boog also writes songs (can also be found under Robert Boog) as a hobby, songs which you can find at www.i-songz.com and www.reverbnation.com/boog4.

Do you know of any books I should review? Want your work reviewed on this blog? E-mail me at thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com with your suggestions or message me on Fiverr.

 

Trigger Warning: Today’s book, No Grey Areas by Stuart Hopkins, depicts scenes of domestic abuse, including mental, emotional, and physical abuse. If you or someone you know have suffered through similar abuse or otherwise wish to avoid such topics, proceed with caution.

 

Happy weekend, everyone! Mine is off to an unusual and rather bumpy start, which led to me being unable to post a Friday Fun-Day Writing Prompt or any other content yesterday. I’ll try and post one later today or tomorrow, but for now I want to start the weekend with a book review. Today’s review is a special one, very different from anything I’ve done on this blog. Last week, I was given the opportunity to read and review excerpts from a book that will be published in December and I am presenting my thoughts on them in this post. The book which I have sampled is No Grey Areas, a memoir written by and about Stuart Hopkins.

Before I start my review, I want to provide a little information on the author. Stuart Hopkins is a professional pianist, businessman, trained pilot, and traveler. Born and raised in the United Kingdom, Hopkins has been to Malta, Southeast Asia, and many other places around the world. He will even fulfill a dream of going to India in 2018. More than that, he’ll be journeying on the Maharajah Express, the most luxurious train in the world which can cost up to US$50,000 for a week-long journey.

We all know that the most extraordinary lives also tend to harbor the worst traumas. Hopkins’s life, unfortunately, is no exception. He has had more than his fair share of tragedies, from an abusive father and alcoholic mother to a half-brother who committed suicide before Hopkins had the chance to reach out and connect with the troubled soul. He has been poked, prodded, bullied, beaten, and taken advantage of. Most recently, Hopkins had a business partner in 2009 while in Thailand who tried to steal the company out from under him by having him arrested for fraud, a charge which took him three months in prison to clear himself of. (You can learn more about that fun time on his Quora blog. That blog is where Hopkins jots down the first draft of everything, so keep in mind that the book has been edited and polished more and don’t judge it based on how the blog is written.)

No Grey Areas covers these experiences and more. Starting with his formative years, Hopkins takes readers on a journey from his tumultuous upbringing and budding talent for the piano to his days playing professionally in hotels and on ships and—the icing on the cake—three separate, narrow escapes from death. Hopkins admits on his website that some of the events may seem “outlandish” but that “every word [he’s] written is absolutely true”.

To be honest, I never doubted these experiences for a second, no matter how extraordinary they seemed. Hopkins writes with such raw emotion and bitter humor, constructing a feeling of sincerity which the most hardened skeptic could not challenge, that he could probably sell ice to an Eskimo just by sending him a letter. They say that truth is stranger than fiction; nowhere does this statement ring more true than in No Grey Areas.

Hopkins’s passions and emotions seep into every word of these excerpts. You can feel his love for the piano—and when that love waned—and the adrenaline which rushes through him when he flies a plane. You’ll grow sympathy for him as a teacher prods his chest black-and-blue for a minor grammatical error and nurture an appreciation for the man he has become while reading about the decline of his childhood home life.

Even though I have not experienced much of what Hopkins has experienced first-hand, I easily found moments in his life which I could latch onto as a connection between us. I cared more about him due to these small connections and the humor he puts into the darkest situations, making his brutally-honest and relatively-unfiltered thoughts more palatable.

Of course, such emotional investment also means that, at times, I wanted to smack Hopkins upside the head, either because he did something stupid or because he said something that I found annoying or offensive.

I both shook my head and laughed when he had to make the decision between spending his evening with a drunk, middle-aged man from Malta or a pretty, kind Swedish girl his own age. I rolled my eyes when he slipped into an aside about how today’s youth isn’t prepared as well for life as his generation was (the only thing missing from that statement was something about millennials and avocado toast). I also took slight personal offense to something involving a larger-than-average girl, being overweight myself. With that last issue, I should point out that one of the reasons I took offense was because the incident was so hilarious even though I knew I shouldn’t laugh due to my own condition, which testifies to the captivating power of Hopkins’s writing.

Any urges to smack him aside, Hopkins’s memoir promises to be a very engaging, funny, heartwarming, and heart-wrenching read. I went through the excerpts fairly quickly, so I suspect that the memoir itself will read just as quickly and have minimal lagging in the narration. Hopkins clearly does not hold back, no matter how painful the memories might be.

While the title is No Grey Areas and the author claims to see things in black-and-white, there may be some debate as to whether the memoir truly speaks in black-and-white or if, in a touch of irony, grey areas abound in the novel. I personally lean towards the latter interpretation after reading these excerpts, and it’s this subversion of expectations which makes me excited to read more once the book is released in December. After all, can we really choose to avoid grey areas in life and morality? Or do they persist despite what we claim to believe?

To read these excerpts, follow this link to Hopkins’s website. They are available individually on the website as well as together in one document for multiple e-reader formats (look under the “Downloads” tab). You can also find out more about his future trip to India and about the author himself. Most importantly, make sure to sign up for his newsletter so that you can be among the first to get news regarding the memoir and its release.

An extra bonus to accessing his website is that you can pre-order No Grey Areas for US$4.49, half of what it will be after its e-book release; just scroll to the bottom of one of the excerpt web pages and click on the PayPal button below the text.

Do you know of any books I should read? Any books about to be released that you think we should spread the word about? Want your book reviewed on this blog? E-mail me at thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com or message me on Fiverr.