Category: Book Reviews

Good day, readers and writers! I want to start off the day with a rather specialized book review. Well, the book in this review isn’t so much a book as it is a booklet. A lot of you don’t know this, but there is one human vice which I literally cannot be around, at least not for long: smoking. I don’t condemn those who do smoke; after all, we all have our bad habits. Still, I cannot be around people who smoke because of my asthma. My lungs burn if I inhale too much smoke (and it doesn’t take much for “a little smoke” to become “too much smoke” for my body). That’s why I feel a particular obligation to share this review of Quit Smoken!!!: The Easier, Faster, More Effective, No Side Effects, Guaranteed Way to Stop Smoking Forever!!! by Ron Roesch.

In this book, Roesch provides a deceptively-simple formula to stop smoking without the expected pitfalls. Essentially, Roesch recommends a form of behavioral modification which involves replacing the seemingly-pleasant stimulation of smoking a cigarette with a negative physical reaction. He goes in-depth on why this method might work, how it worked for him, and what to do if it doesn’t work (but he’s fairly confident it will).

To me, the most unique aspect of Roesch’s guide is that he doesn’t fall into the trap of presenting the tasking of quitting smoking as soon incredibly-difficult mountain to climb. Whereas even doctors depict the process as something akin to Sisyphus’s punishment in Tartarus, Roesch more illustrates it as a Rubik’s Cube: frustrating and time-consuming if you don’t know how to do it—you might even stumble across the correct solution by accident—but far more bearable if you know the trick to it. He doesn’t spend his time trying to cover his butt with what readers could experience as a result of quitting. Rather, he focuses on conveying a method which might circumvent the side effects and encourage readers to take the plunge.

Roesch’s method to quitting smoking also intrigues me. I particularly trust him because of his B.S. in Psychology. After all, so much of the chemical dependency in addiction is based in the mind, so who’s better to help people get over the addiction than someone who knows the human mind intimately? I can also very clearly see the logic behind his method. I mean, we’re more likely to quit something we’re repulse by than something that we know we should stop but that still brings us even a twisted joy. (I’m considering trying a similar method to stop my habit of being hard on myself.)

I cannot say for certain that Roesch’s method works for stopping an addiction, let alone smoking. I simply haven’t tried it for anything, and as a non-smoker, I don’t need to use it for that. Still, Roesch explains his train-of-thought behind the concept, so I don’t have any real problems believing his claims.

Roesch’s easy-going but passionate and informal voice makes this book very engaging. Quit Smoken is not a book to pick up for entertainment. However, if you—or someone you know—want to read this book because you’re trying to quit smoking, you won’t be falling asleep at the wheel, either. You might even find a kindred spirit in Roesch, someone who knows what you’re going through because he has gone through it himself.

Of course, this book is not without its flaws. At times, Roesch’s insistence that his method works 100% of the time grew tedious. It made me think “Well, actions speak louder than words, and statistics speak louder than claims!” I don’t mind that he only using his personal experience to back up the effectiveness of his method; I just wish that he would cut back on claiming that it always works if he won’t offer up solid statistics. Regardless, he does balance these claims out some by including a money-back guarantee at the end of the book (only available through 2018, as far as I can tell).

The book is mostly well-edited, but I did notice a few minor mistakes. Nevertheless, these mistakes are so minor that I doubt that they’ll really detract from anyone’s reading experiences.

Overall, I think that Quit Smoken by Ron Roesch is a good resource for those looking to quit smoking. Heck, even if you just want a loved one to stop smoking, you could gift them this book as a “hint.” Roesch may not have the scientific data to back up his claims, but the logic behind his method is solid and you can’t really hurt yourself just by trying the method. Just remember to read the entire book, not just the formula, and for Pete’s sake, don’t actually make yourself puke while trying to initiate the gag reflex!

You can buy Quit Smoken by Ron Roesch as an eBook and in print on Amazon.

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

 

Happy Friday, everyone! I want to start the weekend off with an easier read, only about 174 pages and very colloquial in its voice. I feel I should warn readers that there are Christian verses and references to worshipping the Christian God throughout the book, but those are not by any means the main drive of the book, so non-Christians should enjoy this book unless they really want to avoid Christianity in their reading. The book I’m reviewing in this post is The Story of Us: The Life and Times of Mel and Ray by Melissa Singleton.

Every life has its challenges. We fall in love and we fall out of love, only to fall back in love somewhere down the road; we gain loved ones and we lose them; we succeed and we fail; mostly, though, we learn and grow as people, so long as we don’t let our trial and tribulations to drag us down into the abyss. Melissa Singleton’s The Story of Us follows such an ordinary (and non-narrative) story of a couple who are very much in love.

Singleton takes readers through her life journey with Ray from the day of her birth to the very day she wrote this book. She speaks of falling in love with Ray, of separating, of reuniting, of starting businesses and a family, and watching loved ones, one by one, join and leave this world. While told in no particular order other than chronological (and even that form of organization falls to the wayside after a while), each of the mini-stories are tired together by Singleton, her husband, their love for each other, and their ability to learn from their mistakes (no matter how many times those mistakes had to be made). The result is a sweet story of two lives intertwined, for better or for worse—although more often for the better.

I want to begin by saying that Singleton’s narrative voice is very conversational and very Southern. I say this as a term of endearment; my mother’s mother’s side of the family is Southern, and so I cannot help but imagine one of them telling these sorts of stories with this sort of voice. (I can even hear my very Californian mother in this narration, bless her heart!) It’s that feel of an older family member sitting you down and telling you every family story there is to hear, whether you want to listen or not and whether you’ve heard them a million times or not. Singleton even has some “what’s going on with people nowadays” and “back in my day” moments that brought a roll to my eyes and a smirk to my lips.

Needless to say, this narrative voice sucked me in fairly easily, even without a proper introduction. One would have been nice, of course, to understand what to expect in the story before starting to talk about Melissa’s and Ray’s childhoods. Regardless, I was oddly OK with the seeming aimlessness of the book, of just reading it for the sake of reading someone else’s life story.

Unfortunately, the narrative voice got a little too preachy towards the end of the book for me. That’s not to say I’m uncomfortable with Christian books. Hey, you’ve seen some of the books I’ve reviewed before, I don’t shy away from a book just because of the religion discussed in it. (I’m a fairly open-minded Agnostic.) No, my problem was more with how heavy the religious part of the voice became so swiftly, namely in the second half of the book. Perhaps if the religious presence had been more prominent in the earlier chapters, the writing would have felt more balanced; as it is, without any real “epiphany” which would explain the sudden shift, I became annoyed by the imbalance.

I am also not a fan of how often Singleton uses “LOL”. I enjoy the Southern colloquial style of her storytelling, but the LOLs grew tedious. I felt as though I were reading a teenager’s (or even a young adult’s) texts or Facebook status. I understand it’s part of her voice, but it sounds immature and, quite literally, like laughing at her own jokes. That’s different from when she’s actually talking about laughing at what she’s writing; that’s funny in a breaking-the-fourth-wall kind of way, whereas LOL is just too informal even for an informal narrator.

Fortunately, I think that the stories themselves and the people involved salvage the book from any of these minor issues I’ve mentioned. They are all so real, and more so than just knowing that this is autobiographical. I felt as though I could meet any of these people just walking down the street (my mom could see Singleton’s stories and raise her five). I also related very well to Melissa and Ray, seeing a bit of myself in each of them as well as their family and friends. (I’ll join you in Unproductive Anonymous, Melissa!)

Frankly, despite it being only 26 pages shy of 200 and all the shiz I normally have to do, I read this book in about a day. It’s a fun read, although sometimes emotional as Singleton discusses various deaths in their families. I felt as though I were just having a heart-to-heart conversation with this woman, and I so desperately felt the urge to tell her some of my family stories as well. Thus is the magic of informal storytelling.

Towards the end of the book, Singleton mentions that the reader may have found some spelling or grammatical errors. She also says that there are a lot fewer than when she started and that she left some purposefully as that is how they are remembered. Still, I found many proofreading errors that could not be brushed off to that style choice. Many times there were apostrophes missing from possessives, i.e. “Rays” instead of “Ray’s”, and the use of “its” when “it’s” should be there. I also noticed some odd spacing issues in my Kindle eBook, mostly that there were spaces missing between some words and an odd extra space after the first letter of the first word in a chapter. Whether those are proofreading errors or something weird going on with Kindle, I don’t know. Nevertheless, I think that the book could do with one more look-over to catch mistakes such as those I mentioned above.

Overall, The Story of Us by Melissa Singleton is a sweet, cute story of a couple growing old and growing up together. It’s a glimpse into American life over several decades, the tale of hard workers pulling themselves up by their bootstraps not to become millionaires but to make something they can be proud of. If you’re looking for a clear-cut plot or spectacular drama and character growth, this book might not be for you. However, if you’re looking for a lighthearted read about real people you can relate to, you’ll definitely want to check it out.

You can buy The Story of Us by Melissa Singleton as an eBook on Amazon.

Know of a book I should read? Want your work reviewed on this blog? E-mail me at thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com or message me on Fiverr and we can arrange something.

 

 

Good evening, readers and writers! The book I’m reading today is more for the athletic writers among us. While this work has been written specifically for tennis players, athletes from all sports involving balls can benefit from it. Moreover, anyone interested in how human sight works and what makes certain athletes so good at what they do will find some entertainment value as well. In this post, I’m reviewing Visual Training for Tennis: Going Beyond “Watch the Ball” by Bill Patton.

We all know the saying: Keep your eye on the ball. But just how well does that serve tennis players? According to Patton, not as well as we think. Using a combination of scientific study, professional advice, and personal anecdotes, this teacher/tennis coach gives other tennis coaches and players advice on how best to utilize visual training for tennis. Patton covers everything from tracking a tennis ball and the bounce-hit training technique to the pros and cons of protective eye wear and the need to rest your eyes between shots. The result is a comprehensive guide which not only tells coaches and players what to do but why it works.

Admittedly, I’m not a tennis player. I’m not an athlete of any sort. My oldest brother is really into golf and even works at a golf course, but I’ve never been one for sports. While Patton makes it seem that anyone can be taught under visual training for tennis when given time, I’m pretty certain that my general lack of hand-eye coordination will keep me from playing the sport. Regardless, this book seems like it would be very helpful for anyone wishing to pursue tennis as well as those who want to teach it.

I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of research Patton put into his book. Still, the book is rarely dull. He uses a conversational tone even when discussing the scientific principles, which made the concepts much more readable. His passion for the topic clearly shows, and he explains his reasoning behind each technique, tip, and assertion thoroughly. I think that his points would be better made if he could incorporate some illustrations or photos which demonstrate what he is describing, but that’s more of a personal preference; I’m a visual learner, and images would have just made it easier for me to follow Patton’s train-of-thought.

I most appreciate his acknowledgement of the different kinds of learners when it comes to tennis. He discusses verbal learners versus visual learners, even illustrating the differences using examples from his own classroom. In order for a coach to best teach his/her pupil, he/she must first understand that each student learns in his/her own way, and so the coach must learn to see through the student’s eyes (to borrow Patton’s words). As someone whose mind doesn’t work quite like everyone else’s, I am very grateful that Patton emphasizes this point, and not just because it’s a clever play on words that goes with his topic.

Another unique aspect of Patton’s book is that it is continuously growing. Right off the bat, Patton invites readers to let him know about their experiences with the topics of his guide—what worked for them, what didn’t worked for them, adjustments that should be made, etc. Now, this concept is not new to literature or even how-to guides. After all, how many different editions of For Dummies books are there for any given subject? However, very few—I can’t even think of any—ask readers for contributions within the book itself. I think that this concept makes Visual Training for Tennis more open and inviting to the reader, something which is key in making people comfortable enough to try new ways of learning.

Of course, the book isn’t perfect. I had some minor issues with the organization of the guide. Namely, I would have preferred if some of the final remarks had been included in the introduction instead. For example, Patton talks about his own experience with being forced to “watch the ball” as a child and, thus, not do so well in sports for a while. I think that this example both proves his arguments and gives it a personal touch which would draw readers in immediately.

Overall, Visual Training for Tennis by Bill Patton is a wonderful book for tennis coaches and players. You probably shouldn’t approach it as a novice as some of the concepts won’t make sense. You can read it just for the information on eyesight and how it affects tennis players, if you like, but if you are serious about using the information while playing tennis, you’ll want to wait until you understand the game overall better. However, coaches can use it to improve their teaching techniques and players can discuss it with their coaches to see if Patton’s exercises could improve their game.

You can buy Visual Training for Tennis by Bill Patton as an eBook and in print on Amazon.

Do you know of a book I should read? E-mail me at thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com and let me know!

 

Happy Monday, everyone! I’m going to start the week with another book review. Unlike many of the books that I’ve been reviewing lately, this one is a bit on the cleaner side; there’s some violence, yes (specifically murders), and some untimely deaths and a brief mention of horrific incidents such as rape and torture, but oddly still cleaner than the romances I’ve read lately. The book I’m reviewing in this post is called Set You Free: Love, Lies, and the Secrets that Bind by Elmer Seward.

It all starts on a stormy night, a freak cold storm on the Eastern Shore in June. As Blake Moore drives home from his nightly visit to his wife’s memorial, he’s given the fright of his life as he nearly hits a young woman and her eight-year-old daughter. Not about to leave them stranded in the pouring rain, Blake reluctantly offers them a ride which the mother, Deena, reluctantly accepts. Little do they know, this small act of kindness won’t be over with just one ride.

What follows is a sweet but tense story of anxiety, mystery, love, and learning to trust and forgive oneself. Everyone has their secrets, their guilt and their regrets However, Deena does not realize that these secrets are never really secrets in small towns, that everyone already knows or will soon find out—and sometimes it’s better that way. Can this poor woman on the run learn to trust her new friends? Will she stay long enough to find out? Most importantly, what is the dark past closing in on and her, and what will happen once it finally catches up to her?

While this story borders on stereotypical for small town mysteries, I found myself surprisingly enchanted by the tale. Having felt trapped in my own hometown—a small town of maybe 3,000 people—I don’t typically enjoy stories of people “finding” their true selves in these sorts of places (except for the Reese Witherspoon movie Sweet Home Alabama.) What can I say? They’re cheesy to me, and I find it laughable that people think that these towns are such quaint, peaceful places to live. Somehow, though, Seward manages to make me like this trope, at least for this story.

I’m guessing it’s a combination of the setting and the characters. Unlike many small town stories, which usually take place somewhere rural, this one is along the Eastern coast of the United States. This allowed Seward to play with the stereotypical small town traits, replacing barbecues and rodeos with home-style burger places and seafood festivals. The descriptions, for me, were also more beautiful than in another stories about small towns. I’m personally more captivated by the image of a sunset on the sea than a sunset over the mountains or the prairie, so the scenery in this book much better fit my tastes.

However, I’m almost certain that the characters won me over for this book. From Chum, the bar owner who loves to tell about his shark attack, to Enos, the gentle giant who’s a bit touched in the head, the cast in this book is colorful and varied. Of course, as is often the case in small town stories, a lack of diversity in race, sexuality, and religion showed, but these subjects came up so seldom (if at all) that it didn’t make much of a difference. Still, it would not have killed the story to have more of this sort of diversity. Regardless, the characters are by far my favorite part of this book, particularly Enos and Mama Jo, the kindly old widow who takes in Deena and her daughter as her own family.

While the plot focused on Blake, Deena, and their growth (separately and together), I was actually more taken by the character development in Enos. He remains gentle and not very bright throughout the story, but he grows a spine of sorts and begins to display a sort of emotional intelligence that many with “book smarts” and even common sense don’t have. His growth from just the poor simpleton into a protective guard for Kat—Deena’s daughter—touched me, and I thought his connection with both of them to be one of the sweetest things I’ve read in a while.

Seward makes his book stand out from other similar works by adding an element of mystery and danger to it with Deena’s past. Most of these stories contain some mystery. After all, these people are usually trying to escape pasts they aren’t so proud of. Still, Deena’s past has present-day consequences, some which could turn the entire town upside-down. Seward adds to that the parallel narrative in the journals that Deena and Blake find in the rental house, creating a narrative which both tugged on my heartstrings and compelled me to keep reading just to see how it could all tie together.

As I said before, with a few exceptions, Seward’s work could pass off as your typical small town narrative. Woman ends up in small town, woman reluctantly stays, woman’s past gets mixed with the hometown’s past, and I’ll stop there to avoid any spoilers. Point is, it’s the sort of story I should laugh at. But I’ll be damned if Seward’s writing didn’t make me like it. It just goes to show you, even if you don’t usually like a specific kind of story, you can’t snub them all. You never know when you’ll find the exception to that rule.

Overall, I think that Set You Free by Elmer Seward is a wonderful tale. It’s sweet, homey, but also exciting and mysterious. I absolutely fell in love with Mama Jo and Enos, and my heart went out to Deena and her struggles to rid herself of her troubled past. Seward writes simply and cleanly but with a masterful command of the English language. Surprisingly, I could only find one or two proofreading errors (and I honestly can’t even remember what those were). Only the occasional over-the-top stereotype detracted from the experience (you’ll know what I mean when you meet the character Lisa), so I’m guessing that most of you contemporary fiction readers will love this novel.

You can buy Set You Free by Elmer Seward as an eBook or in print on Amazon.

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

 

Trigger Warning: The book reviewed in this post, The Ghost Years by Mutch Katsonga, contains depictions of drug use, attempted rape, and AIDS and HIVs. If you are under 18 years of age, are triggered by such depictions, or otherwise wish to avoid them, proceed with caution.

I have another book review for you, one also filled with tragedy like Twin Flames Rising but also a light at the end of the tunnel. This one, however, is by the author of another book I’ve reviewed on here before, Beyond the Spiral Gates. The book reviewed in this post is called The Ghost Years by Mutch Katsonga.

Homelessness is a nerve-wracking experience. Nowhere to stay for the night, no protection from the cold and the elements, and sometimes no friends or family to turn to for comfort. You add drugs, sex, and violence to the mix, and you have the netherworld of homelessness that the protagonist of The Ghost Years threw himself into as a young adult.

The Ghost Years follows a young man as he falls from the grace of a loving home into the deep despair of substance abuse and life as a vagabond. Beginning with the loss of his mother’s sanity, his life spirals downward until he is a twenty-something-year-old divorced ne’er-do-well, a wall of pride between him and his family and the high of addiction his only friend. How low will he go for that next high? How low will he have to go before he’ll be able to pull his life back together? And will anyone be there to give him a helping hand?

Katsonga creates another amazingly raw account of a life cast aside by the world when he needed support the most. Unlike in Beyond the Spiral Gates, the prison for the protagonist of this story is wide open world itself, a cold and cruel reality that he wants to escape, sending himself right into the arms of alcohol and crack cocaine. While Katsonga paints the picture of a sympathetic young man beaten down by circumstance, the protagonist is clearly no saint, either. He allows his bitterness and despair to envelope him and pushes away the very people who could help him most. He makes stupid mistakes and digs himself a deeper hole into the sewage of the homeless netherworld, but that is exactly what makes him human. The protagonist is flawed, but the tragedy of his younger years and the man that we see him become while volunteering at the nursing home proved to be more than enough for me to care about what this poor man went through.

Being told in first person, this story allows the reader to get up close and personal with the protagonist, his desperation, and his darkest thoughts. After the first chapter, the narration reads as though you are listening to someone tell you his life story, from the conditions surrounding his birth through the lowest points of his life. The first chapter reads does not quite have that same storyteller element, more like the reader is following the protagonist on his rounds through the nursing home, and the shift can be jarring. However, that’s part of what makes it feel more real; it’s as though the protagonist has decided to tell you what got him to this point in his life, to share his heart-wrenching but also inspiring story of recovery.

Still, the narrative style also serves as the book’s downfall. The protagonist is prone to excessive amounts of philosophizing and self-reflection. These passages certainly match the character’s personality and reveals the influence his mother had on him. I really appreciate that effort at characterization. After a while, though, I began to fade in and out while reading these. This attention issue may have just been due to the fact that I’m still sick, but I had to struggle some to make it through the philosophy to make it back to the meat of the story. I love a good philosophical discussion as much, maybe even more than, the next reader. Regardless, I was anxious to find out what happened next, a good sign for Katsonga’s storytelling but a hindrance for the philosophical musings.

The metaphors which Katsonga employees beautifully illustrate the struggles of addiction and homelessness. From Hercules and the Hydra to St. George and the dragon, Katsonga uses his protagonist’s earlier thirst for knowledge to his advantage in these metaphors. While I struggled with some of the philosophical and self-reflecting passages, I still enjoyed the utilization of Greek mythology and Christian lore to express the internal struggles which anyone who has hit their low can understand. Some readers might consider them overdone, but I think that they complemented the protagonist’s dilemma very well.

An unfortunate flaw in this book is the proofreading. I noticed multiple proofreading errors, most prominently misused commas. Some of these errors I could brush off as building the poetic, storytelling voice of the narration. Others, however, I could not. As with all proofreading errors, these are easy to fix just by taking another look at it and uploading a new eBook copy. (The wonders of modern technology, huh?)

Overall, The Ghost Years by Mutch Katsonga is a wonderful, if painful, book. It’s so true in its depiction of homelessness and addiction that this book can be hard to get through. Nevertheless, I highly encourage you to. I feel I have a new understanding of both these issues, as well as the workings of society which perpetuate them. The philosophy and self-reflection did grow a bit tedious even for me, but that only detracts slightly from the general reading experience. If you’re looking for a book that will give you a new view of that poor man sleeping on the park bench—and a new hope that his life can be turned around—then The Ghost Years is for you.

You can buy The Ghost Years by Mutch Katsonga as an eBook and in print on Amazon. Also make sure to check out Beyond the Spiral Gates and look the writer up on Twitter and Instagram.

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

 

Trigger Warning: The subject of today’s review, The Book of Angels: Twin Flames Rising by Maya El, contains depictions and discussions of rape, domestic abuse, violence, and sexual situations. If you are under 18 years of age, are triggered by such depictions, or otherwise wish to avoid them, proceed with caution.

Warning: Twin Flames Rising addresses controversial topics of a political nature. People of all political perspectives are welcomed to express their views, but any discussion resulting from this review should remain civil and polite. Any bullying, trolling, hate speech, or inappropriate remarks will result in the participating parties being reprimanded. Please refer to the Comments and Privacy Policy page for further information.

Well, I’m off to a not-so-great start today, but that’s a subject for another time. For now, I want to start this Sunday off on a slightly cheerier note. Well, not cheerier but definitely more entertaining. Today I’m bringing you yet another of my backlogged reviews, this time for a novel called The Book of Angels: Twin Flames Rising by Maya El.

Nathalie Parker lives in a time of chaos and uncertainty. As a woman of color—a person of color—in Chicago, things are looking bleak. With the election of a new president and the establishment of a strictly-enforced curfew, the number of unjustified police murders of African Americans is rising. On top of this turmoil, Nathalie has been trapped into an abusive marriage and seems to be losing everyone she loves. Since her husband is a local pastor doing so much good for the black community, very few people are even willing to believe her accusations. What’s a girl to do when her world is crumbling around her?

Fortunately, a glimmer of hope has entered Nathalie’s life: a figure who has been haunting her dreams, giving her the deepest sense of pleasure and bringing her complete ecstasy. But who is this mysterious god of lust? Is he real, or just a dream born of dread and depravity? What will his presence do to her marriage—more importantly, what will her husband do to her if these dreams empower her to leave him?

I found this book to be gripping, an intricate weaving of politics, violence, and romance. It’s as much a story about a woman reclaiming control of her life as it is a call-to-action for the African American community. This book has to be one of the most overtly-political books I’ve reviewed on this blog so far, and I love it.

El does well in plunging readers head-first into the chaos. No explanation, no prolonged world-building, she just jumps right into the heart of Nathalie’s struggles. Of course, it helps a bit that the book takes place in an alternative version of a real city. Nonetheless, the disorientation of being right in the action complements the disorientation in Nathalie’s life very well.

Each character is unique, realistic twists on old tropes: Nathalie, the scared and abused wife who refuses to be submissive; Tameka, the understanding, strong, and supportive best friend; Daddy, the civil rights activist and loving father; Carson, the abusive and possibly deranged husband; and Tariq, a lawyer bent on delivering true justice for the innocent. I’ve encountered each of these kinds of characters before in one form or another. However, they did not feel that way. They felt fresh and like real people I wanted to know (well, not Carson, for obvious reasons).

Endless twists and turns pulled me right through this book. In fact, I quite literally could not put it down until I was done. At only around 170 pages—about 158 of which are the story itself—this book would have been a relatively quick read for me anyway. El’s writing and the plot twists only helped me to finish the book even sooner or at least feel like I did.

Unfortunately, as with all books, this one is not perfect. While the first half (roughly) felt perfectly paced, El rushes through the second half. She tries to cram so much into so little space that not every punch was as effective as it could have been. In some cases, such as love scenes and scenes of violence, this quick pace actually works in El’s favor. The reveal, however, felt too quick, and some of the big “ah-ha!” moments felt anticlimactic as a result, even though in actuality they were compelling plot points.

The dialogue also came across stiff at times. I saw too much formal English for my liking. In some cases, it’s appropriate, such as when characterizing Tariq and maybe even Carson. Other times, it felt forced. I just think more contractions and idioms could have been used in order to make the dialogue feel more modern and real. I also grew bothered by the fact that a lot of dialogue in the beginning served as exposition, explanation of certain characterizations and character histories through the characters’ conversations. This might only bother me because it’s a pet peeve of mine; I’m not a big fan of exposition in everyday conversation between characters already familiar with each other. Nevertheless, the information was necessary and I suppose I would need some time to think about it before deciding on a better method than what El uses.

I caught some very minor proofreading errors, but these were very minor. Generally, this work is well-edited and has no glaring errors, so the grammar fanatics among my readers should be rejoicing.

On a more personal note, I took offense to only one thing in this book, i.e. the use of Planned Parenthood in a villain’s plot. El ensures that Nathalie and Tameka show more liberal tendencies when it comes to women’s health care and the right to choose what is done to one’s body, which I deeply appreciate. However, Carson’s endorsement of it gave me mixed feelings because that meant that there was clearly something suspicious about it, even before characters voiced those concerns. It left a bitter taste in my mouth. Still, El—through Tameka and Nathalie—explains how the placement of Planned Parenthood indicates an attempt to control the African American population. I can see that view and I agree that it’s fishy; I’m just disappointed that not much actually came of this part of the plot. Then again, that’s just another reason for me to continue with the rest of the series!

Overall, Twin Flames Rising by Maya El is a great start to a new series. It’s not too focused on the romance or the politics; it’s the story of a woman’s life within an unpredictable and frightening world with the politics as one of the evils and the romance as one of the ways she can deal with it. I know that there will be conflict among readers because of the political stances in this book, but what else is literature for than to encourage us to think and discuss the important issues? Anyone interested in a fast-paced, sensual story with romance and social injustice at its core will not be able to put this book down.

You can buy Twin Flames Rising by Maya El as an eBook and in print on Amazon. Also be sure to check out the book trailer for Twin Flames Rising.

Do you know of a book I should read? Want your work reviewed on this blog? E-mail me at thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com or message me on Fiverr and we can arrange something. (Right now, though, the safest bet is to e-mail me. See the Contact and Hire Me page for more information.)

Trigger Warning: The subject of the following review, Heartaches 3: Bad Boy Vibes by H.M. Irwing contains discussions of rape, depictions of sexual situations including BDSM, violence, and drug use. If you are under 18 years of age, are triggered by such depictions, or otherwise wish to avoid them, proceed with caution.

Here’s the final review for H.M. Irwing’s Heartaches trilogy. As this book is the third in the series, the following review will contain some spoilers for the first and second book. If you have not read those, proceed carefully. Now that you’ve been thoroughly warned, here is my review for Heartahces 3: Bad Boy Vibes by H.M. Irwing.

The day of Aunt Bella and Peter Preston’s wedding is approaching, and Rafe and Anna know that they have to do everything possible in order to stop it. They have a plan which, thanks to a sly maid named Suzi, they might be able to pull off. That is, if their own emotional struggles with each other and the Prestons don’t get in the way first. What follows are 160 pages of conspiracy, tension, double-crossing, and, if course, sex and romance. Will good finally triumph over evil? Will the Prestons and Eric Dayton finally get what they deserve, and will Rafe and Anna finally get the peace that they long for? Most importantly, who will make it out alive?

Admittedly, the intricately-woven drama, which often bordered on coincidental, annoyed me in the second book. However, that annoyance has warn off in this final installment. Somehow, when combined with all the action and scheming, it works for me this time. Perhaps it’s because Irwing was able to tone it down once all the groundwork had been set or the slightly altered context from romance novel to action-romance made it more bearable for me, I’ll never know for certain. Regardless, it fit here and slightly justified the cheesiness of the soap opera elements that so heavily appeared in the second novel.

The character development has always been the greatest strength in Heartaches. The third book is no exception. While Anna and Rafe are still dangerously dependent on one another, they’ve both grown to protect each other and bring out the best–and worst–in each other. Anna isn’t entirely complacent anymore, taking on more agency and responsibility for keeping herself safe as well as Rafe. They both have come to realize that their trauma should not keep them from their future for each other, a growth which I found to be endearing and a good lesson for all of us who think we’re too damaged to be loved.

Some of the character development was a little hard for me to swallow. I didn’t believe Matt’s revelation about him and Anna in the second book and I still don’t, although I entirely believe that he and probably even Jason are afraid of Peter and his punishments. I wish that Irwing had vilified Matt and his brother a little less earlier in Heartaches if she were to take that route, but I suppose the effectiveness of the transition is up for you to decide after you read it. (I can’t talk about it much more without risking spoilers anyway.)

I’ve never been one to enjoy the romance and action genres too much, at least not without some fantasy/science fiction or historical fiction in it, but Irwing may have changed my mind some. (Of course, some other romance novels have helped her by paving the way for that.) The complexity of the character’s psychology and emotions really captured and kept my interest, and I was determined to see their story through. Irwing did not disappoint. She wrapped all the elements up nicely, even minor ones from the first book, and got my blood pumping with an unexpected boost of action that I didn’t see to that degree in the other books. Better yet, the ending left me happy without warning to barf from the sickening sweetness of “they lived happily ever after,” which always a plus for me when it comes to this genre.

My only other bones to pick, which are both minor stylistic preferences, have to do with the title and the cover. They hardly change over the course of three books, which can be confusing. I can see people starting the wrong book entirely by mistake. To avoid confusion, I hope that Irwing will consider different cover illustrations for each book and perhaps new titles which distinguish the books from each other better. Again, it’s a minor issue and does not affect the quality of the book or writing itself.

Overall, Heartaches 3: Bad Boy Vibes by H.M. Irwing is a nice conclusion to this series. If you don’t like when a book series evolves to cover more genres than previously (even if organically), you might want to avoid this last book. However, if you don’t mind a drastic increase in action in a romance series and love emotional development in your romance novels, this book is for you.

You can buy Heartaches 3: Bad Boy Vibes by H.M. Irwing as an eBook or in paperback on Amazon. Also remember to check out Irwing’s website for information on her, the Heartaches trilogy, and her other books.

Do you know of any books I should read? E-mail me at thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com and let me know!

Trigger Warning: The subject of this review, Heartaches 2: Bad Boy Vibes by H.M. Irwing contains discussions of rape as well as depictions of sexual situations and violence. If you are under 18 years of age, are triggered by such depiction, or would otherwise like to avoid them, proceed with caution.

As promised, here’s the second review of the Heartaches: Bad Boy Vibes trilogy. Be warned that, as this book is a sequel, there will be some spoilers for the first book. You have been warned. Now, without further ado, my review of Heartaches 2: Bad Boy Vibes by H.M. Irwing.

Oh, the tangled webs we weave—especially in fiction! Rafe and Anna are back, and this time, their hearts are not the only ones at risk of aching. With the return of Eric Dayton and the Prestons, Rafe, Anna, Pat, and their friends are on-edge and on-guard. And now that their flawless reputations have been tarnished, who knows what Rafe’s and Anna’s abusers/rapists will do for revenge. Will evil—and money and power—win out over good? Will the ghosts of their pasts drive a wedge between Rafe and Anna? And how will the relationships and drama of their loved ones affect them?

In the second installment of Heartaches: Bad Boy Vibes, Irwing pulls no punches. Even in times of relative peace, drama invades Rafe’s and Anna’s lives, whether it’s theirs, Pat’s, the Prestons’, whoever. Unfortunately, this amount of drama was simultaneously invigorating and draining. On the one hand, it got my blood pumping and anxious to see what could possibly go wrong next. On the other hand, I really just wanted a break. While I understand that the emotional turmoil of a rape victim never truly goes away, couldn’t they have a couple days without having to confront anyone’s troubles? Much like the first book, the second part of Heartaches: Bad Boy Vibes really reminded me of a soap opera, perhaps too much so. The secrecy, the mood swings, the eternally-entangled plots and relationships, they all seem too contrived to be believable at points. I’m not sure if I would want all these extremes to be gone as they help this novel fit the romance genre perfectly, but it’s also what makes romance books hard for me to get through.

Regardless, I found a lot to like about this sequel as well. Irwing ensures to weave in themes of friendship and strength, giving Anna a life outside of her rape and her relationship with Rafe, which is a relief considering the melodrama of hers and Rafe’s feelings for each other. While Rafe and Anna are still the center of the story, subplots such as that between Pat and Dan add an extra flavor to this book which was somewhat lacking in the first.

I loved watching Anna realize her self-worth, the toxic influences that people in her past had had on her, even as her ultra-dependence on Rafe grated on my nerves. The fact that their relationship is co-dependent, that Rafe is as dependent on her for as she is on him and that she protects him as he protects her, eased my discomfort at Anna’s dependence. In a way, it made them one of the better-balanced couples I’ve seen in the romance genre. The fact that the focus shifted from Anna’s troubled past more to Rafe’s aided this balance, giving readers as much of a look into the inner workings of Rafe as the first book did with Anna.

Irwing does well in tying together minor plot points from parts one and two of Heartaches: Bad Boy Vibes. I had a feeling that we would be seeing the rich old woman and her grandson again, but I certainly did not expect the role they ended up playing. Better yet, their role brought a mixture of drama and humor to the book which, while maintaining the tension, brought a lighter feel to the story at the same time. It also gave me a glimmer of hope, even as it seemed that this plot line might end in some discontent.

As with the first book, Heartaches 2: Bad Boy Vibes is ripe with socio-political commentary. Rape, victim-blaming, and gay marriage are just some of the many social issues which play a part in this novel. While they are difficult to swallow, they also add a depth which romance novels often lack, and frankly, that’s the only way to keep me as engaged in this genre as this series has. I wear my heart on my sleeves, so these books are hard for me to read. However, the characters and the social commentary keep me moving right along.

Still, as I pointed out earlier, this book is not perfect. The excessive drama—melodrama, at times—killed me a little inside, made Irwing’s writing almost a guilty pleasure for me. The oscillation between a lack of agency for Anna/her total dependence on Rafe and her serving as his protector gave me a headache at points, and the intensity of their feelings toward each other bordered so much on cliché that it made me roll my eyes a little. (Perhaps it would have helped if Irwing had not brought up these emotions so often, usually for several paragraphs at a time.) I suppose that I just have to take the bad with the good in this case.

Overall, Heartaches 2: Bad Boy Vibes Part Two is an entertaining read, filled with emotional and psychological complexities similar to the first. When compared to the first book, it’s a bit disappointing as it falls even more into the stereotype of a soap opera-like romance novel. Regardless, it also maintains several of the strengths of the first novel as well, and so I was still anxious to move on to the third once I had finished with this one. If you like romance novels, I highly suggest you try these books. If you are triggered by discussions of rape or can’t deal with a lot of (almost forced) drama, you might want to avoid them.

You can buy Heartaches 2: Bad Boy Vibes Part Two by H.M. Irwing as an eBook and in paperback on Amazon. Remember to check out Irwing’s website for more information on these and Irwing’s other books.

Do you know of a book I should read? E-mail me at thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com and let me know!

As most of you know, I’m a nerd. I’m a HUGE nerd. However, I’m literary nerd, not a computer nerd. Trust me, there is a distinct difference. Still, the paths of the literary nerd and the computer nerd often cross, and that is why I’m switching gears from Heartache: Bad Boy Vibes to a book picked especially for the computer nerds among us. Even if you’re not a computer nerd but someone trying to find a new way to handle the technical aspects of his/her small business, you’ll want to check this book out, too. This review will cover ServiceNow Development Handbook: A compendium of pro-tips, guidelines, and best practices for ServiceNow developers by Tim Woodruff.

The title pretty much says it all. This book is a brief guide—around 86 pages—to help developers navigate and best utilize ServiceNow, an all-in-one service software with a focus on IT services. (For more information on ServiceNow, make sure to visit their website.) This guide is not meant to be a step-by-step training guide to ServiceNow (for that, check out Woodruff’s other book, Learning ServiceNow). Instead, Woodruff assumes that the reader has a basic knowledge of the service and Javascript and provides him/her with guidance to avoiding making simple mistakes and create a smooth, relatively stress-free experience for him/herself and his/her team.

For such a short book, this guide is rather dense. By that I mean it’s information-dense, something for which I’m sure developers will be grateful. From naming conventions to formatting tables and guidelines for coding, this guide seems like the perfect cheat-sheet for people trying to make the most out of their ServiceNow IT experience. The sections are labelled well enough and independent enough that you can peruse the table of contents, find the section you have a question about, and skip to that section without having to waste precious time on anything unnecessary.

Of course, you’ll want to use Woodruff’s guide for more than immediate emergencies. Some issues Woodruff addresses are ones you probably wouldn’t even think of until it’s already too late. For example, in the “Naming Conventions” chapter, he points out how careful one must be in naming tables. Not only should the names be singular, but they also need to be easily pluralized by simply adding an “s” to the end. That’s how the system pluralizes the title when there are multiple records in that table, so if you have a name which ends in something like “Entry”, it will pluralize to “Entrys” rather than “Entries”. That’s probably not something you’re really thinking about when you’re naming tables, and so it’s best to read Woodruff’s entire guide before starting a project on ServiceNow to avoid such trivial, though still embarrassing, mistakes.

While Woodruff has to use a lot of technical terms in order to convey his point, he also makes the book less dry by inserting some humor. At the beginning of each chapter, Woodruff introduces the subject through use of quotes. Given the niche nature of this topic, there aren’t too many recognizable quotes that will fit it. Regardless, Woodruff modifies the quotes and adds “almost” after citing the speaker, as in:

Know thy users.

–Socrates, almost

One moment of humor which also stuck out to me was his use of names from the Simpsons family in one of his example codes. The example codes themselves serve as useful guides as to how developers should code certain tables, columns, etc., and the use of the Simpsons made it both more entertaining and easier to understand. It’s Woodruff’s humor which kept me engaged as a non-developer, and I’m sure that developers will benefit from it even more.

Mind you, this guide is exactly that, a guide. It’s not a rigid, step-by-step command as to how to use ServiceNow and, as in writing, rules in developing are made to be broken once you know and understand them.

Overall, this book is great for what it is, a guide to help developers. The terminology will probably go over the heads of my non-computer nerd users, but the IT gems among the bunch should find this right up their alley. Also, if you work in and/or operate a small business, you might want to bring up this book and ServiceNow to your IT team. You never know—you might just become the office hero for saving time and stress!

You can buy ServiceNow Development Handbook by Tim Woodruff as an eBook and in paperback on Amazon. Also make sure to check out Tim Woodruff’s website for information on this, Learning ServiceNow, and his other books.

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

 

Trigger Warning: The subject of this review, Heartaches: Bad Boy Vibes by H.M. Irwing, depicts detailed sexual scenes and rape. If you are under 18 years of age, are triggered by such depictions, or otherwise wish to avoid them, proceed with caution.

I’m just going to say this now, over the next few days I’ll be bombarding you with several book reviews. I’ve been sick over the last week—I’m still sick, in fact—and so I’m a bit backlogged. C’est la vie, what can you do? Anyway, three of the books I’m reviewing today, including the one for this post, are part of a romance trilogy called Heartaches: Bad Boy Vibes by H.M. Irwing. Fittingly, that is also the title of the first book in the trilogy, which is at the heart of this review.

Anna Walters-Simmons has just lost her stepfather. For her and her mother, it’s no big loss; the abusive bastard had been nothing but trouble for the past eleven years. Unfortunately, his death has brought another trouble into their lives: Brian, Anna’s stepbrother who, for reasons still unclear, murdered his own father. When one of the few shimmers of goodness in Anna’s life—her boyfriend, Matt—rapes her, how will she survive the darkness these problems stir within her?

Rafe Brown has just returned from his post in the Australian Army in Syria. While glad to be home with his aging dog and Aunt Bella, many disturbing memories weigh heavily on his heart from both his military days and his childhood. He seems lost, trying desperately to not be sucked into the black abyss by these memories—and then he meets her. Anna Walters-Simmons, the daughter of his aunt’s best friend. He sees in her the same turmoil he sees in himself, and he is bound and determined to help her where no one would help him. But can he help her? Will she let him? And what will become of these two damaged souls when they come together?

I’m not going to lie, this book was not what I expected when I read the title. Don’t worry; that’s a good thing. It’s much deeper and more emotionally-complex than I had thought from a title with the phrase “bad boy vibes” in it. Honestly, whenever I see “bad boys” in the title of a romance novel, I assume that it will just be about a young woman falling in love with a “bad boy” that breaks her heart, a trope which I’m personally tired of. Fortunately, Irwing did not pursue that path with her work.

The variety and psychological complexity of the characters really took me by surprise. My favorite characters are, predictably, Anna and Rafe, although Anna’s future best friend Pat comes pretty close. These three characters are all outcasts but in very different ways, and they each have tortured pasts with which I could easily empathize. I didn’t find any character really like me in this novel, but for once I didn’t need to in order to connect with and care about the outcome. It’s very rare that a book can make me care so much about characters with which I have very little in common.

The plot had more twists and turns than I usually find in romance novels. (Although, I must admit, I’ve been finding more and more books in the romance genre that have surprised me in this way.) Of course, some of these twists took on the feel of a soap opera at points, the coincidences being a little hard to bear. Regardless, the development of Rafe and Anna’s relationship overrode this strain on my suspension-of-disbelief enough for me to continue with the book.

The subject of this novel—namely, rape—will be hard for some readers to handle. It is vividly depicted, as are the conflicting emotions which follow. As with most books covering this subject, readers might disagree with how rape victims are depicted. Still, each victim in real life is affected differently by their experiences, and I think that Irwing does well in capturing two kinds of rape victims, the confused/unsure and the determined.

I am personally not very comfortable with how the writer describes the effects the date rape drug had on Anna–i.e. made her enjoy it–or her own admittance that there are times when she’s turned on by the men who raped her. It really made the feminist in me rage, declaring that a woman would not feel that way and that it’s victim-blaming. However, Irwing also describes the psychology behind these claims, mostly that Matt was the first man to ever make Anna feel wanted. Irwing also goes out of her way to make sure that Rafe, at least, lets Anna know it was not her fault and that what the Prestons do is wrong, so my feelings on the entire matter are mixed.

What I think sets this book apart from other fictional books about rape—about romance, even—is that it’s not only a woman who undergoes such torment. A male character does as well, although I won’t say which one to avoid spoilers. Still, I think that is important for me to mention because I think that modern readers will be just as interested by that angle as they are by the angle of female struggles following tragedy.

At around 278 pages, this book isn’t a short read. I also found it necessary to take many breaks as Anna’s and Rafe’s inner struggles—and their struggles with each other—got to me. (Side note: this book might be hard for those with big hearts as these characters go through a lot, both individually and together.) However, as with a lot of good fiction in this genre, the writing allows the reading experience to be quicker than one would suspect from the page length.

A word of warning to my American readers: this book takes place in Australia and Irwing writes in the Queen’s English. Therefore, American readers might not be familiar with some of the minor grammatical conventions and idioms used throughout the book. Frankly, I was thrown off at some points as I tried to decide if something was actually a proofreading error or just a difference between Queen’s English and American English. Overall, these differences aren’t too obvious and so should not be too distracting for American readers; I just want them to be aware of possible differences ahead of time.

Still, not all of what I thought to be errors could be brushed off as changes between two regional forms of English. Some are just proofreading errors. Nevertheless, these errors are not so frequent as to detract from the overall quality of the writing. A little more proofreading would just help polish the writing.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book. It sometimes lagged at the beginning of the book, but these dips were soon counteracted by tension and emotional action. Some readers will be uncomfortable with the topic, but that’s the risk we take when we write about something so real. Suffice to say, if you’re looking for a romance which is more than a romance, which about kindred spirits finding each other, you’ll want to read Irwing’s book.

You can buy Heartaches: Bad Boy Vibes by H.M. Irwing as an eBook or in paperback on Amazon. Don’t forget to check out Irwing’s website for more information on this series, her other works, and her blog.

Do you know of a book I should read? E-mail me at thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com and let me know!