February Book Reviews Part 2! @supermegawoman @RichardDockett1 @LBroday @JoanHallWrites #writingcommunity #readersoftwitter #whattoread

Amanda in France: Fire in the Cathedral (An Amanda Travels Adventure Book 9) 

by Darlene Foster

“Amanda in France” is an exciting book for middle-grade or youthful adult readers—like me. Amanda gets the opportunity to go to France with her best friend and aunt and stay at a bookstore where she works part-time. When they explore the city, I feel like I’m with them and seeing all the places I’ve dreamed of exploring someday. Amanda gets free tickets to see a musical, they end up in a bomb scare, and a man she keeps seeing is there. I felt her sadness as the fire at Notre Dame burned, and her need to help save the art. Amanda’s best friend has been hanging around someone whom she wondered about his motives and those after him. There is not only history and exquisite details but a mystery to be solved. I thoroughly enjoyed this adventure with Amanda and am ready to explore more with her.

Menagerie

By Joan Hall

“Menagerie” is a wonderful collection of short stories linked together with small-town living. Each story is unique, and several genres and time periods are included. They are beautifully written with attention to detail and vivid descriptions that captured my imagination. It’s hard to pick the ones I liked the best, but “Lone Wolf” immediately won my heart. Jake is trying to get over a painful breakup and camps in the mountains he loves every chance he gets. He runs across a lone wolf, and they watch each other from a distance. There was a potential for healing and a look at a relationship between man and a wild animal. I fell in love with that wolf and the land’s extraordinary beauty, but it isn’t always safe for wild animals around ranches. “Ghost Bridge,” a doctor, fell victim to a local legend in 1889. It is said he haunts a bridge now. Kate moves to an isolated house that overlooks this bridge. I admired the peace she found there but also something else. I enjoy exploring local legends in stories and how they affect the living. “Friends” was a mystery and a reconnection to the past. Cassie is a detective in a small town, and her ex-partner comes to help solve a cold case. It was fun guessing whodunit, along with her working with her partner, Nick. These are thirteen stories that I can highly recommend!

Life and Other Dreams: Sci-Fi and Psychological Thriller

By Richard Dee

“Life and Other Dreams” is a unique story that questions what reality is for Rick/Dan. Rick is married to Cath, a character I dislike, and works a job he finds uninteresting. At night though, he has vivid dreams as Dan, six hundred years in the future, exploring another planet with his wife, Vanessa. Sleep becomes hard for him, and his wife, Cath, pushes him to get help. He ends up on experimental drugs that help him sleep and make his dreams more lucid. Rick’s wife becomes jealous of his dreams and decides he is cheating on her and leaves. I enjoyed the dream life in the future but disliked Rick’s current timeline and his marriage to Cath, or why he was even with her. He is likable in both realities, though, and you can’t help but root for him. This story doesn’t answer questions and offers more intriguing ones with the ending. I have a few theories and will read the next book to see where this goes and if Cath can redeem herself—or is even real. A fun read for sci-fi fans or those who enjoy a good thought-provoking read.

Winning Maura’s Heart

By Linda Broday

In 1876, sisters Maura and Emma were the daughters of a hangman in San Antonio. The sisters cared for the town’s yellow fever victims until they weren’t needed. The townspeople decided it was time for the hangman’s daughters to leave. With no house to return to, Maura sets out to find a place for the sisters and the recently orphaned children. She travels to an abandoned mission and discovers three nuns who would welcome them and the children. The Calhoun brothers, Jonas and Cutter, are trying to escape the outlaw gang Jonas has been in. Although twins, the brothers are on different sides of the law. Jonas and Cutter are pursued, and, in a shootout, both are shot. The story follows one unknown brother who finds a place to hide by the mission. Once the children and sisters get settled into the mission, Maura finds this man, takes him in, and doctors him, not knowing who he is. I quickly fell in love with Maura’s character. She was a strong, compassionate woman with a moral compass that guided her actions. Her love for her sister and those children was heartwarming, which nicely balanced how cruel the townspeople were to them. I found it intriguing not to know the brother’s name until the very end and enjoyed getting to know Uncle Max. As Maura and her patient grow close, a family and healing emerge at the mission, but the outlaw gang is a danger to them all. This fast-paced story has a couple of twists that make it hard to put down. I highly recommend “Winning Maura’s Heart” to all who love a good western romance.

I only post my 4 & 5-star reviews here! If I don’t like the book, I won’t finish it. It wouldn’t be fair to leave a review for an unfinished story, and life is too short not to enjoy my reading journey!

Embrace your inner child by reading a good book! D. L. Finn

#NewRelease! “Menagerie” by@JoanHallWrites #writingcommunity #readersoftwitter #whattoread #shortstories

I’m thrilled to welcome fellow Story Empire author and friend here today, Joan Hall, to talk about her latest release, “Menagerie.” Here is my review: LINK

Lone Wolf

Thank you for sharing your space with me today, Denise. It’s a pleasure to be here to tell you and your readers about my newest release, Menagerie. It’s a mixed-genre compilation of thirteen short stories. I feature a different story in each tour stop and tell what inspired me to write it. You’re an animal and nature lover like me, so today’s story is Lone Wolf.

Many of your readers will remember the late Suzanne Burke. She used to feature a weekly flash fiction photo prompt and invite readers to compose a short piece of fiction. I participated several times. One week, she shared a photo of a wolf.

Immediately, my mind went to a replica of a painting that hung on a bedroom wall in my Aunt Jessie’s house. Lone Wolf was by Polish artist Alfred Kowalski. In the painting, a wolf stood on a snow-covered hill overlooking a small village.

My creative juices began to flow. What if a lonely cowboy befriends a solitary wolf? Can a wild animal and a human develop a connection? The original flash fiction piece was around 750 words. I took the original story, expanded it to just over 3,000 words, and added a few characters.

Music also inspires my writing. John Denver fans might recognize elements of his song from the Farewell Andromeda album, “I think I’d Rather Be a Cowboy” in this story. John was also a lover of nature and an advocate of nature conservation. It’s my hope that Lone Wolf shows people and wildlife can co-exist.

Excerpt:

Jake tossed another log onto the campfire then lay back on his bedroll with his hands clasped behind his head to gaze at the countless stars. Arcturus sparkled like a diamond within the constellation Boötes, its brightness surpassed only by Venus in the western sky. The Big Dipper hovered near the horizon.

How could anyone look upon this beauty and not feel peace and contentment? The thought of living in a large city with the constant noise of traffic, honking horns, and sirens left an unpleasant taste in his mouth. Places where man-made light and pollution all but obliterated a view of the stars and where smog filled the daytime skies. Jake wanted no part of that kind of life.

Soon, the warmth of the fire lulled him to sleep. Jake wasn’t sure how long he dozed when a wolf’s howl awakened him. He listened earnestly. Most wolves in this area didn’t venture too close to civilization, but he was a good five miles from the ranch’s headquarters. The canines traveled in packs, but this one was alone. Likely a young male on the move to find new territory.

The cry faded into the distance. Assured he had nothing to fear, Jake crawled into his sleeping bag. Before long, he was sound asleep.

Blurb:

King’s. The Tower of London. Glass. What do these have in common?

Each is a famous menagerie.

While this Menagerie doesn’t focus on exotic animals, it does contain a collection of stories that explore various trials people face and how their reactions shape their worlds.

Survivors of a haunted bridge. Women who wait while their husbands fight a war. Former partners reuniting to solve a cold-case murder.

These are just three of the thirteen stories in this compendium, encompassing past and present, natural and supernatural, legend and reality. The genres and timelines are varied, but there’s a little something for everyone who enjoys reading about simpler times and small-town life.

Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/jh-menagerie

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