Watson and Holmes: A Study in Black. Karl Bollers. 2013. 144 pages. New Paradigm Studios. [Source: Personal Copy] Anyone who knows me remotely knows I adore Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous Sherlock Holmes. I grew up seeing two thick volumes of “The Complete Sherlock Holmes” on the bookshelf and always knew he was a brilliant detective. It wasn’t until a few years ago, when I endeavored to read Doyle’s works, that I unde...
Wantin. Truth Devour. 2013. Publicious Self-Publishing. 189 pages. [Source: ARC provided courtesy of Goodreads First Reads program.] I find it refreshing to go on a journey with a narrator, watching their life unfold in front of them and follow their thoughts and actions as they process what it means in the grand scheme of their life. Wantin is a spectacular example of this, as it follows Talia as she embarks upon womanhood. What intri...
I recently had the pleasure of reviewing Rashawnda Ungerer’s debut novel in advance of its release. It is rare that a book is so compelling to me that I cannot put it down (especially with how hectic life can get), but such was the case with “The Hard Way.” I am pleased to share that it is now available for purchase at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I believe it’s important to provide a platform to authors who work ind...
The Hardest of Ways. Rashawnda Ungerer. 2015. 629 pages [Source: Advance copy provided courtesy of author.] What happens when you finally realize all the ways you’ve been stabbed in the back (sometimes literally) over the course of a lifetime? Do you get mad? Probably. Do you get even? Without a question. Such is the story of Cecelia Clark and her apparent guardian angel, Gordon Hale. These two cross paths accidentally, but a serie...
The Little Moose Who Couldn’t Go to Sleep. Willy Claflin. James Stinson, ill. 2014. 36 pages. August House. [Source: ARC provided courtesy of NetGalley.] A book “as told to” a human by a moose that has an accompanying CD and needs a glossary? That is just enough of a departure from the norm for me to check it out. From the minute we dove in, I knew this book was a treat. The foreword is cute. I like the idea of the story and way ...
