literary fiction

Book Review: The Campbell Sisters by Eileen Joyce Donovan

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The Campbell Sisters by Eileen Joyce Donovan

Publisher:  DX Varos Publishing (March 7, 2023)
Category: Literary Fiction, British and Irish Literary Fiction, Historical Fiction
ISBN: 978-1955065702
Available in Print and ebook, 396 pages

Campbell Sisters

Helen Campbell is the eldest and most practical of three sisters, daughters of hard-working Irish emigrants living in New York City in the 1950s. She does what she can to keep the wild-child middle sister, Carolyn, in line and support the youngest, Peggy, as she pursues her dreams of becoming a doctor. Then Helen meets Charlie.

While it’s love at first sight for those two, Carolyn’s antics threatens to derail all the sisters’ future happiness. However, through thick and thin, the three sisters strive to prevail, though not necessarily in the ways they thought they wanted.

Pre-order Campbell Sisters

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Guest Review by Sal

A treat for lovers of historical fiction and lovers of the romance genres, ‘The Campbell Sisters,’ by Eileen Joyce Donovan, tells the story of three sisters living and finding love in the sometimes-hectic world of 1950s New York City.

Helen, the eldest Campbell sister, is working at a home for orphans in the city when a random bicycle accident introduces her to Charlie, a local boxer who she finds charming and handsome. Although Helen is unsure about whether or not she should date Charlie, eventually she relents and the two begin seeing each other.

Meanwhile, Helen’s younger sister, Carolyn, becomes embroiled in scandal when Helen discovers that Carolyn is seeing a man who is married. When Carolyn’s relationship is outed to her parents, the consequences will have long-lasting effects on all three of the Campbell sisters, including the youngest, Peggy, whose only wish is to complete medical school and become a doctor.

Despite their initial anger at Carolyn’s mistake, all three sisters will have to come together to help her right her wrong, and their bond will be challenged more than ever before.

All three of the Campbell sisters have very distinct and individual personalities, and Eileen Joyce Donovan pulls that off brilliantly. I was eager to see where each sister’s story went and found myself completely wrapped up in the narrative. Donovan’s writing is fantastic, with just the right amount of world-building versus character-building.

Her view of 1950s New York was both expansive and romantic, and seeing it through the character’s eyes made for a one-of-a-kind reading experience.

Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres, so I feel pretty qualified to recommend this to fellow lovers of the genre. ‘The Campbell Sisters’ is a gorgeous addition to the genre, and it is begging to be added to your TBR!

About the Author

Eileen Joyce Donovan has been writing her entire life, in one way or another, whether it was imaginative stories for friends, or advertising copy for clients. At the persistent urging of her husband, she finally agreed to seriously edit and revise one of her stories and take the plunge. Years later, her persistence paid off and both her debut historical fiction, Promises, and her second novel, A Lady Newspaperman’s Dilemma, won prestigious awards. Her short stories have appeared in several anthologies, and her essays have been included in various Chicken Soup for the Soul editions.

She lives in Manhattan, New York and is a member of Authors Guild, Women’s National Book Association, Women Fiction Writers Association, and The Historical Novel Society.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/etdonovan1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eileen.donovan.923

Follow the Tour

Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus Mar 13 Kickoff & I

Emily Many Thoughts of a Reader Mar 14 Review

Denise Amazon & Goodreads Mar 15 Review

Nora S. Storeybook Reviews Mar 21 Review & Guest Post

Sal Bound 4 Escape Mar 22 Review

DT Amazon & Goodreads Mar 23 Review

Just Another Reader Mar 24 Review & Excerpt

Danielle Urban Book Reviews Mar 27 Review

Lu Ann Rockin’ Book Reviews Mar 29 Review & Guest Post

Amy Locks, Hooks and Books Mar 30 Review & Excerpt

Carole Rae’s Random Rambling Mar 31 Reivew

Jane Amazon & Goodreads Apr 3 Review

Suzie My Tangled Skeins Book Reviews April 4 Review

Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus Apr 6 Review

Bee Book Pleasures April 7 Review & Interview

Laura Lee Celticlady’s Reviews April 11 Review

Awards & Praise for Eileen Joyce Donovan

2019 Marie M Irvine Award for Promises, 2021

When Word Count competition for A Lady Newspaperman’s Dilemma

“This story is well written and immerses the reader in the period rooting for Alex. At times, I found her decisions a bit rash, but I remembered myself fighting for my career in a male-dominated field. The story is well-researched, and I enjoyed it immensely.”- Carol Amorosi, Author of The MacKay Mysteries, Series

“It was compelling to read of the mores of the time: school teachers couldn’t drink in public, staying at a boarding house came with a set of restrictive rules and trying to get lead stories in a newspaper entailed being part salesperson/part private investigator.
With the role of newspapers and reporters being in the news of late, this depiction of a young woman learning the ropes in a competitive, male dominated field was fascinating in the scope of how tough it is to get a story right.”- Susan Wands, Author of Magician and Fool

“I don’t normally read historical fiction, but I so enjoyed this book set in the 1920’s. The theme is timeless as the main character is determined to make it in a man’s world. Great read!”- Stacy Wilder, Author of A Liz Adams Mystery, Series

“The characters and fast paced plot drew me in and kept me reading. I enjoyed the historical details and the fact that every time I thought I knew how a character would react, I was wrong. The author is too skilled to fall into stereotypes.”- Grammarian, Amazon Review

Book Review & Giveaway: Between Before and After by Jessica Stilling

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Between Before and After by Jessica Stilling

Publisher:  DX Varos Publishing (November 8, 2022)
Category: General Fiction, Literary Fiction, Family Secrets
ISBN: 978-1955065665
Available in Print and ebook, 479 (or less) pages

Between Before and After

Indie movie director Sebastian Foster has found his niche making movies based on the award-winning novels written by his estranged mother. However, his latest film, based loosely on the tragic death of his sister as a child, opens up old wounds best left under bandages.

Told in two concurrent timelines, now and when Sebastian was a teen, some twenty years ago in the mid-1990s, this story of learning unknown truths unwinds in the streets of Paris, where Sebastian lived as a teen and where he has returned to make his picture.

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Guest Review by Sal

The moment I started reading this book, I knew that I was going to enjoy it. Jessica Stilling’s marvellously-plotted, emotion-packed novel, ‘Between Before and After,’ is the type of book that you can recommend to anyone, because it has a little something for everyone.  

Set in Paris, this novel uses duel timelines to tell a story that leaves the reader guessing until you suddenly realize what exactly happened that night in 1994.  

In current day, Sebastian Foster is a director, who mainly makes movies using the plots of his famous author mother’s novels. But in 1994, Bastian was just a 14-year-old kid who lived in a dingy apartment in Paris with his mother and little sister.  

Moving to Paris from New York as a teenager, Bastian attempts to navigate a country where he doesn’t speak much of the language and eventually gets pulled into the seedy underground world of a prescription drug trade by a friend. Though he does not want to be involved at all, Bastian’s friend, Marcel, continues to pull him in, and, when their illegal activities are discovered, things become much more real than either of them could have anticipated.  

Meanwhile, in the present, Sebastian attempts to direct a movie centering around the tragedy of his sister’s death in a fire during the summer of 1994. How do these two things link up? You’ll have to read the book to find out, and I recommend doing so. 

This is one heck of a novel! I couldn’t put it down and read through it all in one night. Stilling’s evocative writing creates a world so vivid that I felt like I could reach out and touch it.  

This book is about a young boy trying to find his place in the world, and a man who is still trying to recover from a terrible tragedy, and both are the same character. Five stars for this wonderful story! 

About the Author

Jessica Stilling has written three works of literary fiction, Betwixt and Between, The Beekeeper’s Daughter, and The Weary God of Ancient Travelers. She also wrote poetry and short fiction for various literary journals.

Her articles have appeared in Ms. Magazine, Bust Magazine and she writes extensively for The Writer Magazine. She has taught Creative Writing in both high school and university. She also publishes young adult fantasy under the pen name JM Stephen.

Jessica loves Virginia Woolf, very long walks, and currently lives in southern Vermont where she writes for the very local newspaper, The Deerfield Valley News.

Website: https://www.jessicastilling.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JessicaStilling
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jessica.sticklor

Giveaway

This giveaway is for 3 print or ebook copies. Print is open to the U.S. only and ebook is open worldwide. This giveaway ends on November 24, 2022 midnight, pacific time. Entries accepted via Rafflecopter only.

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Follow the Tour

Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus Nov 1 Kickoff & Interview

Bookgirl Amazon & Goodreads Nov 2 Review

Lu Ann Rockin Book Reviews Nov 4 Excerpt

Sal Bound 4 Escape Nov 8 Guest Review

Gracie Goodreads Nov 9 Review

Suzie My Tangled Skeins Book Reviews Nov 10 Review

Nora StoreyBook Reviews Nov 14 Guest Review & Excerpt

Denise Amazon & Goodreads Nov 16 Review

Mark Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus Nov 17 Guest Review

Lu Ann Rockin Book Reviews Nov 20 Review

Laura Lee Celticlady’s Reviews Nov 21 Guest Review & Excerpt

Mindy Room Without Books is Empty Nov 22 Review

Bee Book Pleasures Nov 23 Review

Praise For Jessica Stilling

Bronx Council of the Arts Chapter One Award for The Beekeeper’s Daughter

“Stilling’s take on this familiar tale is provocative and poignant, rich with emotion and powerfully described, laced with profound contemplation about dying too soon and growing up too quickly.”- Publisher’s Weekly review of Betwixt and Between

“At turns happy and unbearably sad, Betwixt and Between is a beautifully realized re-imagining of a classic story that will enchant readers as the original did.”- Booklist starred review of Betwixt and Between

“A suspenseful read. Jessica Stilling sets the story among a backdrop of stunning scenes of Greece described as being almost visceral with a unique compilation of romance, mystery, and self-inspection. A compelling story that comes to life off the page.”-San Francisco Book Review of the Weary God of Ancient Travelers

Book Review & Giveaway: Soulful Return by Fidelis O. Mkparu

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Soulful Return by Fidelis O. Mkparu

Publisher:  DX Varos Publishing (November 22, 2022)
Category: General Fiction, Literary Fiction, African-American Fiction, Immigrant Experience
ISBN: 978-1955065603
Available in Print and ebook, 332 pages

Soulful Return

“The hounding voice inside me would not let go.”

Thus begins the emotional journey of Afamefuna Onochie Nwaku, a Harvard-trained medical doctor with a career most can only dream of, a loving wife, and supportive family. Then, he receives a telephone call from his sister who lives in Nigeria that her life is being threatened.

Left with no other fair choice, Afam leaves behind his family, throwing his marriage into turmoil and risking the life he has built in Boston. Instead of the Nigeria that he loves, that he needs, he finds a land and people he barely recognizes waiting for him. Afam decides to stay but realizes that his future in Nigeria is as murky as the River-Niger after a torrential tropical rainfall.

As Afam sets out on a journey to reconnect with the family and heritage that he left behind, he must face new enemies in an increasingly corrupt Nigeria where many people see him as an American intruder. And through it all, he must fight to keep his family together—and alive.

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Guest Review by Sal

“I watched as waves cascaded up my ankles and bobbed to a rhythm like drumbeats, the ceremonial drumbeats of my ancestral home, the type that made dancing feet float in the air and twirling waists reach their breaking point.”

Set in both Boston and Nigeria, Fidelis O. Mkparu’s amazing novel, ‘Soulful Return,’ is an exploration of the ties that bind us and how it feels to return to the place that you thought you called home.

After being sent to Boston as a young man to attend medical school, 60-year-old Afamefuna Onochie Nwaku receives a call from his sister that forces him to return home.

Afamefuna’s sister, Adaku, is being threatened by local men who wish to take over their father’s land. At the end of her rope, she demands that her brother return home to claim his ancestral lands and protect them from the men.

Although Afamefuna’s wife protests and eventually stays in Boston without him, he decides to return to Nigeria and to his father’s house. Immediately upon returning, however, he discovers that in the 25 years since he last visited, the country has changed in many upsetting ways.

After a harrowing journey home to his ancestral village that includes being asked by policemen for bribes and almost capsizing in a boat, Afamefuna returns to see that his parents’ house has remained the same since their death, but the politics around the land have changed.

This is a story that is somehow both quiet and electric all at once. Having never read any of Mkparu’s work before, I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this, but I knew it was going to be an excellent novel from the very first page.

I couldn’t get enough of this book and didn’t want it to end. Five stars!

Advance Praise for Soulful Return

“Mkparu has created a masterpiece of immigrant experience and connection, outlining many of the forces that influence and stress modern Africans and Americans alike.” — D. Donovan, Midwest Book Review

About the Author

Multi award winning author, Fidelis O. Mkparu is a Nigerian immigrant in the U.S. who wishes to speak to his experiences and those of his fellow immigrants. He is a professor of Medicine at Northeast Ohio Medical University and a senior attending cardiologist at Aultman Hospital and Mercy Medical Center in Canton, Ohio. Previously, he was a Spaulding fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital at Harvard Medical School.

His preceding novels include Love’s Affliction and Tears Before Exaltation.

Website: https://fidelismkparu.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/fidelismkparu
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fidelis.mkparu

Giveaway

This giveaway is for 3 print or ebook copies. Print is open to the U.S. only and ebook is open worldwide. This giveaway ends on November 24, 2022 midnight, pacific time. Entries accepted via Rafflecopter only.

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Follow the Tour

Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus Nov 2 Kickoff & Interview

Sal Bound 4 Escape Nov 3 Review

Denise Amazon & Goodreads Nov 8 Review

Laura Lee Celticlady’s Reviews Nov 10 Review & Excerpt

Bookgirl Amazon Nov 11 Review

Suzie My Tangled Skeins Book Reviews Nov 14 Review & Excerpt

Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus Nov 15 Review

Gracie Goodreads Nov 16 Review

Bee Book Pleasures Nov 17 Review & Interview

Linda Lu Goodreads Nov 18 Review

Nora S. Storeybook Reviews Nov 22 Review & Guest Post

Ellen Goodreads Nov 23 Review

Awards and Praise for Fidelis O. Mkparu

2018 EVVY winner, Literary & Contemporary Fiction for Tears Before Exaltation.

Silver Medal: Nautilus Book Awards, Fiction 2016 for Love’s Affliction.

Reader Views Literary Award Winner 2015/2016 for Love’s Affliction.

Finalist 2015: INDIEFAB Book of the Year Award, Multicultural Fiction for Love’s Affliction.

“A must-read, Love’s Affliction is an exceptionally gripping and poignant story. While intense throughout, there is resolution – and not quite what one may expect!”—San Francisco Book Review

“An exceptionally well crafted work, “Love’s Affliction” is an engaging and extraordinary multi-cultural novel that documents author Fidelis O. Mkparu as a talented, first class storyteller. “Love’s Affliction” is very highly recommended for personal reading lists and would prove to be a valued addition to community library Contemporary Fiction collections.”—Midwest Book Review

Book Review & Giveaway: All the Rivers Flow into the Sea & Other Stories by Khanh Ha

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All the Rivers Flow into the Sea by Khanh Ha
All the Rivers Flow into the Sea by Khanh Ha

All the Rivers Flow into the Sea and Other Stories by Khanh Ha

Publisher:  Eastover Press LLC (June 7, 2022)
Category: Short Stories, Literary Fiction, Historical Fiction, Vietnam
Tour dates: July 25-August 31, 2022
ISBN:  978-1958094020
Available in Print and ebook, 208 pages

All the Rivers Flow into the Sea

Description

From Vietnam to America, this story collection, jewel-like, evocative, and layered, brings to readers a unique sense of love and passion alongside tragedy and darker themes of peril. The titular story features a love affair between an unlikely duo pushing against barely surmountable cultural barriers. In “The Yin-Yang Market,” magical realism and the beauty of innocence abounds in deep dark places, teeming with life and danger. “A Mute Girl’s Yarn” tells a magical coming-of-age story like sketches in a child’s fairy book.

Bringing together the damned, the unfit, the brave who succumb to the call of fate, All the Rivers Flow Into the Sea is a great journey where redemption and human goodness arise out of violence and beauty to become part of an essential mercy.

All the Rivers Flow into the Sea was selected as a winner of the 2021 EastOver Prize for Fiction and has received much advanced praise.

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Guest Review by Sal

‘All the Rivers Flow Into the Sea,’ is not just a collection of short stories, but a look into the lives of average Vietnamese people during a very turbulent time.

Vietnam is a beautiful country, filled with hardworking and generous people, and no one is better at representing that in story form than author Khanh Ha. Between the beautiful, lush landscape of the country and the wonderful people, this book show Vietnam in a different light than many Americans are used to.

In the story, ‘All the Pretty Horses,’ the narrator talks about the relationship between their father and young Vietnamese language teacher, both of them living in Washington D.C. Although the father is married to the narrator’s mother, it seems like things maybe developing romantically between the teacher and the father, that is until a devastating turn of events changes things forever.

In the title story, ‘All the Rivers Flow into the Sea,’ two young people, a Vietnamese woman and an American solider, fall in love during the war. Although circumstances persist in trying to keep them apart, the young couple faces these trials together, always certain that their love can conquer all. Though a long journey on foot back to the woman’s home and a tense boat ride where they are in danger of being found by the Viet Cong, the couple stays together. But will they be able to find happiness? You’ll have to read the story yourself to find out.

Ha’s writing is absolutely remarkable. The atmosphere of this book is pure magic and I felt myself being wrapped up in it as I read along. As a reader, I felt as though I was there with the young couple on the dark river, or in the car with the father and the teacher in Washington.

This is a five-star read that must be experienced for yourself!

About Khanh HaAll the Rivers Flow into the Sea by Khanh Ha

Multi award winning author, Khanh Ha is the author of Flesh, The Demon Who Peddled Longing, and Mrs. Rossi’s Dream. He is a seven-time Pushcart nominee, finalist for the Mary McCarthy Prize, Many Voices Project, Prairie Schooner Book Prize, and The University of New Orleans Press Lab Prize. He is the recipient of the Sand Hills Prize for Best Fiction, the Robert Watson Literary Prize in Fiction, The Orison Anthology Award for Fiction, The James Knudsen Prize for Fiction, The C&R Press Fiction Prize, and The EastOver Fiction Prize.

Mrs. Rossi’s Dream was named Best New Book by Booklist and a 2019 Foreword Reviews INDIES Silver Winner and Bronze Winner. All the Rivers Flow into the Sea & Other Stories has already won the EastOver Fiction Prize.

Website: http://www.authorkhanhha.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KhanhHa69784776
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorkhanhha

Giveaway

This giveaway is for 3 print copies and is open to the U.S. only. This giveaway ends on Aug 27, 2022 midnight, pacific time.  Entries accepted via Rafflecopter only.

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Praise

“These stories draw close connections between disparate cultures, Vietnam’s changing environments, and the American and Vietnamese people who engage on a different playing field than the war which brought them together in the past.”– Midwest Book Review

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Book Review & Giveaway: Time and the Tree by Róisín Sorahan

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Time and the Tree by Róisín Sorahan

Time and the Tree by Róisín Sorahan
Publisher: Adelaide Books, NY (September 6, 2021
Category: Literary Fiction, Fantasy, Modern Fable, and Self-actualization
ISBN: 978-1955196635
Available in Print and ebook, 282 pages

Time and the Tree

Description

A modern fable about the nature of time and the quest for happiness. It’s darkly funny, deceptively simple, and a necessary read for testing times. In this gripping philosophical tale, a boy awakens beneath a tree in a forest in summer. He is soon joined by Time and his slave, a withered creature hooked on time and aching to disappear. The story evolves over the course of a year as a host of characters are drawn to the Tree for guidance. The unlikely cast grapple with choices and grope towards self-knowledge in a world where compassion is interwoven with menace. As the seasons bring great changes to the forest, we watch the child grow while the trials he faces mount.  Then the time for talk and innocence passes as the forces of darkness rally, threatening the lives of his friends. Lyrical, honest and heart-breaking, Time and the Tree confronts readers with a unique perspective on the challenges life presents. A wise and hopeful book, it is uplifting and unsettling by turns.

Guest Book Review by Sal

First, we are introduced to the Boy and then, to the Tree.

Róisín Sorahan’s eclectic and enchanting tale has a truly timeless aura. This is the type of story that will be immediately familiar to anyone who read fairy tales as a child. The forest setting, the child protagonist, the struggle, and the morals that he learns along the way. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s start at the beginning as all good stories should.

This story begins with a boy waking up in the forest. He is parched from thirst and a wise, old tree tells him where to get a drink of water. The Boy and the Tree quickly become friends and achieve ultimate peace and harmony as they watch the clouds and the Boy sleeps in the Tree’s branches. However, the world soon intrudes.

Of course, any good fairy tale has to have conflict. This fairy tale’s conflict comes in the form of time itself. Not ‘time’ as the inexorable concept, but Time as an actual physical manifestation.

Time is man who wears a brass hat and silk cravat. He has a creature that follows him around who is called Shadow and who he jauntily refers to as his slave. Time is strange, obviously, and Time is manipulative.

But Time is not the last of the travelers that the Boy and the Tree meet. Lots of wanderers happen by the Tree and not all of them are so rude or spiteful. But ultimately, the seasons pass and the Boy must learn many lessons about himself and nature that give the story its moral backbone.

When I tell you this story is magical, I’m understating it. Sorahan tells a tale that seems both familiar and new, and one that would be treasured by any reader. Definitely add ‘Time and a Tree’ to your list if you haven’t already!

About the Author

Róisín Sorahan is an Irish author currently living in Vermont. She has published numerous stories about her adventures on the road, as well as life as an English teacher in China. Prior to becoming a nomad writer, she pursued a decade-long career in public relations. She holds a Master of Letters from Trinity College Dublin, specializing in Samuel Beckett. Time and the Tree is her debut novel.

Website: https://roisinsorahan.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/roisinsorahan
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Roisin.Sorahan.Author
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roisinsorahan/

Buy Time and the Tree

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Giveaway

This giveaway is for 3 print or ebook copies, One for each of 3 winners. Print is open to Canada and the U.S. only and ebook is open worldwide. This giveaway ends on March 12, 2022 midnight, pacific time.  Entries accepted via Rafflecopter only.

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Follow the Tour

Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus Feb 1 Tour Kickoff & Interview
Jas International Book Promotion Feb 2 Review
Lu Ann Rockin’ Book Reviews Feb 4 Travel Essay
Am Goodreads Feb 8 Review
Laura L. Celticlady’s Reviews Feb 10 Guest Review & Excerpt
Kim C. Amazon Feb 14 Review
Lu Ann Rockin’ Book Reviews Feb 16 Review
Carrie P. I Can Has Books Feb 18 Review
Gracie S. Goodreads Feb 21 Review
Joystory Feb 22 Review & Interview
Linda Lu Goodreads Feb 24 Review
Gud Reader Storybook Reviews Feb 28 Guest Review & Travel Essay
Bookgirl Goodreads Mar 1 Review
Suzie My Tangled Skeins Book Review Mar 3 Review & Guest Post
Sal Bound 4 Escape Mar 7 Guest Review
Bee Book Pleasures Mar 8 Review & Interview
Betty Toots Book Reviews Mar 10 Review & Travel Essay
Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus Mar 11 Review

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Book Review & Giveaway: Eden by Jamie Lisa Forbes

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Eden by Jamie Lisa Forbes

Publisher:  Pronghorn Press, (May 25, 2020)
Category: Literary Fiction, Southern Fiction, Family Fiction
Tour dates: May & June, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-941052-32-2
Available in Print and ebook, 285 pages

Rowen Hart has been raised as the pampered son and only child of a prominent family in the small community of White Rock, North Carolina. It’s the 1950s and he’s drifting through the days, following the life path his parents have planned for him and preparing to go away to college. When his father’s suicide turns his world upside down, he finds himself responsible for his mother in their suddenly reduced circumstances that leave them dependent on his uncle, his father’s business partner.

Ill prepared to take over as head of the family, Rowen doesn’t know which way to turn. Then a neighbor’s ten year old daughter comes to live with them, baffling him with her wild behavior and never ending attempts to win his approval and making his new responsibilities even more overwhelming.

As Rowen tries to find his way, he begins to question everything about his upbringing, his current circumstances and his plans for the future as they turn to dust in his hands.

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Guest Review by Laura Lee

Eden is a little girl who has not had it easy. At just ten years old, the poor girl watches helplessly as her father is shot and murdered by her uncle. Then she is made to stand witness at her uncle’s murder trial, where she is dismissed by the jury as being too young and full of stories.
Of course, in small towns people talk, and everyone knows that Eden is not treated well by her mother either. So, when she shows up on the doorstep of one Rita Hart asking to stay for a while, no one is really that surprised.

Rita has problems of her own, however. After losing her husband to suicide, she and her eighteen year-old son, Rowen have fallen on hard times and are now living in what is, essentially, the 1950’s version of a tin shack. Though they don’t have much space or money, Rita, Rowen and their housekeeper Adeline take Eden in without hesitation and try their best to stem the girl’s wild ways.

This was a book that took me by surprise in many ways. I was not expecting it to be such an in-depth character study and I was not expecting to love the characters so much by the end of the book.

Jamie Lisa Forbes tapped into some deep seeded nostalgia for the 1950’s American south that I didn’t even know I had. Her writing was just so poignant and atmospheric that I felt like I was really there. Rowen and Eden were both excellent characters but I also really enjoyed Rita, the newly-widowed mother suffering from severe depression who was really just trying to do her best and Adeline, the tough-but-loving housekeeper who Rowen viewed as almost a second mother.
I would love to read more by this author and hope to find more of her books in the future! A solid 5 stars goes to ‘Eden’!

Praise for Jamie Lisa Forbes

“Throughout this beautifully written story (Unbroken), I pictured the scenes, the characters, and visualized it all as if I walked among them. Five stars.”-Laurel Rain-Snow, Rainy Days and Mondays

“Unbroken is a powerful, absorbing book from the first page to the last. Forbes’ Wyoming ranch background adds rich flavors to the story. The author draws realistic, complex characters. Unbroken is an unvarnished testimonial to a way of life that few of us know.”– Mary E. Trimble, author of ‘ TUBOB: Two Years in West Africa with the Peace Corps’

“The Widow Smalls, is a collection of wonderful stories that will elicit a range of emotions, following a number of different themes, like loss, jealousy, regret and acceptance. Each of the stories was as well written as the last, and I enjoyed each one immensely. Wonderful diverse plots, linked with the similar thread of ranch life, and defined characters, made for a truly great read. Author Jamie Forbes, has really created something special here, a must read for all short story lovers.”- Michelle Geist, Verified Amazon Review

About the Author

Award winning author, Jamie Lisa Forbes was raised on a ranch along the Little Laramie River near Laramie, Wyoming. She attended the University of Colorado where she obtained degrees in English and philosophy. After fourteen months living in Israel, she returned to her family’s ranch where she lived for another fifteen years.

In 1994, she moved to Greensboro, North Carolina. In 2001, she graduated from the University of North Carolina School of Law and began her North Carolina law practice.

Her first novel, Unbroken, won the WILLA Literary Award for Contemporary Fiction in 2011. Her collection of short stories, The Widow Smalls and Other Stories, won the High Plains Book Awards for a short story collection in 2015. Her law practice gave her the opportunity to travel many of the back roads of North Carolina and meet the unique and diverse individuals who inspired Eden.

Website: https://www.jamielisaforbes.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jamielisaforbes
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JamieLisaForbes

Giveaway

This giveaway is for the winner’s choice of print or ebook however, print is open to the U.S. only and ebook is available worldwide. There will be 2 winners. This giveaway ends July 1, 2020,midnight pacific time. Entries are accepted via Rafflecopter only.

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Follow the Tour

Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus May 15 Kickoff & Guest Post

Amy Locks, Hooks and Books May 19 Review & Excerpt

David Goodreads May 20 Review

Bookgirl Goodreads May 21 Review

Betty Toots Book Reviews May 22 Review & Interview

Lu Ann Rocking Book Reviews May 26 Review & Guest Post

Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus May 27 Review

Just Another Reader Goodreads May 29 Review

Jo Amazon May 29 Review

StephenMatlock.com June 1 Review

Linda Lu Goodreads June 5 Review

Dawn Bound 4 Escape June 8 Guest Review

StephenMatlock.com June 11 Interview

Jas International Book Promotion June 12 Review

Becky Sincerely Uplifting June 15 Review & Excerpt

Kathleen Celticlady’s Reviews June 22 Guest review

Mindy A Room Without Books is Empty June 24 Review

Amber Imaginative Mama’s June 26 Review & Excerpt

Kimberly Amazon June 30 Review

Book Review & Giveaway: American Corporate by Jeb Stewart Harrison

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American Corporate by Jeb Stewart HarrisonAmerican Corporate by Jeb Stewart Harrison

Publisher:  Baby Bingus Books (Nov 27, 2018)
Category: Literary fiction, humor, family life
Tour dates: Apr/May, 2019
ISBN: 978-1986937863
Available in Print and ebook, 258 pages

American Corporate

 

 

Description 

A playful, big-hearted tragicomedy in the Russo/Irving mold, American Corporate chronicles the misadventures of middle-aged Jack Sullivan and his family as they bounce across the country in search of gainful employment, domestic tranquility, and a few people they can trust.

It is a story that working parents past, present and future will see as part of their own: the triumphs, the tragedies, the innocent mistakes and the not-so-innocent mistakes, and above all the forgiveness that keeps families together to face another challenge.

 

 

Guest Review by Betty B.

“American Corporate” by Jeb Stewart Harrison is a story about marriage, poverty, illness and feeding the corporate machine. And yet, somehow it is absolutely hilarious! Jack Sullivan is a middle-aged, married father of two who is looking for employment. Having lost his job eight months previously, Jack has been begging and borrowing wherever and whenever he can in order to maintain his expensive southern California lifestyle. Unfortunately for him, he hasn’t been having much luck finding jobs and when his father informs him that he can no longer help Jack pay his mortgage, Jack has to cross the country to take a job in the comparative ghost town of Indianapolis.

 Like I said, this novel is a comedy about some actually pretty serious subjects. Jeb Stewart Harrison manages to take the subject of unemployment and make it funny. I laughed out loud when Jack had to go to a job interview after being sprayed by a skunk and when his wife, Carrie, started talking to other men on Craigslist by accident. There were a lot of funny situations set up to make the characters come across like sitcom stars—that is, hilarious if not very easy to relate to.

In the book, part of the reason that Jack cannot find a job is that he isn’t actually interested in working in the corporate world. His actual passion is music and he creates the picture of somewhat of a former rock star who accidentally became a corporate stooge. Whereas his wife, Carrie is a beauty queen type, who isn’t very smart but makes up for that with earnestness and kindness. I’m giving this five stars for keeping me laughing throughout the entire book! I highly recommend this to anyone who likes a good, funny read that is well written and descriptive.

 

 

Praise Healing of Howard Brown by Jeb Stewart Harrison

“If you enjoy beautiful prose, complex themes of family and race, and a refreshingly original narrator, this book is for you. Harrison is among the select few contemporary fiction writers who still write for serious readers.” – Jim Heynen, author, best known for The One Room Schoolhouse , The Boys’ House, You Know What is Right , The Man Who Kept Cigars in His Cap and many more.

“This book starts off with a bang and keeps on going. Howard is a character with a specific voice and story. I’m sure you’ll be provoked and entertained.”- Jessica Barksdale Inclan, author of The Believe Trilogy, The Being Trilogy, and many more.

“In The Healing of Howard Brown, author Jeb Stewart Harrison weaves an intriguing contemporary literary. The author provides a wonderful mixture of drama, humor, and seriousness to the story that easily keeps the reader’s interest as Howard’s journey unfolds. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how much I really enjoyed the author’s rich and vividly descriptive style of writing, especially the wonderful descriptions of the California and Louisiana settings.
The Healing of Howard Brown is a thought-provoking contemporary literary tale that will draw you in, touch your soul, and leave a smile on your face.”- Kathleen Higgins-Anderson, Jersey Girl Book Reviews

“ I’m so happy that I read this book. It is beautifully written, wonderful imagery, and has such a heartwarming story as you follow along with Howard healing from the past. This is a wonderful story and one that I strongly recommend.”- jbronderbookreviews

“Jeb Stewart Harrison’s novel, THE HEALING of HOWARD BROWN brought to mind the novels of Roland Merullo, particularly, BREAKFAST WITH BUDDAH. Along the way, to his childhood home, and hopefully his sister, Howard finds more than expected and what he’s missing in the most unlikely places. The journey allows Howard to meditate on family relationships, issues such as love,life, death, fear and ultimately finding one’s personal peace. We the readers, if open, are able to learn from some of Howard, Mr. Booper and even the author, Jeb’s experiences.”- Cindy Roesel, Cindy Reads and Writes

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Guest Book Review & Giveaway: Mrs. Rossi’s Dream by Khanh Ha

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Mrs. Rossi’s Dream by Khanh HaMrs. Rossi’s Dream by Khanh Ha

Publisher:  The Permanent Press (March 1, 2019)
Category: Historical Fiction, Vietnam, Literary Fiction, Multicultural
Tour dates: Mar-Apr, 2019
ISBN: 978-1579625689
Available in Print and ebook, 312 pages

Mrs. Rossi’s Dream

 

 

Description 

“I live in a coastal town in the deep south of the Mekong Delta. During the war this was IV Corps, which saw many savage fights. Although the battles might have long been forgotten, some places cannot forget.”

Thus begins the harrowing yet poignant story of a North Vietnamese communist defector who spends ten years in a far-flung reform prison after the war, and now, in 1987, a free man again, finds work as caretaker at a roadside inn in the U Minh region. One day new guests arrived at the inn: an elderly American woman and her daughter, an eighteen-year-old Vietnamese girl adopted at the age of five from an orphanage in the Mekong Delta before the war ended. Catherine Rossi has come to this region to find the remains of her son, a lieutenant who went missing-in-action during the war.

“Mrs. Rossi’s Dream” tells the stories of two men in time parallel: Giang, the 39-year-old war veteran; Nicola Rossi, a deceased lieutenant in the U.S. army, the voice of a spirit.

From the haunting ugliness of the Vietnam War, the stories of these two men shout, cry and whisper to us the voices of love and loneliness, barbarity and longing, lived and felt by a multitude of people from all walks of life: the tender adolescent vulnerability of a girl toward a man who, as a drifter and a war-hardened man, draws beautifully in his spare time; the test of love and faith endured by a mother whose dogged patience even baffles the local hired hand who thinks the poor old lady must have gone out of her mind; and whose determination drives her into the spooky forest, rain or shine, until one day she claims she has sensed an otherworldly presence in there with her. In the end she wishes to see, just once, a river the local Vietnamese call “The River of White Water Lilies,” the very river her son saw, now that all her hopes to find his remains die out.

Just then something happens. She finds out where he has lain buried for twenty years?and how he was killed.

 

 

Awards 

Parts of the book were previously published in literary magazines and became finalists for the following awards:

2016 Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction (Sarabande Books)

2016 Many Voices Project (New Rivers Press)

2016 Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Fiction (Prairie Schooner)

2015 William Faulkner – William Wisdom Creative Writing Award (Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society)

A short story adapted from the book won the 2013 Robert Watson Literary Prize in Fiction (The Greensboro Review)

 

 

Guest Review by Nora S.

Memories are a funny thing. Sometimes they can take you back to a different time and place so effectively that they feel like time travel. Such is the case for the characters in Khanh Ha’s book, “Mrs. Rossi’s Dream.” It is a book about a group of characters who are tortured and influenced by the past in many ways. 

Take for instance, the character of Giang Le. Despite not being the title character, he is the main character of the novel as the reader is most often given his perspective on things. Giang is a fairly peaceful and low-key Vietnamese man who works at a roadside inn. But through his recollections about his past, we find out that he was a prisoner of war during the conflict in his country and that he was imprisoned for ten years by his own government for defecting.
 
Giang is such a soft-spoken man in his everyday life that the flashbacks to his time as a youth and during the war serve almost as a window into his soul for the reader. Here is a man who has seen so much suffering and so many terrible things but you’d never know it from talking to him. 

Alternatively, Mrs. Rossi is a character who tends to speak her mind and be forthright at all times. She tells Giang very quickly after meeting him about her quest to find her soldier son’s remains in the jungle and stays determined throughout most of the novel that she will succeed in her objective. 

I thoroughly enjoyed the perspectives of both characters as well as the interspersed chapters where we got the perspective of Mrs. Rossi’s son, Nicola. 
I found this book to be a worthwhile and fascinating read and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a well written novel. I promise you’ll enjoy it. I don’t give out a 5 star review very often but this book deserves that plus so much more.

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Blog Tour: Twenty-One Steps of Courage by Sarah Bates

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Publisher: Booklocker.com, Inc.  (Mar 31, 2012)
Category: Literary Fiction, Military Fiction, Adventure, Realistic Fiction
Tour dates: Feb/Mar, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-61434-957-0
Available in Print, ebook, & Audiobook 280 pages

From award-winning author. In 2006, with wars in Iraq and Afghanistan raging, Rod Strong enlists in the Army to achieve the goal his father sought before he tragically died in the Gulf War. His objective: The Old Guard regiment, the elite Soldiers who stand as Sentinels at the Tomb of the Unknown in Arlington National Cemetery. Rod overcomes the obstacles that litter his path until an unexpected firefight in Afghanistan changes his life forever.

Purchase Links

 Amazon   *   Barnes&Noble   *   Book Depository   *   IndieBound

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Guest Review by Kate M.

When you first pick up ‘Twenty-One Steps Of Courage’, you may think it is biography of a soldier.   The detail in the research Sarah Bates did make it feel that way.  However, it is a work of fiction that would appeal to those who like to read biographies, military fiction and non-fiction.

Rod Strong’s father dies in the Gulf War when he is young but his stories have stuck with Rod all through his childhood.  Especially those of his father serving his country.  Rod makes up his mind that he wants to be a soldier just like his dad.  His father shared his dream of someday becoming a Sentinel Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown in Arlington National Cemetery.  He never accomplished this dream, due to his death.

On his 18th birthday, Rod enlists in the Army.  His ultimate goal is to accomplish what his father was unable to do.  However, first he wants to follow in his father’s footsteps and do all of the training that he did.  His mother is upset when he told her he enlisted.  His older brother is already in the army, serving in Afghanistan.  Rod’s girlfriend, Beth, is not surprised when he tells her that he enlisted.  He talked about his dreams a lot with her but promised they would marry one day.

The details of Rod’s training were very detailed and kept me glued to the book.  I read the ebook which is a good thing, because the cover and pages would have bent and creased with my grip!  The book read like a movie in my mind and I felt like I was in it.  The characters are well written and the sense of place is bang on. This book is a masterpiece and should be made into a movie!  I highly recommend it for all!

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About the Author

Award winning author, Sarah Bates’ fiction has appeared in the Greenwich Village Literary Review, the San Diego North County Times (now the Union-Tribune) and the literary magazine Bravura.

She is the author of ‘The Lost Diaries of Elizabeth Cady Stanton’, published in 2016, and co-author of the 2005 short story collection, ‘Out of Our Minds, Wild Stories’ by Wild Women. Bates was an English Department writing tutor at Palomar College in California for ten years. She privately tutors academic and creative writing students and is writing a new novel.

She is a Military Category Finalist for ‘Twenty-One Steps of Courage’, Next Generation Indie Book Awards, (2013) and 2nd Place Finalist, for ‘The Lost Diaries of Elizabeth Cady Stanton’, Unpublished Novel-Category, San Diego Book Awards (2015). It has since been published.

Sarah Bates lives in Fallbrook, California.

Website: http://www.sarahbatesauthor.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bateswriter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarahbatesauthor/

 

 

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