Posted in Blog, Reviews

Review: Paul is Missing by Donna M Cramer

Synopsis (Taken from Amazon)

Two young families are on the brink of new beginnings. Brynn and Eric Branson, recently married, are overjoyed with their baby, Paul. Alison and Jared Jensen are equally excited to start their life together, with Alison eager to escape the influence of her overbearing father, Cecil. Both couples are filled with anticipation for their futures.However, life takes a dramatic turn when Jared is deployed to Afghanistan. In a misguided attempt to help Alison cope with a devastating loss, Cecil and Gail, Alison’s parents, intervene in ways that profoundly affect both young couples.As they navigate through heartbreaks and some victories over the next twenty years, will these couples find their way back to happiness? Can they overcome loss and tragedy, and will hope ultimately triumph?

Review

The book begins following two separate and seemingly happy couples. However, life rarely goes as planned, and the book quickly delves into the depths of human sadness. 

As a parent whose child has wandered off, the emotions are nearly indescribable—shock, sadness, fear, and an overwhelming need to find them. But I could not imagine not finding them. However, the author did an amazing job of describing the traumatic event for the characters, and each handled their emotions in distinctly different ways. 

I thoroughly enjoyed the intertwined aspect of mental illness and the different ways in which people handle grief. 

I could not put the book down. I loved everything about this heartbreaking story.

If you enjoy a good read, this is a great book for you!

Get your copy here (affiliate link – thanks for the support).

Posted in Blog, Reviews

Review: My Second Life by Yeats

Synopsis (taken from Amazon)

We all have two lives. We only get to experience living in the second after we realize we only have just one.

Simon Yeats had his first real scare in life when he was attacked by a kangaroo when he was seven years old. His first brush with the cliff-face edge of death came when he was 12. His father drove his family down the dangerous, 4WD only Skipper’s Canyon dirt road in New Zealand in a rented minivan.

Including the occasions he was almost involved in two different plane flight crashes, in the same night, there have been at least a half dozen more times when the author has come within a moment’s inattention of being killed.

However, none of those frightening incidents compare to what he experiences after his son is abducted to South America.

This memoir is the story of how Simon used the traumatic experiences of his life to give him strength to forge on during an incomprehensible 13 year fight to be a father to his son.

What did it take for him to get to his second life?
It took him to truly understand what fear is.

Life is a struggle. While we all often think that we are the only one going through tough times. Knowing how others have suffered and gotten through it brings each of us hope that we can do the same.

Review

The first few chapters outline significant moments in the author’s life—moments that were heartwrenching, traumatic, and down-right scary. These chapters create a memorable moment for the reader as we are reminded how short life can be and to never take it for granted. 

Every chapter starts with an essential short life lesson that we often forget. These small reminders were what brought me to connect with the author.

Simon Yeats had multiple near-death experiences, but what I found more heartbreaking was the betrayal of friendship. My heart broke being reminded of similar betrayals. Not only that, but the emotion put into this book about the ups and downs of trying to be a father to a child you are forbidden to see. As parents, we only want to do what is best for them, but when everything seems stacked against us, how can we do it? 

There were a few grammatical errors, but the story is so emotional that they don’t detract from the lessons it bestows on the readers.

It is a book that pulls at your heartstrings, and you want to keep reading in hopes that you will get the answer he deserves.

When I read the title about having a second life, I never realized the lessons you must learn before getting there.

If you enjoy emotional and inspirational books, this is for you.

Get your copy here (affiliate link – thank you for your support)

Posted in Blog, Reviews

Review: It Came From the Trees: and Other Violent Aberrations by Joel McKay

Synopsis (taken from Amazon)

Tree planters on the run from parasitic insects. A physicist who has become the target of a murderous airline. Teenagers trapped in a museum with an eldritch horror. An escaped pit fighter thrust into a desperate stand at a sagging mountain fortress. And a luckless cowboy sailing across a sea of grass to the bloody resurrection of an elder god. Welcome to Joel McKay’s It Came from the Trees and Other Violent Aberrations, a collection of five page-turners as strange, disparate and bloody as their titles suggest.

So, grab a stiff drink, turn the lights down low, settle into your favorite reading nook and enjoy this brief but memorable collection of tales from one of the newest voices in Canadian pulp fiction.

Review

Anthologies are a great way to get a few stories together. They are normally of the same genre—which they are—but they aren’t. Yes, they were all creepy, but they ranged in time period, character attributes, and type of horror. It was an extremely diverse array of stories. 

My favourite thing about anthologies is getting to the scary stuff without much preamble, and Joel Mckay did not disappoint. The first story is super creepy with the perfect twist ending. It quickly became my top read, but don’t stop reading there; they are all intriguing. 

The final story (ranking as my second favourite) is an interesting combo of creep and cowboy. I didn’t think those two things could go together, but they were perfectly meshed. 

This collection’s brief explanation of why the author wrote each story was unique, and it was interesting to see where he got some of the inspiration.

If you like creepy, you need this book.

Get your copy here (affiliate link – thank you for your support).

Posted in Blog, Reviews

Review: MoneyWise Mabel’s Bursting Bank by Kalee Boisvert

Synopsis (taken from Amazon)

What should Mabel do now that her piggybank is full to the brim? Buy lots of candy? Spend it all on that toy she’s been eyeing? Finally get that unicorn sprinkler that sprays water from its horn?

When Mabel pulls her piggy bank out from under the bed, it’s stuffed. She can’t fit one more coin inside–Piggy is bursting!

What should Mabel do with all that money? Buy candy? Toys? Games!? Mabel’s so excited that her bed becomes a trampoline and she wants to spend it all. But then her mother explains that money doesn’t have to burn a hole in your pocket—a lesson that sends Mabel on a journey to learn what it means to become “moneywise.” Follow her as she takes her first steps to independence by opening a bank account!

Teach your school-aged kids fundamentals about money management with this approachable, fun, and charming debut from Kalee Boisvert, full of colorful illustrations and easy-to-understand concepts.

Review

I loved having a piggy bank as a kid, and my kids loved having theirs. When they would get full (or even half full), they would want to immediately go to the store and spend it all. As parents, how do we teach them that there are other things you can do with your money? It’s easy to tell them, but do they really listen? Having a story to read with them (more than once) helps teach a great lesson that your kids might actually listen to. 

The author uses simple language and keeps the book at the perfect length for little ones. Teaching them this lesson at a young age will help them as they grow. Plus, the drawings are very colourful and eye-catching. Hopefully, this book inspires open conversation about finances (something that is a life long learning journey). 

If you have a little one, this might be a great book to teach them an important lesson.

Get your copy here (affiliate link – thanks for the support)

Posted in Blog, Reviews

Review: Twilight In York: Volume 1 by Ryan Gray

Synopsis (taken from Amazon)

Dive into the explosive, raw, and vulnerable story of a man’s search for sanity amid his increasing dependence on DXM (dextromethorphan), the active ingredient in Robitussin and other cough suppressant medications. In Volume One, you’ll enter the underbelly of York, PA, as the narrator navigates the streets and his new normal.

In 2007, Ryan Gray was on and off the streets-living the last days of his existence as an active addict. He stayed in several halfway houses, had friends who were kind enough to let him sleep in their homes, and sometimes stayed at a nearby shelter.

Volume One of his autobiographical narrative chronicles the events leading through the ‘twilight’ of his addiction, from meeting a native of York who became like a brother, to when Ryan began to inwardly sense his own futility, to making the choice to leave behind the middle-class life he knew.

Twilight in York: Volume One is written in the style of Jack Kerouac, with a stream of consciousness effect as well as grammatical alterations. Heavy with explicit drug use, this read is best suited for adults.

Though heavy and dark, Twilight in York, Volume One has a simple, easy-to-follow plot that appeals to the masses. Drug addicts, family and friends of addicts, homeless (and formerly homeless) people, and the mentally ill will resonate with Ryan’s down-to-earth voice and relatable stories.

www.twilightinyork.com

Review

Those who know me know that I am an advocate of mental illness, and drug addiction is a mental illness. Drug addiction is rampant throughout our society, and I lost my brother to it, so this book hits home on a personally deep level. The further into the book, the more I wanted to scream for the author to seek help, knowing what drug use can lead to.

Ryan Gray does an excellent job of describing the need for drugs. The compulsion not to change and continue to get high even when he knows that they are making him ill. The other mental illness discussed is schizophrenia, one that society deems as scary and potentially violent. Ryan describes it as scary (not violent), though he does it eloquently, placing the reader in his mindset. Giving us a sense of fear in our minds that we couldn’t otherwise understand.

This is more than an autobiography. This is a reality that many face when mental illness is pushed to the edges of society. Too many think, ‘I want to help but not in my backyard,’ that those suffering are forced onto the streets and forgotten about instead of receiving the help that they need. Luckily, Ryan Gray is still here to share his story and help bring a voice to those who are still struggling.

Everyone who is of the age that they may be thinking about trying drugs should read this book. There is explicit content, but that adds to the importance of this message.

Get your copy here (affiliate link – thank you for your support).