Into Autumn by Larry Landgraf

June 21, 2019March 19, 2019 | C.E. Flores

Lars Lindgren is all ready when the grid suddenly goes down in the US. Years before, he left civilization behind to become a wilderness man on 40 acres of undeveloped land along a small river someplace in Texas. Shortly after the SHTF, Eileen, stockbroker and small-time gardener, shows up and stays. Pretty soon, a little self-reliant community springs up including Reggie, with his well-stocked arsenal of weapons, his wife Emily, along with Sam and his wife Sally who raise livestock and children. It’s becoming a veritable garden of Eden for these hardy folks who regularly pop over for a spot of tea. Dinner conversations include this year’s projected harvest and the feasibility of blowing up the Tucker family across the highway.

Now, you know I’m all about reading end-of-the-world survival scenarios It really tickles my funny bone to compare some of those outrageous stories with our actual experience of 10-years off-grid living. So, it will be no surprise to you that Into Autumn by Larry Landgraf gave me a few points to ponder.

The happy valley Lars and Eileen inhabit really is sort of a Prepper utopia. With the neighbor’s stockpile of weapons and the other neighbor’s animal husbandry setup, Lars doesn’t even have to give up his daily bacon once the world beyond ceases to function. While there was a good overview of the solar panel system and a fair description of the wood stove, there were some aspects that weren’t covered at all, such as waste disposal. Where did all the poop go? Septic tank? Piled in the bushes? Reused as humanure in the garden? (See Jawhole disaster)

How about birth control? Sam and Sally are still well within childbearing age. When Lars’ son and Reggie’s daughter get together, they immediately pop out a set of man-twins. So what stops these obviously fertile couples from breeding like rabbits? It’s not like there is any TV to watch to while away the evenings. Apparently, no one thought to bring along the portable DVD player that could have run off the solar panels. Ok, maybe this isn’t something the male author thought about. However, it is a valid issue. I know that since moving to an area where birth-control is difficult to obtain (as well as discouraged from the pulpit), I certainly have noticed the rampant crops of babies harvested from the cabbage patch every year. Why not in this happy valley? Then again, maybe it would be too hard to keep the toddlers out of the minefield.

There seemed to be an inordinate amount of attention given to listing the essential items that the inhabitants were always running low on. The list oft-repeated consisted of tea, coffee, salt, and sugar. Evidently, having these luxuries would keep the little group from becoming animalistic and perhaps converting to cannibals as so happens in the zombie apocalypse scenarios. I admit that salt is an essential element, but tea and coffee? If you want a little variety in your beverages, there are oodles of options out there in the wild or easily grown in your own garden.

I believe Preppers and wanna-be Preppers would enjoy Into Autumn by Larry Landgraf because they could compare their state of preparedness with that of the characters in the book, much as I did. Those not so concerned about TEOTWAWKI won’t enjoy this book half as much.

I wasn’t overly impressed with the writing style. It seemed to be slow and ponderous for the most part. Although there were no grammar or spelling errors, the narration didn’t seem natural.

Read more about Into Autumn by Larry Landgraf. This book was an OnlineBookClub.org Book of the Day. Get your copy here.

the hideaway by Lauren K. Denton

June 17, 2019March 15, 2019 | C.E. Flores

Sara Margaret Jenkins has just inherited her grandmother’s dilapidated bed and breakfast in Sweet Bay, Alabama. Forced to leave behind her New Orlean’s business to attend to the numerous details, she discovers a bit of mystery surrounding her grandmother Mags. Sara has a chance at a new life in Sweet Bay if she can find the strength to stay. After all, not all stories end happily ever after.

The Hideaway by Lauren K. Denton is a romantic novel about new beginnings. The story is told in overlapping chapters, past, and present, grandmother and granddaughter. Even though the book begins with Mags’ death, her story is told through her own eyes as Sara pieces together the clues left.

I enjoyed both stories although perhaps Mags story just a wee bit more. Her in life in the 1960s, with its expectations and issues, was masterly crafted. The characters that arrived and stayed or left in The Hideaway were diverse and interesting. It would be a real treat to hear William, Dot, Mrs. DeBerry, Daisy, Starla, Glory, Major, Bert, and even Robert’s stories as well.

One issue I was a little confused about was the ownership of the house. Originally, the bed and breakfast was run by Mrs. DeBerry who leaves the business in dire financial straits. Legally, how did Mags obtain the title? Then just how exactly does the town of Sweet Bay use eminent domain when the legitimate owner has due process rights? Of course, knowing the details isn’t essential to enjoying the story but it would add an additional element of realism.
The Hideaway by Lauren K. Denton is a delightful light read. You won’t be disappointed with this one!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Vacation to Graceland by Phillip Cornell

June 14, 2019March 12, 2019 | C.E. Flores

Even the best-laid travel plans go astray. Often the most anticipated aspect of the trip has some drawbacks. Wouldn’t you agree? Vacation to Graceland by Phillip Cornell is no exception to Murphy’s Law.

Scooter joy riding Granny, grouchy mom, financially strapped sister Crissy, her two kids, and the narrator head to Memphis for a family reunion barbecue. Hitting the road early to make the family fish fry is complicated by a quick stop at Kmart, another stop for lottery tickets, heading across town to pay a bill, faulty GPS knowledge, hunger, crankiness, hotel reservation issues, parking problems, exorbitant prices and a wrong turn or two. It’s a good thing that all’s well that ends well.

The misadventures that occur in Vacation to Graceland by Phillip Cornell are typical of any family trip and as a result were quite humorous. I felt like I was stuffed in the backseat along with them on the trip, and none too comfortable either, I must admit. It was a quick, entertaining read.

However, there were some grammatical issues that I was not sure whether to chalk up to local vernacular, intentional errors representing the narrator’s natural speech patterns, or author mistakes. There were errors in noun and verb use (sale/sell), homophone confusion (isle/aisle), misspelling mistakes (intensions/intentions), inconsistent spelling (gripping/griping), missing apostrophes (trips expenses/trip’s expenses), verb and adjective mix-ups (drunken/drunk), and words I just couldn’t figure out what they were meant to convey (My mom hackled me?). Far be it for me to criticize overmuch. I’ve been known to have language issues myself. After all, there was that official police visit that had me imagining house stealers and that “go and see if the sow laid eggs” Mexican Spanish expression that caused me some grief. (See Who’s on first in Spanglish and Learning and Teaching–Language)

As most people have had their fair share of road trip disasters, the majority of readers will find something to relate to and laugh about in this book. I mean, who hasn’t been squashed next to bickering children in the back seat? If you prefer not to relive such traumatic experiences ever, perhaps this isn’t the book for you. My overall rating was influenced by the above mentioned grammatical problems.

Vacation to Graceland by Phillip Cornell was an OnlineBookClub.org Book of the Day. Get your copy here.

One Last Lie by Rob Kaufman

June 12, 2019March 9, 2019 | C.E. Flores

Jonathan and Philip are approached by an old college friend of Phillip’s with an interesting proposition. Angela offers to have their child. Thrilled at the prospect of becoming fathers, they little realize the depths of deception that Angela has planned nor the price they will have to pay.

One Last Lie by Rob Kaufman was a page turner! I was on the edge of my seat as each layer of the story was revealed. Clues to the conclusion are scattered throughout the story, however, the “last lie” remained shrouded until close to the end.

The story has multiple perspectives so that the reader is able to see the horror unfold, yet helpless to do anything about it. The characters were well-developed, both the principal players and minor personas. Rationales for the ultimate decisions made by the characters are hinted at but not spelled out. There’s an element of chance throughout it all.

The majority of the story is set in Connecticut, on streets that I visited as a child, which for me added just a little extra realism. The author did a fabulous job setting the scene. Things like this just don’t happen in upper-middle-class America, or do they?

It was well written, with nary an error found. Unfortunately, I don’t think this book is for everyone. It’s not a pleasant read. There’s no happy ever after ending given. I would even say that it just might be too real for some. Who knows why people do what they do? Who knows why bad things happen? It would be easy to say that horrible things are perpetrated by those who have some sort of mental illness. In fact, the book suggests that. However, can that explain the permissiveness or blindness of those who interact with such people on a daily basis?

This book was an OnlineBookClub.org Book of the Day. Read more about this book here. Get your own copy here.

A Right Proper Murder by Pearl Goodfellow

May 29, 2019May 10, 2019 | C.E. Flores

Clara Bennett isn’t much interested in attending the seance her Aunt Gwen is hosting. She likes it even less when the medium channels someone from her past. Things rapidly go downhill with a dead body, missing lady’s maid, and eight magical cats. It’s naturally quite overwhelming.

Clara is determined to get to the bottom of all this mayhem. She volunteers her services to the admirable Detective Inspector William Davenport from Scotland Yard as he attempts to unravel the mystery.

The eight black cats are Gloom, the token female, and her brothers, Onyx, Eclipse, Shade, Midnight, Fraidy, Carbon, and Jet. They are known collectively as Infiniti and are the immortal familiars attached to Hattie Jenkins’ family on the Coven Isles on the planet Earth. The egg-transportation device carries them to Thera, an alternate universe that resembles 18 century England, where they land right next to a dead body.

Apparently talking cats are none too odd an occurrence in this alternate world. Of course, the felines are held for questioning since it is obvious that the dead girl was murdered. After they are cleared, they have young Clara taking selfies with a tablet discovered inside the egg ship as they travel by carriage around town following up leads.

Although I thoroughly enjoyed the 18th-century mystery, I’m not so sure how I felt about the cats. Even though they all had different “accents” and Jet was a cat-nip tweaker, I couldn’t really distinguish between them. If there must be magical, talking, time-traveling felines, then one would have been more than enough.

Then there were the ‘s instead of plurals instances. Even though there is a disclaimer at the beginning of the book clarifying that this book is written in Brit-speak, I’m fairly certain that apostrophe s is used when it is identifying a possession and never to indicate more than one even in the UK (i.e the universe’s demise vs. multiple universes).

Talking cats aside, Clara makes an excellent amateur sleuth. There seem to be some romantic inclinations between her and the good detective, who suffered some sort of accident in the past and may have a glass eye, or perhaps not. It wasn’t clear to me.

If you are looking for something a bit out of the ordinary with a classical who-done-it theme, then A Right Proper Murder by Pearl Goodfellow is the book for you.

You can read my review at Reedsy Discovery here.

Blackbirds in the Pomegranate Tree: Stories from Ixcotel State Prison by Mary Ellen Sanger

May 24, 2019February 2, 2024 | C.E. Flores

I read Blackbirds in the Pomegranate Tree: Stories from Ixcotel State Prison by Mary Ellen Sanger last year and was profoundly moved by it. I thought I’d reread it again this year and had the same reaction. The author was able to capture Mexico as I see her, all her hardship, corruption, and exquisite beauty. I would be remiss not to share this story with you.

Mary Ellen left behind the corporate jungle to read in the shade of the steps of a pyramid in Mexico. She began her new life in tourism but eventually found her way to a sheltered patio in Oaxaca as a caretaker to an elderly widower.

Until, one night she was bustled from her residence to the Ixcotel State Prison, one of the most overcrowded and unhygienic facilities in Oaxaca. There she was held for 33 days on fabricated charges. However, her story is just the prelude to the stories of the women she met inside.

Concha, arrested for armed robbery, who found love at last inside the stone walls. Berta, whose husband had tended sorghum interspersed with marijuana for a wealthy landowner. Susa, heroin addict earning drug money with a shoeshine service for visitors. Natalia, arrested so that the wife of her lover could take her child. Ana, human rights lawyer jailed because of her work on behalf of rural farmers. Citlali, a curandera who spoke only Chinantec and her infant daughter Xochitl. Lucia and her infant son Sebastian, whose 5-year-old daughter was in a group home allowed to visit once a month. Soraya, imprisoned for refusing the advances of the mayor. Flor, dying of a tumor from the bullet in the back of her head.

Mary Ellen was not the same women upon her release and neither will you be after you read these haunting stories from the women at Ixcotel State Prison.

Echoes from the Wall: Real Stories of Mexican Migrants By Judy King

May 22, 2019February 2, 2024 | C.E. Flores

Recognize yourself in he and she Who are not like you and me..jpg

This quote by Carlos Fuentes epitomizes Echoes from the Wall: Real Stories of Mexican Migrants by Judy King. With so much division being fostered these days by politicians with private agendas, it’s hard to see the similarities we all share. Judy King does an excellent job both sharing stories of Mexican migrants and the recent U.S. policy change that are affecting them.

In Echoes from the Wall, you’ll meet Varo, Moises, Ramon, Arturo, Roberto, Jose, and Ken who are sometimes documented, sometimes not migrant workers. Then there are special circumstances:

Erica, a promising, bright young scholar accepted at Yale who is unable to get a student visa.
Rafael, married to a U.S. citizen and father of 2 U.S. citizens, who is unable to obtain residency.
Leo, a wounded veteran, deported from the country he lived in since he was 3 years old.
Lalo, whose house is filled to overflowing with his brother’s wives and children.

You’ll also see the facts about remittances sent to Mexico, border facial recognition policies, Legal Permanent Residence, the effects of the Border Wall on wildlife, the high cost of crossing the desert into the U.S. and the illegality of providing food, water, and medical treatment to migrants, the damage to children separated from their parents, the truth about healthcare and taxes for migrants, whether migrants are more apt to be criminals than U.S. born citizens, who is financing the mega-detention centers, and how the Bracero work program began the immigration cycle from Mexico to the U.S.

Additionally, you’ll read about the importance of family to the Mexican people, Saint Toribio, the patron saint of travelers, La Virgen de Guadalupe and her iconic presence on both sides of the borders.

Echoes from the Wall ends with a list of both fiction and non-fiction books for further reading about Mexican migrants and the immigration situation as it stands in the U.S.

This well-researched book poignantly tells the story of those who otherwise might not be heard. Tony Burton, Arturo Garcia, and Richard Rhoda contributed to clarifying once and for all who stands to gain by the propagation of an immigrant crisis in the United States.

You can read more about Judy King here.

Spellbound Paranormal Cozy Mystery Series

May 17, 2019May 6, 2019 | C.E. Flores

Paranormal cozy mysteries? I know, who’d have thought. I’ve got news for you, I loved each and every book in the 10-book series. Now that doesn’t happen too often.

Here’s the plot:

Emma Hart is on her way to visit one of her clients and happens upon what she believes to be an impending suicide. Jumping out of her lime green Volvo, lovingly christened Sigmund, she rushes out to save the man on the cliff. Not having taken the time to engage the parking brake, Emma is in danger of being run over or drowning in the lake until the would-be-suicide flies down and snatches her from harm’s way. That’s right, flies. It turns out he’s an angel, well a fallen angel, who had come to his favorite cliff to mope.

Inadvertently, Daniel, the angel, has flown Emma into the borders of Spellbound, a paranormal town under a curse. Much to her surprise, Emma has some paranormal blood in her as well, and now is trapped with the other residents.

She’s made the town’s public defender since her entrance coincided with the unfortunate demise of the previous lawyer, a Scottish vampire named Gareth. She’s also given Gareth’s house where she is surprised to find some sort of mongrel cat and the ghost of the former owner.

Since she hadn’t had any previous magical training, she is enrolled in the remedial witch classes at the ASS Academy. Her burgeoning powers and sporadic criminal cases keep her busy.

She falls in love with Daniel, the fallen angel, but the course of true love never did run smooth. She makes just as many friends as enemies and discovers her mysterious past is intricately tied to the current predicament that the town is in.

Emma is funny and sweet. Her interactions with other paranormals often made me chuckle. I can’t say that the series is entirely original since the storyline and characters are borrowed from other famous works.

For instance, Emma’s familiar is not a cat but a cantankerous owl name Sedgewick, reminiscent of Harry Potter’s Hedwig. The coven head and headmistress of ASS Academy is very much Professor McGonagall with a ridiculous antler headdress. The vampires and werewolves were typecast like any other paranormal world. On the other hand, there were some new characters including harpies ever looking for a man to sink their claws into, gorgons who keep their snakey hair under wraps, the Gray sisters that share a single eye and tooth, Valkyrie law enforcement and a minotaur who is the town’s arquitect.

If you are looking for some light paranormal reading, then I highly recommend Annabel Chase’s Spellbound series. You’ll want to get them all so that you can follow the story from beginning until….well the beginning. You’ll just have to read them to see what I mean.

Rise – In Pursuit of Empowerment by Sabine Matharu

May 15, 2019October 19, 2019 | C.E. Flores

Rise – In Pursuit of Empowerment features 25 “sparkling” women entrepreneurs who have overcome adversity and are creating successful lives. The editors of the book choose a star-studded theme as you can see from the cover. Each of the 25 sections included an inspirational quote from the featured lady on a starry themed background, her success story, a professionally done photograph and a short blurb about her business.

I had problems getting into the book initially. It seemed like there was an excess of sections before the main text. There was a dedication page, foreward, a section of reviews (which I always skip so as not to prejudice myself before reading), preface, a page mentioning where you can go to download bonus material and finally, the table of contents.

Slow start aside, the stories these women shared were incredible. I enjoyed each and every one, whether or not I could relate to her struggles personally. I certainly felt inspired, which I believe was the intent of the book.

Take Naomi for example. After living a cautious life because of a heart condition, she took up mountain climbing in her senior years. As if that weren’t enough, she became involved with the Mending 1000 Hearts charity organization committed to educating the people about operations that could significantly impact the lives of children born with congenital heart conditions.

Then there was Sister Zeph. After dropping out of school following a beating and humiliation by a teacher, she began her own community school in rural Pakistan. She used her own earnings to buy school supplies for girls she taught in her courtyard under the open sky for 14 years. A windfall in the amount of $20,000 allowed her to buy a piece of property to build two rooms and a roof for her school. She now runs 2 schools with 200 registered students and offers training courses for more than 400 women each year.

Many of the women featured became life or health or spiritual coaches as they worked through their struggles. Whether these women overcame health problems, prejudice, abuse, depression, the corporate glass ceiling, or obstacles of their own making, they have all found their calling by providing empowerment to other women. It only proves that “if you light a lamp for somebody, it will also brighten your path,” as said by Buddha.

If you are in need of some inspiration to keep you focused on your own empowerment path, you will definitely enjoy Rise – In Pursuit of Empowerment.

You can read my review of this book at Reedsy Discovery here.