Book 13 of 2015

Where Angels Prey by Ramesh S Arunachalam
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

'Where Angels Prey' is a fantastic name for this book by Ramesh S Arunachalam! A lot of books have fitting titles but I was just struck with awe by how perfect the title (and cover) was for this book when I realized that what was seen as a blessing, like an angel was sent from heaven to save the poor in India (and other countries) which turned out to be predators just looking for their next prey. Although I normally enjoy action packed, thriller/suspense novels, this book had me captivated from beginning to end. I also want to be clear about it, the cover has angle wings on it and uses the word 'angel' in the title but it is not a religious story. It is a fiction (based on some facts) about a microfinance companies, murder, suicide, corruption, greed, and Robert (Bob) Bradlee who is the main character and a senior economics correspondent with The New York Post.

The author did a wonderful description for the book that you can read yourself so I won't recap the story but to say there is so much more than even he tells you. As I read it, I could see where it was going on many occasions but there are definitely some surprises. For one thing, it is very detailed but not overpowering where I was lost in all the details. I also loved hearing the 'victims' side in the first person narration which really pulled at my heartstrings so much more than just knowing that their were many victims and what happened to them. What was most surprising is how hard it was to remember it is fiction and how it emotionally involved me by my feeling everything from pure sadness to being angry at how unfair it was and no one was (or should be) above the law no matter how rich or how much money they contributed.

There are many characters in the story as it involves companies and people from around the globe but all their information is told very clearly in the story of who they are and how they fit in. Many times, that is all that is told so their is no connection with them however the main and secondary characters are more developed. I liked the main character, Bob and was rooting for him but I was surprised I emotionally connected to the victims.

I thought the book was totally believable and so were the characters. I did notice a couple of errors in spacing between words which really didn't take away from the story. There was no explicit sex, deaths, or foul language. I thought it was an excellent book and recommend it to anyone who enjoys corruption/crime stories.


View all my reviews

Book 12 of 2015

Dark Shadow of Babylon by Julian Speed
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If the cover of the 'Dark Shadow of Babylon' by Julian Speed doesn't give you the creeps and scream horror, paranormal, and suspense, I know the book will. In fact, I wasn't expecting near as much as this book provides but since it is a rather long book (approx. 404 pages) I was pleased every page was just as unnerving to me as the last one. Between the suspense and fear I was able to keep turning page after page and read on, enjoying the action, death, and so much more.

Not all the characters in the book are human (at least not any longer) so it is hard to actually say how believable or realistic they are however I did enjoy all the characters. They were developed nicely and didn't leave me in the dark about which were human and which weren't. I liked that all the characters made sense and they were not just random characters in the book but followed the plot and a legend or myth known which is what explained their presence. Each had their own distinct personality or existence and the characters varied from terrifying to amusing.

The opening of the book is in 61AD during the Roman Invasion although the majority of the book takes place in modern day (2012) in West Virginia. The author wrote a great description of the book so you can read that for yourself. I feel there is no need for me to recap it but there is one thing I want to touch on about what the author wrote in his description. He wrote, "Dark Shadow of Babylon is a horror/paranormal novel with light elements of suspense." While I do agree compared to the paranormal/horror of the story , the suspense is less dominate but I personally think he is too modest and downplayed the suspense. By the very nature of his writing, suspense is projected in the sentences. A perfect example is, "They looked at each other with worrisome expressions and said not a word. The screams on the circus grounds had ceased and silence seemed to be the only thing that kept them company as they nervously looked around expecting something to jump out at them at any minute." The whole novel is encrusted with this building type of suspense as well.

I thought this novel was great and I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who loves paranormal, horror, and suspense.


View all my reviews

Book 11 of 2015

Break Free: To Reboot With Confidence, Playfulness and Adaptibility by Robert Lewis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Just as the cover describes, Break Free by Robert E. Lewis is a self-help type book that explains how to escape the controlling conditions and dependencies we have grown dependent on during our lives. Since we were little children we were raised to be 'conditioned' to fit into a society where free thinking and expression seems to be frowned upon. In other words, you behave, go to school, graduate, get a job, get a house, have a family, grow old and die. That is our lives in a nut shell. The more money you make, the better. You can have a bigger house, fancy car, send your kids to the best schools (so the cycle repeats for them) and uphold a significant spot in socials and society. After all, value is placed on the wants and needs of those who hold the bigger bank accounts, more so than the average person. (We see this everyday in politics.) Happiness, explorations, discoveries, worry free environments, those were all things of childhood that we must leave behind, or do we?

As a child we would sit at the beach with our pail and shovel and dig a hole in the sand filling our pail. Then we discovered that if we got that sand wet, when we dumped it out it remained in the shape of the pail. We built sandcastles, seashells found on the beach became windows, doors, or fancy decorations, seaweed was a garden or sea monster on the attach. There were no worries, there were no right and wrong, there was only fun, imagination, and discovery. We didn't worry about anything, not even the approaching high tide. We were living in the here and now, not the past nor were we worried about the future. Sure, we learned from our mistakes but that was the beauty of it. We learned the next time we go to the beach to build our sandcastle a little further up the beach so when the tide does come in, our castle isn't washed away before we were ready for it to be but this 'discovery' was through fun and play. It was stress-free and it wasn't even the fact that the sandcastle would be washed away (or knocked down) but the real fun was right there playing in the 'now'. In other words, through life the destination isn't what is important, it is the journey to get there.

The book explains this and how material things don't matter, in fact, in some cases they just tie you down. They don't only anchor you physically but mentally as well. As the book states it, "Consumership has replaced citizenship, the measure of life has been reduced to a standard of living, a calculation of consumption and ownership." It is not saying you shouldn't own anything as we all need a place to live and usually a car to drive to work but what it is saying is that we as a society are no longer measured by our abilities, differences, contributions of our minds or work, we are being measured by how much money we earn or spend and characterized into 'classes' where the upper-class is the one on top and naturally the lower-class is on the bottom. If a lower-class citizen makes some discovery, invents some amazing machine, or writes a best-seller, simply by the class that they are in, they will have a much harder time than if they were in the upper-class for the simple reason that upper-class owns and consumes more so they are held on a higher tier, they are taken more serious. They are the place the lower and middle classes should strive to go.

We think we don't have a choice but have to live like this. We have to live in society so need to abide by the rules but we do not have to live by the conditioning or restraints that society put on us. We can 'refresh, reboot, and reprogram' our lives to once again 'live in the here and now' and the book explains how to do this. Again, it isn't saying we don't have responsibilities or need to forget all about saving for a retirement but what it is saying is that life should be like 'playing' as a child: imagination, discovery, stress-free. There was no wrong way to make the sandcastle. If I wanted a door on the top of it and put it there, so what! I wasn't bound by some rule that said I couldn't, I wasn't going to get a spanking, or grounded. My future wasn't going to be ruined nor was it hurting anyone. I could put the door where ever I wanted and I was happy with that. It is only when someone came to me and said that the door don't belong there because it looks stupid and serves no purpose since there are no stairs and you can't get to it that I was restricted in my play because someone was trying to put conditions on it. They were trying to 'limit' my imagination. However, I was playing in the 'here and now' and still using my imagination so I said it wasn't to go in, it was so once inside I can throw things out! This is what the book is getting at, throw out all these negatives in our lives, all the conditioning, limits, and classifications that were instilled in us since small children and just learn to 'play' again.

The book goes pretty in depth about how through time and by so many ways we lost our ability to 'play' and how to undo this 'conditioning and conformity' demands that were put on us so we can become the imaginative, empowering individuals we once were. How to deal with egos and the importance of keeping journals. There is a lot of truth in the book, careful observation by the author, and even quotes from famous people that stress the point the book is trying to make. While I found it all interesting, the chapter I really found most interesting was the "Exercising The Brain To Get In Mental Shape." It is full of great advise whether you want to do anything else in the book or not. This chapter alone will make your life a much happier, peaceful, and rewarding experience.

I did find a typo and format errors but nothing that is extremely distracting from this book and recommend it to everyone, old and young alike. Even parents and expecting parents can find useful information and perhaps insight on how to not restrict the power of 'play'. I know I will always remember the one statement, "Replace your ego-driven life dramas with selfless interactions" which are great words to live by.


View all my reviews

Book 10 of 2015

The Southern California Dental Patient Guidebook; Perfect Crowns and Smiles by Dr. Steven J. Sutherland
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

To start with I am a little confused with what the real title to this book is since the picture of the cover gives the title as "The Southern California Patient Guidebook Perfect Crowns and Smiles in One Day" by Steven J. Sutherland DDS but the title page gives the title as "The Southern California Patient Guide to Same Day Cosmetic Crowns." Personally I think it was originally the latter but was changed to the first one (only the title page wasn't changed) since it was much more fitting for this book. This book is way more than just a book about cosmetic crowns. It is a plug for Dr. Steven Sutherland's office, Torrance Dental Arts and tells what he has to offer but it is also fantastic information on dentistry and the new technology no matter where you live.

The book explains the importance of a good smile cosmetically speaking: appearance. It explains how we are judged as a person on our smile and although I want to say people are not this superficial and we are judged on our performance in the work place or our personality in social gatherings, there is no denying the fact that our smiles (or lack of) play a part in how we are perceived by others. Examples are given to support this statement which I have seen and heard some of these 'prejudices' myself.

Also what is explained, traditional dentistry being done today for crowns is messy and uncomfortable with the goop in your mouth needing to harden so impressions can be made which leads to imperfect fits and reducing the strength, and it is time consuming requiring multiple appointments spread over weeks, months or even a year. However there is a new process (Perfect Teeth in a Daytm) and material Cerec® (ceramic) that makes it 3x stronger than traditional porcelains that can be used so you can literally go to this dentist (or the handful of others that use it) and have your crowns and veneers done in a couple of hours so you can walk out of that one office appointment with your new smile.

The book explains a lot on the hows and whys and even goes into the importance of good teeth for your health. Some of the information I didn't know and some I did. However I didn't think the book went into this deep enough. Yes, we all want a smile to be proud of or at least to be able to smile without being self conscious about it as far as cosmetic reasons and the book explained this well but the fact that your teeth play such an important role in your overall health was just too brief. I especially say this about the part it mentions Temporal-mandibular-joint-dysfunction (TMJD) where it is only referred to as your jaw clicks. It is far wider and much more severe than just a 'click' when you open and shut your mouth. I know this from personal experience where I had to have an operation on my jaw on one side (because the joint on that side 'locked' my mouth shut) when I was young and I continue to have 'flare ups' of the other side (side not operated on) as recently as last year. A flare up consists of the most severe pain you can imagine. It isn't just confined to the area of your joint either. Every tooth on that side, both top and bottom ached, the pain went across my face to the joint area which hurt and gave me a very painful earache but didn't limit to that area either. It went up to my temple giving me a severe headache and down my face on that side into my neck and shoulder area. I don't mean this was a little pain either, it was the worse pain I have ever felt. It was sharp and made labor and natural childbirth feel like a vacation. All I could do is lay in bed and cry. Don't open your mouth, don't lift your head. The pain so so intense it even made me sick to my stomach. Eating and functioning in everyday life was not an option and nothing took this pain away except time, anti-inflammatory (not pain medicine, they did nothing), and a heating pad. (I know one would think ice but heat was all that worked to help lessen it). I went to several Dr. (with barf bag and heating pad) and specialists that cost over $2,000 which insurance does not pay for TMJD for some reason and I was told no dental insurance pays for it. So the importance of a proper bite is a bit under explained both physically and financially in the book.

What is explained well is this is not just a cosmetic dentist since they do everything and take everything into consideration. They make sure your bite is good, your teeth go well with your jaw and facial structure, just to name a few. They do the cosmetic work but they also do root canals, tooth extractions, cleanings, etc. They are a dentist that you can go to and have your root canal and crown done in one visit and the same day.

I just want to add I had a root canal done the day after I started this book and I'm still waiting for my appointment to get a crown with a different dentist. I hate having to go to one dentist for a cleaning and checkup then when something hurts, I make an appointment and go back to him for him to say that I need a root canal so he gives me a referral to another dentist. I have to make an appointment with the other dentist and wait a few days or week (in pain) and go to that appointment only to get that part done and be referred to yet another dentist for the crown. I still didn't find the dentist to do the crown! So for one tooth I already had 3 appointments: my regular dentist, then two appointments for the root canal since the first time it hurt so bad even with the maximum amount of Novocaine they still couldn't even touch the tooth so I had to take antibiotics for 3 days and again still in pain this whole time and go back, and to top that all off I need another 2 or 3 for the crown to be made. The financial cost of this is outrageous since now I need to consider the time missed from work for all these appointments. Although this was mentioned in the book, I just wanted to confirm that I know through personal experience it is true.

Lastly, I felt the ending was incomplete. The information is great, don't get me wrong but it just stops abruptly. This would be the perfect spot to add a line to conclude the book by 'plugging' Steven J. Sutherland's office one last time. Maybe something in the line of "Make your appointment today by calling Torrance Dental Arts at (xxx) xxx-xxxx."

*I received a free copy of this book for my honest review.

View all my reviews

Book 9 of 2015

Church of Martyrs by Pete Fusco
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The church pictured on the cover of "Church of Martyrs" by Pete Fusco looks innocent enough. It looks like many churches you would see around a small rural town but within the walls is anything but innocence. The setting is actually in Cleveland and the church is closed but in the back of the church in the old convent is the Church of Martyrs Woman's Shelter which just opened and the director is an ex-priest.

When the La Mano di Cristo, a secret organization that is small but world wide, kills per orders of the Pope who lived hundreds of years before pay a visit to the Church of Martyrs things get real interesting really fast.The plot thickens with each turn of the page and as the characters develop. Each character is unique with their own personalities that rage from everything from dry humor to animated and bubbly. They are well rounded and believable for the most part. The reason I say this is that I am not sure what a real person would do if faced with these circumstances. Although I think I would do something different from what was done, I really don't know until I am in that position however I do imagine real people may react the same way the characters in the book did. I was able to connect with many of them to varying degree including one of these 'hit men' which of course at the beginning of the book he is the 'bad guy' so basically I wanted to hate him. The one I connected with the most was naturally the main character, Eddie Russo who is the ex-priest and director of the shelter.

The pace of the book is fast, the mystery and action are nonstop. Once one of the questions are answered and that mystery is solved, there are always another question that needs an answer and mystery to solve but it always followed a logical direction and never strayed from this. I would say this is a fast and steady pace book because even in the slower part of it (usually when a new character is introduced) it really doesn't slow down all that much. At no point would I say it stalled or was boring in any way especially with the twist that I didn't see coming at the end.

What I found delightful is that there were not any 'fillers' in the story. I can not think of even one point in the book where it went off in another direction or concentrated even a page on something that had nothing to do with the story. Mr. Fusco writes direct, meaningful, and effectively. It is what I would call a 'no nonsense' story where each and every page all go toward the goal of telling this story.

I thought I should mention that although the book's setting is in an old Catholic church and the main character is an ex-priest, this is not a religious book. In fact, someone without a sense of humor and deep into religion may even find this book offensive to the point of almost being irreligious. There is talk of popes, bishops, and about saints, so knowing what these are is helpful (the 'chain of command' for lack of a better definition, not that you have to know who the pope is, who the bishop is, or who any saints are) although even if you don't know, the author basically explains it so the story still is as enjoyable no matter what, if any, religion you are.

I really love the writing style of the Mr. Fusco and totally enjoyed this book.


View all my reviews

Book 8 of 2015

Always Dreaming by David L. Rivinus
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Always Dreaming by David Rivinus takes dreams and their interpretation a little bit farther by arguing the point that during our waking hours, we have 'waking dreams' and they too are significant and are meant to instruct us once we learn how to interpret them. He shows examples and explains his five-step technique on how to do just that.

Although his interpretation of 'sleeping dreams' are pretty well the standard that have been discussed in countless books that I have read saying they shouldn't be taking literal and are symbols, I had a problem with this book when I realized he wasn't talking about 'day dreams' as being 'waking dreams'. I am sure everyone has had a day dream: they were wide awake and just fantasizing or thinking of something else/somewhere else. The author wasn't calling this the 'waking dream' he calls 'reality' the waking dream. The life we lead while we are awake.

One of his examples of a 'waking dream' is about a man who was leaving the store and started his car but before he even understood what was going on, the car went forward across the small parking lot, crashed through a retaining wall, and ended up broadside across the middle of the street. The author called this a 'waking dream' and went on about interpreting it page after page. This is what I call 'reality' and has nothing to do with anything the man is thinking or what is bothering him in his life. It is due to the fact, just as the mechanic said, the computer that regulated the cruise control wasn't working properly.

Another problem I had is that each person is suppose to 'own' the metaphors. In other words, if someone including one of your co-workers are mean to you, it is a metaphor for something else and you are the one responsible for it. Until you change and address this so called 'waking dream' then it won't go away and will be a re-accruing 'waking dream'. Since when is one person 'responsible' for another person's action? So if you were raped, beaten, or robbed, it is your fault because you didn't pay attention and own your so called 'waking dream' and make changes in your life is simply preposterous that I can't even begin to explain why I totally disagree with it.

Although the author doesn't go so far as to say everything in reality/life when we are awake is a 'waking dream', it does go so far where one gets the impression that not much of life is reality and we either are in a near constant dream state since so much can be interpreted as a 'waking dream'. It is like he is saying if you drop your morning cup for coffee on the floor and it shatters, then you are unhappy in life and feel it is overwhelming and you are being pulled in random pieces. If you wash your clothes, fold, them and realize that there is a wrinkle in them that is stubborn and won't come out then you have a rift in your life and are having marital problems with your spouse that needs to be addressed. If you see the car in front of you crash and are caught in the traffic on your way to work then your life is a disaster and although you choose the road to travel you feel there are obstacles that need to be addressed so you can reach your destination. To me, almost anything in life can be interpreted as his 'waking dream'.

I really did not care for this book or agree with author's concept of 'waking dreams'. Maybe he is 'Always Dreaming' but I am still living in reality.

View all my reviews

* Note: I just want to clarify that this author does write clear, explains himself with examples that are easy to understand, so don't think this low review is because he is an careless/bad writer, He is a good writer but I just don't agree with or care for the subject.

Book 7 of 2015

Winter by Reece Ran
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The cover of the book raised my curiosity up, the story explains the cover which is so fitting for this book plus it brings much more to it than I imagined. The setting is Scranton, PA so I knew 'Winter' would be long, cold, and snowy. Winter by Reece Ran captured my attention however I didn't care for the opening of the story since it was something that really took place much later on in the story. I found it distracting to read a scene of someone throwing something out their window into the snow and then turn the page to find that this person is on a plane coming back from Africa and it is Autumn with no snow and no explanation for this totally different place and time. In fact, at first it had me believing he woke up sweating on the plane because he had fallen asleep and had this memory/nightmare, however after reading on a bit I knew that this was impossible since this wasn't something that happened in the past, it will happen that winter so he couldn't have been remembering/dreaming about it on the plane. Then this opening scene is repeated word for word later on when it really does take place within the story which just throws me off since I read all that before in the beginning. It would have been much more enjoyable if the author just started the story without that powerful scene at the beginning since it totally destroys the impact of it later on.

The plot in the story seemed simple enough but it expanded to different layers with their own sub-plots. The author worked this all into the story with seamless ease and a natural time line (exception of the beginning). The reading was smooth and although it was important to recall some things already read to make sense of what is happening now, it wasn't overwhelming and came very easy. It took twists and turns I never saw coming not only in the horror fiction part, but the mystery and especially the end. On the surface, the plot seemed to be some mysterious thing where winter, more accurately I should say, "snow" comes alive and eats people so no one can go outside in winter once the snow arrives. There is much more to this snow than that, almost like it has an intelligence to actively seek 'man' and destroy him. Then there is the underlying legend of the 'Snowman" and if in fact it is a legend or something real. When the main character's daughter disappears one winter's day, the mystery heightens in many ways and on the many levels.

I also couldn't help but notice, especially toward the end that a lot of what went on in the story can be related to things going on in the world currently. In the book the year is 2049 and there is no middle class, there is only the poor, rich and super-rich which is an event that seems to be taking place now (and has for years): the collapse of the middle class in America. There is also mention of the "God Particle" which I still see mentioned every now and then in the news. Some of other things mentioned are politics, terrorist, genocide, religion, mixed race families/racism, viruses, and weapons of mass destruction.

There are a couple of typos that I noticed, such as the word "doesn't" instead of the word "don't" and the word "the" misplaced in a sentence so it reads, "With the [sic] all the gray snow clouds...." I didn't notice any formatting issues at all.

I enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who enjoys Horror Fiction and Mysteries.

*I received a free copy of this book for my honest review.

View all my reviews