Monday, February 6, 2017

A. Keith Carreiro - The Penitent - Review & Giveaway



About the Book

A baby is born and placed in his dead mother's arms. When the funeral shroud is cast over her, his father decides to name his son Pall. It will soon become a name that strikes a shiver into the hearts of those who hear it in combat. A lone survivor on a battlefield many years later, Pall dazedly recovers from the wounds of war. Despite the dead cast about him, everything he looks upon is unfamiliar to him. Wandering away from this scene of carnage, he encounters John Savage, a giant of a man who puts Pall within the sight of Savage's seven–foot, nocked longbow. What ensues from this deadly encounter is an elusive journey for truth. Yet, it is haunted not just by a ravening demon that is out to destroy Pall and John, but by the vision of a startling beautiful young woman protecting Pall from afar.




My Review

In the midst of a post-apocalyptic descent into savagery, the tender heart of humanity is still beating strong.

Where?

In the family.

Pall is a young warrior who is brutally tortured by a gang of marauding thugs. Before they're able to kill him, he's lucky enough to escape into the forest, where he takes comfort in his happy childhood memories. Even though his mother died giving birth to him - hence his name, Pall - he grew to love his stepmother just as much. Looking back, Pall deeply appreciates, how along with his father, the two of them created such a loving environment for him to grow up in, despite the tragic way he entered the world.

As he grasps the sword his father made for him, he is filled with pride, knowing how it was forged from the metal of "heaven's own starry host." It's a blade that knows not defeat, a priceless gift, and Pall is well aware that by wielding it, he is sworn to uphold his calling to protect the weak, the ill and the aged. The job falls to him to uphold justice in a land ravaged by violence and cruelty, and Pall willingly shoulders the burden of responsibility that comes along with that.

Yet even among so much hostility, Pall encounters kindness in the form of a young, married couple and their two little girls. His heart immediately goes out to them when he sees how vulnerable they are, and he agrees to help them cross a raging river with their wagon full of supplies. It's a beautiful expression of camaraderie and goodwill, knowing that even if they make it, they're still going to be facing nearly insurmountable odds to stay alive.

Despite the unforgiving environment, Pall is able to see in them a reflection of his own upbringing, and it gives him hope that maybe all is not lost. A glimmer of what he remembers so fondly still remains, and Pall cherishes the love this family has for each other. For him, they are a bright light shining through the darkness, refusing to go out.

And I, for one, love the message that goes along with that.

***

The Penitent can be purchased at:
Amazon
Lulu

Prices/Formats: $3.99 ebook, $13.99 paperback
Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy
Pages: 254
Release: November 1, 2016
Publisher: self-published
ISBN: 9781365287077
Click to add to your Goodreads list.

***

About the Author

A. Keith Carreiro earned his master’s and doctoral degrees from Harvard Graduate School of Education, with the sequential help and guidance of three advisors, Dr. Vernon A. Howard, Dr. Donald Oliver and Professor Emeritus, Dr. Israel Scheffler. Keith’s academic focus, including his ongoing research agenda, centers upon philosophically examining how creativity and critical thinking are acquired, learned, utilized and practiced in the performing arts. He has taken his findings and applied them to the professional development of educational practitioners.

Earlier in his teaching career he was a professor of educational foundations, teaching graduate students of education at universities in Vermont, Florida, Arizona, and Pennsylvania. He currently teaches as an adjunct professor of English at Bridgewater State University, as well as teaching English, philosophy, humanities and public speaking courses at Bristol Community College.

He lives in Swansea, Massachusetts with his wife Carolyn. They have six children and 13 grandchildren. They belong to an eighty–five–pound golden retriever, an eight–pound Maltese, and an impish Calico cat.

Due to his love of family, he has seen his fervor for history, as well as his passion for wondering about the future, deepen dramatically.

Starting on May 23rd until October 9th of 2014, he sat down at his computer on a daily basis and began writing the first book of a science fiction/fantasy thriller in a beginning series about the quest for human immortality.

Links to connect with A. Keith:
Web Site
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Blog


About the Giveaway

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Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Bonnie M. Hennessy - Twisted - Review & Giveaway



About the Book

An old tale tells the story of how a little man named Rumpelstiltskin spun straw into gold and tricked a desperate girl into trading away her baby. But that’s not exactly how it happened. The real story began with a drunken father who kept throwing money away on alcohol and women, while his daughter, Aoife, ran the family farm on her own. When he gambled away everything they owned to the Duke, it was up to her to spin straw into gold to win it all back. With her wits and the help of a magical guardian, she outsmarted the Duke and saved the day. Well almost… Her guardian suddenly turned on Aoife and sent her on a quest to find his name, the clues to which were hidden deep in the woods, a moldy dungeon, and a dead woman’s chamber. This is not the tale of a damsel in distress, but a tenacious, young woman who solved a mystery so great that not even the enchanted man who spun straw into gold could figure it out. Not until Aoife came along.




My Review

Aoife is a strong, modern heroine, a girl who's not only out to define herself, but a girl who flat out refuses to be defined by others. She's not interested in fitting into any preconceived gender roles that are laid out for her. She's ready to wear the pants in the family if she has to. Getting all dolled up to land a rich husband … no, thank you. Her freedom is what's most important to her. She's definitely not someone who's won over by false flattery or sparkly gifts. How refreshing!

All she's looking for is for someone to have faith in her abilities. That's it. Sounds simple, right?

Yet even in a fairy tale setting, those around her continue to underestimate her. And I admire how their lack of insight only fuels her determination even more. She's had enough of the hypocrisy. She's not about to be subdued by anyone or anything—not if she can help it. No one's going to control this feisty lass.

Until her drunk, philandering father loses her in a game of cards to an arrogant, young duke. Yet even then, Aoife doesn't let the overwhelming sense of disappointment crush her. She's good at getting herself out of impossible situations, and she's quick to hatch an escape plan in order to free herself from this hasty, unwanted marriage.

But after awhile, she comes to learn that the idea of ever finding a soul mate, or "perfect" love, may not really exist. It becomes clear to her that, when threatened, darkness lurks inside every heart, including her own. When the duke finally lets down his guard and shows her the light he has burning inside his tormented soul, I really started pulling for the two of them to make it—especially when Aoife, herself, begins to hope that she can ultimately win in this twisted game of love, despite the losing hand she was dealt at the beginning.

Even though she's willing to give the duke a second chance, it's still not going to be easy for her to adapt to being a wife. The insecurities that her mother repeatedly drilled into her head begin to influence her—like how a man would only ever want her for her body or that she's a woman so therefore she needs the protection of a man in order to survive.

Yet Aoife is not a girl who runs away from what scares her. Instead, she courageously decides to trust her new husband, and when she does, she discovers that she may be the only true source of love he's ever had in his life. Thus, giving her what she's always wanted—a purpose.

***

Twisted can be purchased at:
Amazon

Prices/Formats: $2.99 ebook, $12.99 paperback
Genre: Fantasy, Mythological, Fairy Tale
Pages: 306
Release: November 11, 2016
Publisher: self-published
ISBN: 9781539753421
Click to add to your Goodreads list.

***

About the Author

Bonnie grew up a shy, quiet girl who the teachers always seated next to the noisy boys because they knew she was too afraid to talk to anyone. She always had a lot she wanted to say but was too afraid to share it for fear she might die of embarrassment if people actually noticed her. Somewhere along the line, perhaps after she surprised her eighth grade class by standing up to a teacher who was belittling a fellow student, she realized that she had a voice and she didn’t burst into flames when her classmates stared at her in surprise.

Not long after that, she began spinning tales, some of which got her into trouble with her mom. Whether persuading her father to take her to the candy store as a little girl or convincing her parents to let her move from Los Angeles to Manhattan to pursue a career at eighteen as a ballet dancer with only $200 in her pocket, Bonnie has proven that she knows how to tell a compelling story.

Now she spends her time reading and making up stories for her two children at night. By day she is an English teacher who never puts the quiet girls next to the noisy boys and works hard to persuade her students that stories, whether they are the ones she teaches in class or the ones she tells to keep them from daydreaming, are better escapes than computers, phones, and social media.

Links to connect with Bonnie:
Web Site
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Goodreads


About the Giveaway

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