The New Book Review

Monday, September 26, 2011

Steve Spencer , originally for Amazon. A 5-Star Review.

With "Angel," Ms. Hughes didn't quite knock it out of the park. She did, however, bang the ball into the gap for an easy stand-up triple--and for that, she deserves every one of the five stars I'm giving her. (She's British, so I hope she'll forgive the baseball analogy. I guess the cricket equivalent would be hitting a "four" instead of a "six.")

Time travel's been done before; so has the Titanic; so have Merlin and Excalibur--but to put it all together and make it work demonstrates artistry of a high order. I won't give away the added twist, except to say that it pushed me out of 4 stars and into 5. I think you'll like it, too.

For American readers, the British punctuation may be disconcerting in places (I don't know what their rules are). Also, "its" and "it's" are reversed throughout, and there are one or two historical solecisms (Stonehenge was not one of the original Seven Wonders of the World, the ancient Greeks having never seen the place); but none of that detracts appreciably from the story, and I can recommend "Angel of the Titanic" to you wholeheartedly. "

~A Ripple in Time is Hughes debut novel.

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Heather Leister Reviews Children's Electronic Picture Book

Title: Brave RooneyAuthor: Gerry Renert

Author website link: http://www.gerryrenert.com
Genre: Children's Electronic Picture Books.
Publisher/Developer: Bacciz LLC
Buy Link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/brave-rooney/id444860680?mt=8

Reviewed by Heather Leister, the iPhoneMom

Brave Rooney is a fantastic storybook app for the start of a new school year. It’s the story of a boy named Rooney who finds himself going to a brand new school. At this school all of the kids are literally superheroes but he is just ordinary Rooney, a boy who’s having a tough time fitting in. One day the school has a poetry recital and the brave and fearless superheroes become scared to death about getting in front of each other. Rooney has the courage to be the first one to share and he shows them all a different kind of bravery. This is a terrific story about accepting others differences and being okay with your own self.

Brave Rooney was written by Gerry Renert who is an award winning and Emmy nominated children’s television writer. He’s tapped into this familiar worry, “Will I fit in?”, and he presents it in a humorous way that I think children will really understand and relate to. I know my kids did! The illustrations are fun and there are interactions woven throughout the story. This story is a winner for back to school or any time of the year!

~Learn more about the author at http://www.gerryrenert.com

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Author and Poet Reviews Sci-Fi and Romance Book

Title: Hidebound

Author: Joy V. Smith
Author's website: http://pagadan.wordpress.com/
Genre: Science fiction/romance
ISBN: 978-1-4658-4677-8
[Note: Adult content]

Reviewed by Vincent Miskell originally for Amazon

Fissa's desire for independence, leaving the safety of her home planet to travel space on her cousin's ship, the St. Catherine, may be her first and final adventure. The ship is attacked, and she crash-lands in a shuttle on a planet covered with carnivorous vegetation. Now her life is in the hands of Ferenc, an alien humanoid with strange physical powers. Will he abandon her, force himself upon her, or continue to save her as they journey over deadly terrain? Under the constant threat of death and with a growing attraction for the enigmatic humanoid, Fissa must grow up fast and make some life-altering choices. Joy V. Smith has deftly combined science fiction adventure with romance, realistically exploring an emotional and physical relationship between human and humanoid.

~Reviewer Vincent Miskell is a college instructor, a writer, and a poet. His short fiction has appeared in Rosebud, Intertext, Eclipse, and in the SF Read more at Amazon's Vincent Miskell Page http://www.amazon.com/Vincent-Miskell/e/B001K8RFXQ/ref=sr_tc_2_rm?qid=1316387745&sr=1-2-ent

Learn more about author Joy Smith at http://pagadan.livejournal.com/
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Friday, September 23, 2011

A Novel of Ancient Ireland Reviewed

Bending The Boyne

Author : J.S. Dunn

www.jsdunnbooks.com

FB page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bending-The-Boyne/192198197473429

Genre: Historical fiction -- A novel of ancient Ireland

ISBN: 978 09831554 16
Available in print 350 pp and e-reader (Kindle, Nook)

Favorite review, re-used with permission of Foreword online reviews by Shoilee Khan

This novel follows the trials of Boann, the bright and resilient daughter of Oghma, a revered stone carver among the Starwatchers. Boann, an herbalist and aspiring astronomer is youthful, strong, and wary of the Invaders and their brusque advance into Starwatcher territory. The Invaders steal livestock with abandon and with every passing day grow more reckless in their deeds, testing the limits of the “quiet ones” with their violence and greed. Boann’s heart yearns for Cian, a former apprentice to her father and she struggles to understand why he has left his people to live amongst the Invaders. When animosity between the two peoples reaches its peak, Boann finds herself agreeing to an unwanted marriage to create peace. From this, a violent and impassioned beginning unfurls and Ireland is born.

Dunn’s creation of Boann is vivid and powerful and is perhaps one of the greatest strengths of this book. She is a full- fledged character whose nuances create a relatable and realistic rendition of a young woman in the Bronze Age. Boann has dreams, fears, and aspirations. Her feelings about life and love humanize her—she is not simply a flat figure in ancient history mimicking the movements attributed to women of the Bronze Age in history books. Boann serves as a gateway into a period of history often relegated to the dusty corners of our brains simply because it seems too ancient, too long ago.

Because she is so real, the reader cares about her struggles and by extension finds the epic and even mythical aspects of Ireland’s history more accessible.

The allure of historical fiction lies in its ability to bring periods of history thrillingly to life. Often in this genre, vast amounts of historical detail distance the reader or create a clunky text where fictional characters compete with passages that read like pages from a history book. While there are moments where certain facts—such as the method for creating copper and bronze—seem more didactic than necessary, overall, Bending the Boyne succeeds in creating a seamless text where historical research and imagined worlds interweave effortlessly. This is a superb novel that will be of particular interest to readers of historical fiction as well as those with a keen interest in archeology and myth making.

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Thursday, September 22, 2011

Professional Marketer Gives Frugal Book Promoter Five Stars

The Frugal Book Promoter, Second Edition
Subtitle: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher.
Published by HowToDoItFrugally
By Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Cover by Chaz DeSimone, www.chazdesimone.com
ISBN: 9781463743291
Order at www.budurl.com/FrugalBkPromo
Also available for Kindle

Reviewed by

Eric V. Van Der Hope (Fox Hills - Culver City, California) originally for Amazon

This review is from: The Frugal Book Promoter: Second Edition: (Paperback)

My first `introduction' of Carolyn Howard-Johnson was after reading her first edition of `The Frugal Book Promoter: How To Do What Your Publisher Won't' back in 2007. Definitely a book full of useful ideas, strategies & techniques to implement a promotional `plan of attack' for any book! Many authors don't have the means necessary to afford big advertising campaigns to fund their marketing, promotion or publicity. Carolyn is able to share with her readers how they can be just as effective with publicity without having deep pockets. This book was one of my first marketing/publicity resources that I purchased before publishing my first book and it's one of the reasons why my own book Mastering Niche Marketing' has seen the success it has.

If you can compare a book to something of value, I'd say that Carolyn's First Edition was like Silver! However, Carolyn's Second Edition of `The Frugal Book Promoter: Second Edition: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher' can be compared in value to GOLD.

This edition is an update to her first book (128 more pages full of valuable content) that contains additional promotional and marketing techniques that can be used on a limited budget but doesn't take away from the effectiveness. Carolyn is able to draw from her own experience in the industry and reveal how authors can do their own promotion more effectively, better than that of the publisher (who probably wouldn't do it at all) and even a professional publicist. It's been said that the author of a book knows their book best and thus they'd probably be in a position to know what their readers are searching for. `The Frugal Book Promoter: Second Edition: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher' should be one of the first books on your list to get if you wish to promote your book successfully. It's practical and full of useful techniques and strategies that even well-seasoned publishers, authors and publicists would benefit from!

What are you waiting for . . . ? Still undecided . . . ? Then the 100+ reviews from Carolyn's First Edition of `The Frugal Book Promoter: How To Do What Your Publisher Won't' should be a motivating factor that this book should be read, studied and used (put into action)!

~Reviewer Eric V. Van Der Hope is a publisher and #1 Best-selling Author of 'Mastering Niche Marketing'

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Site Offers Foreword Review FREE

There is a new free service that will benefit readers. The media release is below. Authors seeding reviews will also find the information about Foreword Reviews magazine useful, I'm sure. ~ Carolyn Howard-Johnson

ForeWord Reviews Offered FREE on Zinio!

Same resourceful literary magazine,
now available digitally online

TRAVERSE CITY, MI; Sept 20, 2011―ForeWord Reviews, the only book review magazine to feature independent publishers exclusively, is now available online free from Zinio, one of the world’s largest online magazine and newspaper sources!

In response to our readership’s expanded use of digital devices and online sources,
and evidencing a growing concern for the environment, ForeWord has
partnered with Zinio to deliver professional, independent book reviews online. Read ForeWord Reviews from your iPad, iPhone, Android device, desktop, or laptop—book reviews, peer opinion pieces, and author interviews accessible at a moment’s notice while still preserving the aesthetic of the magazine.

"For the first time, in addition to our regular print magazine, ForeWord’s readers can subscribe to a digital version for easy access—anytime, anywhere," said ForeWord Reviews Publisher Victoria Sutherland. "The digital version of ForeWord Reviews allows us to better serve readers by providing enriched content from advertisers, such as links and videos, and by giving free, immediate access to all the outstanding articles and reviews you’ve come to expect from ForeWord Reviews."

Benefits of ForeWord Online to librarians and booksellers:

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Sign up for your free subscription! It’s easy, and it’s free. Receiving the digital version of ForeWord Reviews from
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Simply click on this Zinio link.
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Enjoy reading ForeWord Reviews online at your convenience!

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :

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