This blog, #TheNewBookReview, is "new" because it eschews #bookbigotry. It lets readers, reviewers, authors, and publishers expand the exposure of their favorite reviews, FREE. Info for submissions is in the "Send Me Your Fave Book Review" circle icon in the right column below. Find resources to help your career using the mini search engine below. #TheNewBookReview is a multi-award-winning blog including a MastersInEnglish.org recommendation.
Monday, November 22, 2021
Wednesday, November 10, 2021
How Listing Your Book on #TheNewBookReview Helps With #AuthorBranding
Has TheNewBookReview Helped You
Get Reviews For Your Book?
by Lois W. Stern
NewBookReview Acquisition Coordinator
Hi!
It's Lois W. Stern here, with some more information on the lists I offer authors seeking reviews for their books, right here on Carolyn Howard-Johnson's TheNewBookReview blog.
If not, don't despair. Just having your book posted on our blog is a good thing, and an especially good thing when it is part of my list of book review requests. Here's why! It helps google discover your book, bringing your title higher up in the search engines. But there's more, something I've learned along the way from all my 'Authors Helping Authors'
The more I lend a helping hand to other authors, the more benefits I get in return, sometimes quite unexpected. It's all about BRANDING. Many of you now know my name. That’s a big plus for any author. And several of you, who likely had never heard of Tales2Inspire® before, submitted stories to my 2021 Tales2Inspire® contest. One of them even became a 2021 winner.
There are some tricks to BRANDING yourself while writing reviews for other authors - spelled out in my article: Taking the Pain Out of Writing Book Reviews, While Adding a Touch of Glory. CLICK HERE to read it now.
If you do write a review for another of our posted authors, we have some neat thank you gifts for you:
GIFT #1:
Our talented banner gal will create a unique banner for you, with your headshot and book cover included, free for you to use for all your marketing endeavors. CHECK IT OUT.
GIFT #2: GO HERE, an
Just scroll down that column to see how we thanked two of our reviewers. And everyone else on this genre list will note that you caught our 'Authors Helping Authors' spirit!
Saturday, November 6, 2021
Carolyn Wilhelm Reviews Carolyn Howard-Johnson and Magdalena Balls' Christmas Poetry
Title: Blooming Red
Subtitle: Christmas Poetry for the Rational
Series: Celebration Series of Chapbooks
Author: Carolyn Howard-Johnson, Magdalena Ball
Publisher: Indy
Publisher Website Address: https://howtodoitfrugally.com
Author Email Address: HoJoNews@aol.com
ISBN-10: 1449948243
ISBN-13: 978-1449948245
ASIN: B004GXB4AW
Price: $5.95 Paperback, $2.99 Kindle
Page Count: 60 pages
Formats: PB, Kindle
Reviewed by Carolyn Wilhelm
Profound and moving poetry reflecting the reality of Christmas, which may not be that of commercials and photos. Early rising when the children are young, aching for those times when they are grown and perhaps have moved away. Howard-Johnson writes of the "echoes of foil tearing, and crushing of frail tissue." She writes the baby in the nativity set is always the first to go missing.
Ball writes about how time is different for children, and "we touched each moment with tiny, trembling hands." She was a child six million years ago, according to one of her poems. She says, ". . . after hours at the mall, belief wears thin."
The poetry is so beautiful, and my review cannot begin to do justice to the writing. This is a book to read again and again. It is the right size to add to a holiday card and would make a perfect present.
More About the Reviewer
Carolyn Wilhelm reviews for Midwest Book Reviews and The New Book Review. She is a veteran educator who builds teaching aids for parents and teachers, many of them free and available on Pinterest. It is an especially valuable time during these long months of teaching via Zoom and working in isolated situations.
Saturday, October 30, 2021
Wesley Britton Finds Another Mystery to Review for The New Book Review Readers
TITLE: Marigold
AUTHOR: William G. Howard
ISBN: 978-1-6657-0260-7 (sc); ISBN: 978-1-6657-0261-4 (e)
ASIN: B08ZSDF3NQ
PUBLISHER: Archway Publishing, March 11. 2021
PURCHASE AT AMAZON
If you like your reads fast-paced, non-stop, wall-to-wall action adventure, William G. Howard’s Marigold just might be your ticket to ride. That’s especially true if you’re an aficionado of video games as so much of this novel reminds me of a multi-layered game with a wide cast of characters always on the move. They’re either chasing or being chased, constantly escaping from perilous situations with clever if often implausible gimmicks to get out of harm’s way, and it’s often difficult to know who are the good guys, who are the baddies.
Howard’s unique vision is set in the year 2270, a time in which eastern countries dominate planet earth, so Howard presents his canvas with a considerable amount of imagery drawn from the mythology of Egypt and India. But this is a world full of dangerous if useful futuristic technology, multi-layered political power struggles, and world threatening dangers ranging from viruses to nuclear bombs.
With all these moving parts and sub-plots, we get so many characters we don’t get to know any of them in any depth. All the publicity for the book focuses on “Marigold,” a half-human, half-android called an “inorganic” woman on the run as she’s suspected of murder she didn’t commit. She was created in the Lyceum Mechaniska laboratory, an inorganic built to assist individuals who have experienced emotional or physical trauma. But she’s now on the run, in danger of being terminated while being on a mission to stop a virus from being released and find the mysterious “Pink Bunny.” She’s being chased by, among others, Detective Chabox Brignadoc, who thinks Marigold might be the victim of a high-level conspiracy.
Marigold’s saga is, however, just one thread of a complex tapestry that never quits. You can’t let your attention lag for a second if you want to keep up with this adventure-on-adventure-on-adventure.
I had to admire howard’s futuristic world-building which is extremely vivid and colorful. You might be a tad disconcerted by just how all the dialogue is so formal and verbose. Still, that is a small quibble in this flood of thrills and chills and surprises, lots of surprises.
More About The Reviewer
Wesley Britton, an author in his own right, is a regular review for #TheNewBookReview as well as other websites like BookPleasures.com:
Saturday, October 9, 2021
Holli Kenley Reviews Dr. Bob Rich's Aniko
Metadata
Title Anikó: The stranger who loved me
Author Dr. Bob Rich
Publisher Anina’s Book Company
ISBN 1-877053-16-3
Link https://bobrich18.wordpress.com/bobs-booklist#aniko
Reviewer Holli Kenley
A Generational Story of Love and Loyalty and the Losses Within Each
When I began reading Ankió: The Stranger Who Loved Me, I was eager to devour a biography. Knowing it was a generational story of a Jewish family set in Hungary during World War II, I prepared myself for an intense and intriguing read. Dr. Bob Rich delivers on every level. I could go on and on about the incredible depth of research into his mother’s life and how it was exquisitely and intricately woven into complex historical events of the time. I could share how much I learned from the unearthing of one family’s saga during the horrors of the Holocaust and of wartime atrocities, but after finishing Anikó, I took away so much more.
Viewing this biography from the lens of a marriage and family therapist as well as someone who knows the heartache and heartbreak of a broken family, I was drawn into the lives of every character – not just Anikó. For me, this was a story of a woman’s profound love – for her husbands, her children, her relatives, her work, and for herself. And yet, those strong bonds of passion carried with them demands for attention and time, revealing the damage resulting from prioritized and competing loyalties.
I found myself connecting with Robi (Bob) and his brother József, especially as children and adolescents. Secure attachments to parental figures are imperative to healthy developmental growth. In the absence of unconditional love, acceptance, and belonging (especially from Anti), both boys struggled with emotional detachment and grief, as they weighed their love for their mother and from her against her loyalties to people and things which served her. As children and young adults, these “losses” are hard to identify and understand. Later in life, they are even harder to reconcile and accept.
I admire the raw openness with which Dr. Rich shares this generational story. As I concluded the book, my heart was warmed that Bob did not succumb to bitterness or resentment. And I was moved by the power of his resilience. In choosing a path of perseverance, Bob drew upon his strength, courage, and commitment to wellness in leading a life of authenticity, integrity, and purpose.
Anikó is, as I stated, so much more than a biography. It is a story of love and loyalty and the losses within each. And it is the story of one man surviving all of it.
Holli Kenley, MA is the author of several powerful books on surviving childhood trauma, includingDaughters Betrayed By Their Mothers: Moving From Brokenness To Wholeness.
Friday, September 24, 2021
Elise Cooper Reviews St. Martin's Press Entry
Defending Britta Stein
Series: Book 6 Liam Taggert and Catherine Lockhart
Author: Ronald H. Balson
Genre: Historical Fiction
St. Martin’s Press
Sept 7th, 2021
Available on Amazon
Reviewed by Elise
Defending Britta Stein by Ronald H. Balson is a wonderful read. Although the book has some courtroom drama including legal strategy and loopholes, most of the story is Britta Stein’s recounting of the events leading up to and during World War II in Denmark. This is historical fiction at its best with bravery, betrayal, and redemption.
Britta Stein is a 92-year-old Jewish Danish woman who emigrated to America. She is being sued for defamation after being seen and then admitting to spray painting “Coward,” “Traitor,” “Collaborator,” and “War Criminal” on the walls of a restaurant. The owner, 95-year-old Ole Henryks, will be honored by the Danish/American Association for his many civic and charitable contributions. Frequently appearing on local TV, he is well known for his actions of saving Jews in Nazi-occupied Denmark during World War II and is considered a hero. But not to Britta who claims he was anything but and sent Jews to their deaths including her sister and brother-in-law.
Attorney Catherine Lockhart and Investigator Liam Taggart, husband, and wife, have agreed to defend Britta and have as an assistant counsel her granddaughter Emma. The plot alternates between present day Chicago (2018) and Britta’s oral account of her memories of her homeland of Denmark prior to the presence of the Nazis and during World War II. They are up against “Six o’clock” Sterling Sparks, Henryk’s’ shady attorney, who pushes for a speedy trial and is willing to waive witness lists and pretrial exhibits. Readers anxiously turn the pages hoping Britta will be vindicated since they take a journey with her during the horrific events.
What is very interesting is the way Balson contrasts defamation versus freedom of speech, the consequences of staying versus leaving, and Denmark’s role in protecting its Jewish citizens. “I wanted to show how the Danes were wonderful. I hoped to get across through the civil jury trial here in America what it was like to be a Dane and Jewish. As I recounted in the book, there were plenty of non-Jews who put themselves at risk to help save the 7600 Jewish citizens in Denmark. They were hidden in hospitals, churches, stores, and homes. Many also helped the Jews get to Sweden. I wanted to show how the Danes had emotional pride and belief in their own country.”
“I have this scene in the book between Catherine her lawyer, and Britta. Catherine says, “I know it’s easy for me to say in hindsight, and it’s not fair, I shouldn’t judge, but the consequences of staying were dire, yet they found some reason to ignore the writing on the wall, which to me defies logic and good sense.” Britta responds, that if they could see into the future a wiser decision could have been made; yet, they “would have packed up and left everything and everyone… your job, your home, your profession, and headed off blindly in some unknown direction… At that time, in 1943 Hitler owned Europe.” It is a constant theme in a lot of my books. They all had the same opportunity to leave. But how does someone leave everything including family and community. Where would they go? How many countries would have taken in millions of Jews? What the Nazis did continued to escalate, and no one could imagine the concentration camps. Many thought they could last out the war.”
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Authors, readers, publishers, and reviewers may republish their favorite reviews of books they want to share with others. 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 and love. Please see submission guidelines in a tab at the top of this blog's home page or go directly to the submission guidelines at http://bit.ly/ThePlacetoRecycleBookReviews or to the guideline tab at the top of the home page of this blog. Authors and publishers who do not yet have reviews or want more may use Lois W. Stern's "Authors Helping Authors" service for requesting reviews. Find her guidelines in a tab at the top of the home page, too. Carolyn Wilhelm is our IT expert, an award-winning author, a veteran educator and also contributes reviews and posts on other topics related to books. Reviews, interviews, and articles on this blog are indexed by genre, reviewers' names, and review sites so #TheNewBookReview may be used as a resource for most anyone in the publishing industry. As an example, writers will find this blog's 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. #TheFrugalbookPromoter, #CarolynHowardJohnson, #TheNewBookReview, #TheFrugalEditor, #SharingwithWriters, #reading #BookReviews #GreatBkReviews #BookMarketing