Corridors of My Mind - Angel M.B. Chadwick

Angel M.B. Chadwick's Corridors of My Mind is a poignant collection of poetry, written from the first hand experiences of its talented author. I'm a prolific reader and thought I could read through them at a relatively quick pace. I was wrong.  Chadwick's prose are intense and deeply heart-wrenching, beautiful in their fluidity and realism. Corridors of My Mind is not a work that can be simply read—it is too powerful for that. It's consuming in both its sadness and strength, and you will find yourself engrossed within the very first few lines of Pretty Girl.

I was especially inspired by the poem Never Back Down, one of the shortest poems in this collection. Its condensed length does not curb its heavy energy, but instead enhances the force of the stanzas. Chadwick clearly has an exceptional talent for emotional and gripping composition, and Corridors of My Mind is a testament to that gift. I was moved in ways that I didn't expect, absorbed in this literary marvel where the words flow off the page like gorgeous ballads, and straight into your soul.

"I take the blame; I claim its name; I evoked it, provoked it from whence it came…" ~Mark of the Dark, Corridors of My Mind

FIVE STARS

Amazon Link: Corridors of My Mind

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Circulus de Potentia - Jim West

In Jim West's Circulus de Potentia, book two of the Magicae Mathematica series, we start with Archimedes and Diades, wizard and apprentice. Another of Archimedes' apprentices, Demetrius, has fallen in love with Anul, daughter of Councilman Etan and fiancé to the son of Samoht, Semlac . After a tragic turn of events, Diades and Demetrius flee, spending years in hiding, practicing their craft, plotting revenge, and creating the Circulus de Potentia—a gold band of fire and strength. When the Circulus falls into the hands of an unknown and dangerous challenger, it is up to a group of young apprentices, led by an apprentice named Alex, to seek out the Master Wizard of the Forest, Pythagoras. They are then sent to the Labryinthus de Sonim, a mathematical maze which nobody has ever come out of…and all the while Diades and Demetrius seek to stop them.

Jim West's Circulus de Potentia is , frankly, absolutely exceptional. With marvelously detailed imagery and an intelligent story line that blends fantasy and mathematics, West has delivered a literary treasure. While Circulus de Potentia is the second book of the Magicae Mathematica series, it reads easily as a standalone and I was immediately engrossed in the tale without any back-story whatsoever. The dialogue is intelligent, the plot is engaging and perfectly paced, and the characters are convincing and layered enough that I found myself somewhat empathizing with ones I would not have otherwise. It's pretty rare to come across a childrens/YA book that is laden with math and Latin, and actually find that it enhances an already riveting story. West has done this—and more—in Circulus de Potentia, which I wholeheartedly give five-stars, recommend to readers of all ages, and eagerly wait for the third installment of the Magicae Mathematica series.

This review was written by me for Readers' Favorite.

FIVE STARS

Amazon Link: Circulus de Potentia (Magicae Mathematica) (Volume 2)

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Kindred Passage - Gregory Gourlay

Two stories that are set one-hundred years apart, running parallel until they finally converge; the past foreshadowing the present, and the present echoing the past. Kindred Passage is the tale of Ken Mallory and Aaron Pritchard in 1960's Africa, and Lucas Lindsay and Adrian Reese in 1860's Africa. Following a family tragedy, Mallory moves himself to Zambia, as his great-grandfather had before him. Soon partnered with Aaron Pritchard out of necessity, Mallory discovers a mounting depravity that makes the wickedness of 1960's Zambia pale by comparison. Meanwhile, Lucas Lindsay and Adrian Reese twist through disturbingly analogous circumstances a century beforehand, against a backdrop of war, ivory hunting, and human bondage.

Kindred Passage pushed me outside of my comfort zone with its authentic and unapologetic depiction of Africa during both the 1860's and 1960's. The dialogue is frank and all portrayals are wholly credible to the time, which lends to both the integrity of the story and its author. Gregory Gourlay is a master of description, making Africa itself a virtual character in its own right—as absorbing and detailed as Mallory, Pritchard, Lindsay, and Reese. Kindred Passage balances perfectly between bold and beautiful, gritty and gripping. It is absolutely riveting and I wholeheartedly recommend this book, giving it an easy five stars.

FIVE STARS

Amazon Link: Kindred Passage

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Cover Art - Michael Patrick Lewis (FREE!)

I took a very well spent 15 minutes out of my day to read Cover Art after it was recommended by an author who found it to be hilarious. It is a true short story at only 2,000 words...and I adored it! Possibly the funniest work I have read in ages. Michael Patrick Lewis is a master of satire. I have never attempted to write a book myself (nor would I try!), but Cover Art does a great job poking fun at the process and the drudgery of an authors quest to hit their daily word count.

FIVE STARS

You won't find cover Art on Amazon, but it is free at both Smashwords and Kobo.

2084 - Melanie Schulz

I actually give this book is 3.5 stars--the extra half because I have a great deal of respect for authors whose self published titles are even remotely enjoyable. The story was well outlined, but I personally found it to have too much dialogue and not enough of a descriptive element. I understand being written in the first person this is standard, but I didn't feel the places Liz went were described enough to bring me there with her. A little more fleshing out would have gone a long way. I also found several typos and grammatical errors (the first two being right smack on page one), and those always hamper the flow for any reader.

With that being said, this is a nice, quick, satisfying read. The storyline is good and you dive directly into the plot. Liz is a likeable, real character and I found myself rooting for her throughout. I finished the book in a single day, which is a testament to the unique storyline and pace of the book.

THREE AND A HALF STARS

Amazon Link: 2084

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This Book Belongs To - Daley James Francis

I had a wonderful time reading this to my 11 year old daughter over the weekend. I started reading it to her on Sunday morning and it was such a hit with her that by Monday morning she had finished it herself.

Creative and amusing, this is a great story for any child--and funny enough for adults to read along with also. Aside from some run-on sentences and quite a few cliches, the story is without the usual flaws of spelling and grammatical errors often encountered with indie books. As a parent, that is important to me. Children learn from the books they read whether they realize it or not. The last thing I want is my daughter thinking they are normal, and this book doesn't disappoint in that regard.

I enthusiastically recommend this delightful, fanciful story!

FOUR STARS

Amazon Link: This Book Belongs To

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Welcome To London, Mr. Shakespeare - D. Lawrence Young

Welcome to London, William Shakespeare is a fictionalized chronicle of history's most celebrated author and playwright's "lost years." It's evident that D. Lawrence-Young has done significant research in writing this book, as the details surrounding what we do know about Shakespeare during this time are evenly applied throughout the story. These scant facts are used as the story's stepping stones, the parts between filled in cleverly by Lawrence-Young--and Shakespeare is brought to life.

Set against the turbulent Catholic-Protestant bloodbath of Elizabethan England, we start in the Henley Street home of Shakespeare's parents, John and Mary. I was impressed by the authors ability to reach deeper into Shakespeare's past and into the troubles of his father, who started high, fell low, and was finally able to hitch his wagon to his son's shooting star to rise again.

As a reader, I have the advantage of having visited the Henley Street house--now the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust--and was delighted to have it fleshed out for me again by Lawrence-Young. It's hard to imagine Shakespeare as a glove maker, but that was his early course, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. He meets Anne Hathaway who is eight years his senior--and in a forecasting of the celebrity to come--he impregnates her before marriage. He's happy with Anne, but has ambition beyond a husband, father, and glove maker. He visits London, returns to Stratford-upon-Avon, and leaves again a final time. This is when we are transported to London during one of its most tumultuous eras, to accompany Shakespeare on his ascent to the author we recognize today.

I enjoyed reading Lawrence-Young's Welcome to London, William Shakespeare. The story is well written, entertaining, and easy to read. I would recommend it to anyone looking for an amusing YA interpretation of what Shakespeare's early life and years in London might have been like.

I was given a free copy of this book and reviewed it for Readers' Favorite.

FOUR STARS

Amazon Link: Welcome to London, William Shakespeare

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