Reviews By Charline

“Severed Threads”

Author: Kaylin McFarren

“Severed Threads” by new author Kaylin McFarren definitely lives up to its “Romantic Suspense” genre listing. At two hundred and eighty-three pages it’s a fairly quick read and I found it to be interesting and well-written. I would also hazard a guess and say that McFarren holds some level of scuba certification as her underwater scenes are portrayed both accurately and knowledgeably.

As I began reading my copy of “Severed Threads” I was happy to find that the first chapter was an adventuresome “prequel” of sorts. Personally, I always enjoy when authors provide their readers with an earlier stage of the tale they are about to share.

In “Severed Threads” Rachel Lyons, the book’s main female character, lost her father Sam in a diving accident four years ago. It seems that she has never been able to completely close that chapter of her life and it doesn’t help that the coroner could never provide a specific reason for Sam’s untimely demise. Ultimately Rachel feels responsible for his death and, not knowing how to properly cope with his loss, she has removed herself from the beauty of the underwater world; settling instead for a desk job at a foundation office.

Unfortunately for Rachel, museum director Dr. Ying and…old friend of her father’s schedules a meeting with her to discuss his grant request; the grant request focused on finding the mythical Chinese merchant ship the Wanlii II; the same ship that cost her father his life. Needless to say Rachel wants nothing to do with this obviously cockamamie and crazy endeavor especially since there isn’t any hard proof to substantiate the wreck’s supposed final resting place. During Rachel’s logical attempt to explain this to Dr. Ying she is stopped short when Chase Cohen, her old boyfriend and the man who was her father’s dive buddy that fateful day four years ago, walks through the door. What follows is an intriguing tale of mystery, deception and murder…

In summary, “Severed Threads” was a well-written compilation of convoluted plots, intrigue, and paranormal; I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys any of the above genres.

“Rebellion of Silence”

Author: Brittney Martin

Being an avid Science Fiction fan I really wanted to love “Rebellion of Silence” by new author Brittney Martin. Unfortunately what I wound up with at the book’s end was a rather dismal “it was okay” feeling.

In all fairness I found the jacket description of “Rebellion of Science” to be interesting; this was what prompted me to read it in the first place. Sadly Martin’s writing style / ability is what was lacking and consequently this book became a less than enjoyable read for me.

The premise for “Rebellion of Silence” is good: A bloodthirsty race of inhuman creatures known as the Rahion are bent on destroying everything the city of Kirave holds dear. Avarah, a main character in this tale, is one of the many who have joined the rebellion known only as “Silence.” These rebels are determined to free their city and bring both justice and truth back to the people. In order to succeed Avarah must place her trust in a man who himself is part Rahion and the story that follows sets the stage for what is apparently meant to be the first book in “The Adon Series.”

With that said, what wasn’t good about “Rebellion of Silence” was the writing… Martin obviously has a great imagination but her writing was neither clear nor concise. There were a lot of inconsistencies; loose ends that were never explained and major flaws with grammar that left me subconsciously scratching my head while trying to piece together what Martin was trying to say. For example: “Sier dropped his arms to his side and smirked when even the group of criminally oriented men, standing around a cluttered table, glimpsed over them.” I literally had to reread that sentence three times to figure out what I think Martin meant. Maybe it was supposed to read: “Sier dropped his arms to his sides and smirked when the group of criminally oriented men standing around a cluttered table glanced over at them.”

For just the grammatical reasons alone “Rebellion of Silence” was a difficult read; I had to slog through two hundred and seventy five pages that were disjointed; did not flow well and…did not always make sense. I hope that Martin will be able to take something constructive and helpful from this review because I do understand that what makes a book great, whether fact or fiction, is the writer’s ability to successfully grab and hold the reader’s attention. Martin – keep using your imagination and continue forward with the “Adon” series but think about taking some classes to help with your writing skills. Also, finding a professional editor to help you wouldn’t be a bad idea either…

“Passage to Hiroshima”

Author: Gordonn T. Allred

I’ve just finished reading “Passage to Hiroshima” by Gordon T. Allred. This book is the first volume of the “Rising Sun” series and in “Passage to Hiroshima” Allred has definitely set the stage for future novels. At only one hundred and forty-seven pages I did find “Passage to Hiroshima” to be too quick of a read for me but…at least it was an enjoyable one.

Moving on to the story… It’s late 1941 and Zenji Yamato is a twenty year old Japanese American who currently resides in Utah. His parents moved to the United States when he was just eight so that his father, Masahisa Yamato, could embrace his personal dream of being a successful restaurateur rather than sharing the success of his brother’s dream: the shipping industry.

For the last several years Zenji has been saving up; intending to return to Japan, the land of his birth, to visit his relatives. The date for his departure is almost upon him and while Zenji is ecstatic his mother is not. She understands her son; knows that he is a bit of a dare-devil and she worries that he will get himself into trouble. While she cannot convince him to forego his trip she does manage to extract a promise from him that he will not intentionally seek out danger. Having read that Zenji threw common sense and caution to the winds; almost dying of hypothermia days before his leaving, I idly wondered how effectual that obligatory promise would really be.

“Passage to Hiroshima” is an interesting variation of current happenings followed by recollections of Zenji’s past memories and childhood experiences before finally remaining anchored in the present. There’s even an interesting interaction with a plane from a Japanese aircraft carrier that had me holding my breath for a moment or two…

While I’m not going to give away any more of the story I will say that “Passage to Hiroshima” was a good read although not quite what I had been expecting. (In a good way.) Allred is a great writer; extremely descriptive in a direct and to the point manner which is appreciated. I do look forward to reading future books from this series and I would recommend “Passage to Hiroshima” to anyone who enjoys the “Action” or “Adventure” reading genres.

“Defending A King – His Life & Legacy”

Author: Dr. Karen Moriarty

“Defending A King – His Life & Legacy…” what a powerful story; especially to someone like myself who never followed the media frenzy that constantly surrounded Michael Jackson. I loved the majority of his music; I was impressed by the humanitarian work he provided globally but…I was uninterested in the rumor and speculation that continuously followed him around. Consequently, most of my knowledge about Jackson ended with whichever song of his wound up being played on the radio.

That’s not to say I was unaware of the many years of drama; it just means that I preferred not to speculate about that which I had no knowledge. I will admit, I did take pause when Jackson agreed to settle a sexual misconduct case outside of court in the early nineties. However, I wasn’t privy to the details of the case so I chose to shrug it off. In retrospect, settling probably wasn’t the smartest move on Jackson’s part but after reading “Defending A King – His Life & Legacy” I have a much better understanding of why he made that choice. I would even go so far as to say that Jackson’s true personality would never have allowed him to do anything but what he did even had he known then how it would make him a much easier target in future.

“Defending A King – His Life & Legacy” was a great book. It was thoughtful, honest, well-written and contained substantiated information from people close to Jackson / reliable sources. “Defending A King – His Life & Legacy” provides the reader with a heartbreaking look at the last few years of Jackson’s life. After a devastating five month trial where Jackson’s entire life was put on public display; where he was ridiculed, belittled, scorned and more is it any wonder that Jackson lost his usual “spark” and possibly even his faith in humanity?

Millennia ago someone with Jackson’s message would have been hailed as a prophet… He would have traveled the globe; spreading his message of love and acquiring followers wherever he went through the power of his charisma, words and actions. In today’s world of fast paced living coupled with incredible technological advances can we really say that’s not what he was? During his short life Michael provided countless messages of love, hope and peace and shared them with everyone. He frequently traveled the world in an attempt to raise our awareness; he had his “followers” aka fans and he acquired more with each country he visited.

I only hope that the people and companies currently capitalizing from Michael Jackson’s fame also remember to “give something back.” While I doubt that Michael would ever begrudge anyone the happiness that can be borne from their successes I do think he would feel disappointment if his ever present lessons of love, compassion and caring were overlooked and ignored.

In closing, a phenomenal and eye-opening read. A huge thank you to Moriarty for having taken the time to write “Defending A King – His Life & Legacy” as well as a big thank you to all who came forward and shared their remembrances with her.