Book Club Reporter Book Reviews

Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead - Women’s Contemporary MysteryFiction

Support the show

DARK MATTER INTRIGUING SCIENCE FICTION STORY NOVEL
Dark Matter is an intriguing science fiction story. Author Blake Crouch and narrator, Jon Lindstrom, take us on a high-speed expedition through quantum physics and alternate lives, and one you will likely never forget.

• Dark Matter is an engaging story having to do with Quantum physics. I certainly cannot say I understand how the theories work, or if any of the theories are sound. But, I can say that some parts of the theories do tie in with things I have wondered about over the years.
• So, I decided to take a little quantum leap of my own when I downloaded and listened to the Dark Matter audiobook. Thus, I began my trip through the story of Jason Dessen’s quantum journey where he is nagged by the question that precipitated his strange quantum sojourn: “Are you happy with your life?”

As the Dark Matter story begins, Jason is kidnapped at gun point and drugged. And the next thing Jason knows, he is on a quantum leap through his life where he encounters various versions of himself.

• For those of you like me, who have minimal knowledge in that area, but enjoy the idea of quantum leaps and what that might entail, Dark Matters might be just the ticket to imagine a quantum journey through various versions of your life...and what might have been.

I loved Dark Matter. I was totally engrossed in Jason’s story. The audiobook was narrated by Jon Lindstrom, who I understand is a talented actor who has enjoyed quite a successful career in daytime television.

• Mr. Lindstrom has a smooth and pleasing voice with which he expertly portrays Jason Dessen, along with all the other characters in the story. I found Lindstrom’s narration of Dark Matter to be nothing less than superb.

All in all, I found Blake Crouch’s Dark Matter to be an emotional, yet a fun, fast, and furious adventure through quantum physics.

• If you decide to read Dark Matter, and, if you would enjoy the feeling of being completely immersed in a story, I highly recommend listening to the audio version of Dark Matter.

Read my full review on Dark Matter and all my book reviews at: BookClubReporter.com

If you're interested in creating a podcast like I did, just click the Buzzsprout link/icon below to get started for free.

Support the show

Hands Up is a disturbing story of Tyrell, a young black male, who was shot and killed by Ryan, a white rookie police officer. This premise alone is enough to invoke feelings of anger, sorrow and guilt.

• The author Stephen Clark does a fine job bringing to the reader an engrossing gripping story of racism and injustice. The readers is almost immediately faced with the fact that Tyrell was unarmed, at the time he came into contact with the police officer, Ryan and his older/senior partner, Greg. Hands Up brings to the reader an all too realistic story of another young black male’s shocking and unwarranted death.
• Hands Up is reinforces the shock and grief felt by citizens of a country that was formed on the basis of freedom and equality. And the people of this country are constantly confronted, and literally bombarded, with similarly tragic, and completely avoidable deaths of black men. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that racism is somehow (yet inexplicably to me) still alive.
• I am writing this book review within just a couple of weeks of Martin Luther King Day. I feel in my heart that this country is sorely in need of another man such as the great Dr. King. Martin was the man with a dream shared by black citizens of this country. And that same dream, I am sure is, shared by disenfranchised people everywhere.
• In my lifetime, I have witnessed great changes in this country. I feel proud to be employed in a workplace that sets a good example of how a company free of discrimination empowers its workforce. But, as a country, we still have much work to do towards true equality.
• Hands Up is a compelling story. The characters are realistic and ring true. And while the murder of Tyrell is tragic, the reader is confronted with not just tragedy, but with anger, distrust, hate, and racism. Hands Up serves up a compelling story that will make you think. And hopefully, it will also make us act.
• As the adoptive (and Caucasian) parent of three children of another race, it is my hope that we can all share the same dream as Martin Luther King. We the people are afforded the right to make decisions and choices. Let us go forward in making the right ones, the ones that will ensure freedom and justice for us all.

Hands Up is a very good "five-star" read with a gripping and authentic story.
If your're looking for the BuzzSprout deal I mentioned the podcast, scroll down the bottom of these show notes.
If you would like to see more of my Book Club Reporter book reviews, click here:
BookClubReporter.comAnd you can visit me on: TwitterAnd................................................................
If you're looking for the BuzzSprout deal I mentioned in the podcast, scroll down the bottom of these show notes.

Support the show

Hello, welcome to Book Club Reporter - Book Review Podcast. This is Episode 2, dated August 31st, 2019. And I’m your host, Laura Jay. Today I am bringing you my book club reporter book review of Haunting Paris, written by author, Mamta Chaudhry.

Oh! And be sure to check out all my book reviews, reading lists and more on: BookClubReporter.com, and you can follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram too.

• But right now, I invite you to sit back and relax, as I review Haunting Paris. Haunting Paris is a sensitive and heart-wrenching romantic historical novel, and the evocative story line enhances the narrative. From the onset, readers will welcome the characters as each one struggles to overcome the reality of the powerful and disturbing events that take place. The characters become caught up in a mission to discover their own individual, personal truths. The American, Will, longs for a different kind of life. While Isabelle must learn to accept he0r husband, Julian, has left her for Sylvie, a younger woman. Sylvie will become driven to discover the meaning behind a mysterious note left behind by her lover, the now ghostly, Julian.
• The author, Mamta Chaudry, expertly creates an accurate setting derived from World War II German-occupied France history books as well as her imagination. The cast of characters is well-rounded, especially the forlorn ghost, Julian. However, it is the grieving, ever-faithful and determined, Sylvie, who spellbinds the reader as she diligently works to solve the mysterious fate of her deceased lover’s sister and nieces. Loaded with emotion, fans will not want to put down this haunting romantic historical history novel.
• The author has written Haunting in such a way to immerse the reader into “City of Light,” Paris. If you’ve ever been to Paris, Haunting Paris will tug lovingly at your memories. If you’ve never been there, Haunting Paris will have you planning your first visit to the extraordinarily endearing city. To quote Ernest Hemingway, “There are only two places in the world where we can live happy: at home and in Paris.” That being said, I believe that Haunting Paris is a beautiful and eloquent valentine gift from the author to the city of Paris.
• So, here’s my personal take on this deeply moving debut novel from Mamta Chaudry. Haunting Paris is a memorable and unique telling of the abject horrors of the Nazi occupation of France. While the story is set in 1989 Paris, the mystery of the missing child takes us on an incredibly emotional journey back to the 1942 streets of Nazi-controlled Paris. The reader is helpless to stop the massive tragedy in which Jewish men, women, and children are rounded up and exterminated as part of the Nazi murderous policy known as the Final Solution.
• I believe Haunting Paris is one of many stories that must be retold time and time again. Every generation should know the horror of what happened, and understand that it should never be forgotten. As human beings we must learn from the mistakes that history provides to us. We should be as the ghost in Haunting Paris, “And now I consider my new state with a similar doubleness, observing how as I am slowly being absorbed into the past, the past is also being absorbed into me.” Let us remember together. And let us never forget. Haunting Paris has deeply affected me and will stay with me forever.
• I hope you will read Haunting Paris soon. The world is changing so fast! Just think, the iconic Notre Dame Cathedral (which, of course, was mentioned in Haunting Paris) was burning on April 15, 2019.* We all saw the videos of the raging fire and huge plumbs of smoke engulfing the Parisian sky. I myself have never been to Paris, but I had just finished reading my advance review

Support the show

The Accident - Well-Written Thriller Novel - Powerful Story
The Accident - Gillian Jackson - Book Review

The Accident emphasizes how everything we know, and how we live, can change in one tragic moment. This dramatic story captured my attention right from the beginning. As the story unfolds, the requisite time is taken to provide readers with well-drawn characters with whom we can identify.

• A terrible winter storm precipitates a terrible accident with serious repercussions for those involved, and for those whose love them as well. The Accident will pull on your heartstrings. And in aftermath of the accident, there will be physical and emotional agony.
• As in all serious accidents, there is an effort to uncover the facts of how and why the accident occurred, and on what, or whom, the blame should be placed. But regardless of where the blame may fall, time cannot be turned back. The tragic results of the accident cannot be erased. All that is left after the accident are the challenges that come with the fortitude to go forward. And the biggest challenge may be to dig deep inside one’s self. In order to take that first step, one must first find the effort to cope and go on with life as it is in the present.
• The Accident is about tragic trauma, yet it points the way to hope of survival and the dream of being able to rise above heart-breaking adversity.

For Lots More Book Reviews Visit Laura Jay at: BookClubReporter.com

Visit Laura Jay on TwitterTo read the full book review of The Accident: Click Here
The Accident - Publisher Book Description:

• One moment can change a lifetime... England, February 2018 ‘The Beast from the East’ – a deadly combination of below-freezing temperatures, torrential rain and flurries of snow – has swept across the British Isles.
• Most people are merely inconvenienced by it, but for some, the deadly storm will change their lives forever. With the icy conditions on the roads making navigating rush hour more perilous than ever, it only takes a moment for an accident to occur.
• Hannah Graham wakes up in hospital, suffering a life-changing injury – but she has no memory of the crash. Joe Parker escapes the accident but the person he loves most is not so lucky. Alan and Cassie Jones receive the worst news a parent can imagine a few hours after the collision.
• Three families have been affected, but who was to blame? As they struggle to piece their lives back together, can anything good come out of something so devastating?

*Thinking about creating your own Podcast? That's Awesome!
Click the BuzzSprout link to get started for free!*

Support the show