Category: Romance

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The Prince of Manhatten

The Prince of Manhattan an e-book assumed published, copyright and written by Alexi Iskander.

The reader is introduced to Prince Leofric, the son and heir apparent to the throne of King of Northumbria, one of the seven kingdoms existing in the northern part of Great Britain roughly in the years 600 – 900. Cedric, his father, is holding a victory dinner celebrating a huge victory over the “Howling mad Picts’ as they raided from the north and descended upon the kingdom in the early summer months. Leofric is watching his uncle Aethelred closely because he believes he will attempt to do away with his father Cedric and take over the kingdom. This is exactly what transpires when he manages to kill Cedric, place blame on the son and, with the help of Siana, the most powerful witch of the time, has him transported through time, as well as space. Leofric awakens ultimately in New York City’s Greenwich Village. Concurrently Miranda Hazelgrove, a young NYU student from Albany, has finished work at a restaurant where she works to supplement the financial support she is receiving from her parents. Deciding to take a bus rather than the subway because it is a shorter distance to manipulate her tired body, she is accosted by two killer rapists. Leofric is nearby, hears her screams and rescues her. His attire with sword and all, as well as his manner of action and speech do not cause her any unusual thoughts because there is an event taking place in the city where people are acting out their individual idiosyncrasies of thought. After expressing her thanks she discovers that he has no place to stay for the night so invites him to share her apartment. He does and from here the reader is introduced to a recounting of their activities, both individually and collectively until a finale of sorts is reached.

Discussion: The author has presented a fantasy/romance/space/time travel story that apparently a number of readers have enjoyed. Most regrettably this reader is not one of them. From this perspective the tale provides abundant physical activity but it is set forth either with little understanding of the extent of training an individual such as the prince would have received or to present him as quite incompetent, in which case it is amazing that he would have survived his life in Northumbria. Thus, much of the story seems forced. There also is abundant repetition, missed words/spelling and even usage; e.g. people do not “saddle up” to people they sidle up to them.

3* For romantic YA, Young-at-Heart or those interested, amused by era differences.

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The Chemist

The Chemist, an e-book of an award-winning novel first published in 2010. Fearless Publishing, copyright and written by Jason Mancheski.

The story opens with the kidnapping of a young woman in an unusual manner and with her disappearance even her automobile cannot be found. The perpetrators are described to an extent with specific attention to the shadowy ‘Chemist’. The reader then is introduced to Cale Van Waring the detective lieutenant heading the special crimes unit of the Green Bay, Wisconsin PD. He becomes lead investigator on the missing woman case that begins to worsen when more blond young women completely disappear along with their automobiles. He is aided in his search particularly by longtime partner James “Slink” Dooley and Sargent Anton Staszak and their first ‘break’ is the gruesome discovery of the first woman’s decapitated body appearing in the waters of Lake Michigan. Cale has other, personal, problems with which he is struggling. He and Maggie Jeffers, a beautiful young lawyer with the Public Defender’s Office, have been living happily together now for fourteen months but since the relationship appears to be going nowhere, she has given him until a late July date to make up his mind, or she will leave. From here, the manner in which the story proceeds to unfold, both with respect to the missing persons’ investigation and the Cale/Maggie relationship, is quite convoluted. It also, is this reviewer’s opinion, would be a disservice to the prospective reader to divulge more aspects of the process. Suffice it to say that the story involves Chloe, Maggie’s 2-year-olded clairvoyant sister, along with several gang members, and other sinister characters with a mounting amount of evidence pointing toward the despicable but unfortunately lucrative human trafficking industry.

Discussion: The author has provided a quite involved plot with variously described characters set in a suspenseful multi-genre tale. The protagonist perhaps is a little too strong in his tenacity of purpose when mixed with his ambivalence on a number of counts and his strong adherence to his own particular mindset with respect to others. However, it is a tale that most readers should enjoy and the brief synopsis at the end of this volume presenting the following book’s opening lines should enhance one’s interest in proceeding to the next in the series.

4* Suspenseful multi-genre tale readers should enjoy.

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Hunt for Harald’s Gold

Hunt for Harald’s Gold ISBN: 9780996657396, assumed published, copyright and written by Jack Dancer.

This book is sub-titled A Scottish DNA Love Story and appears in part to have some semblance to these elements. Ostensibly a group of twosomes has been gathered together who have been discovered to be DNA-matched lovers to journey to Scotland to search for a huge gold nugget that has been lost for centuries. The group’s leader is a physician specializing in DNA research who had spent time in Africa where she encountered strange characters who pop up later in the story while the couples are searching for the huge nugget. Simultaneously it seems that a large group of African school girls had been captured by Boko Haram, transferred to an evil woman doctor who dismembers them to sell body parts as requested, on the black-market. Her headquarters and laboratories are on the Isle of Skye. One of the recruited members of the DNA couples is Tucker, who is the designated partner of Billie, the DNA specialist leading the couples on the nugget search. The reader discovers that he has had a former encounter with the evil doctor that has left scars, in spite of being partially successful. The other group members are of varied backgrounds and many not what they supposedly represent. The body part suppliers and the gold hunters cross paths by design as we discover and the tale proceeds to no ending but rather this volume serves as a first installment for the next.

Discussion: On the good side, readers may find much of the book to be an amusing read with a mass of action contributing in a highly confusing manner. A caveat must be include however in that there is abundant, often irrelevant sexual activity and most graphic depiction of un-anesthetized anatomical destruction. Furthermore and regrettably, from this reviewer’s perspective, the author has written a totally confusing volume with a bizarre admixture of Scottish legend, the fairy world, romance, a bit of science, activity by an unusual transgender hero and many improbabilities typically found in the fantasy genre. It also apparently is the first in a series.

Summary: A multi-genre book for readers who enjoy zany tales and don’t mind reading serials.

3* 4* Multi-genre zany tale for devotees; others 3 – 2*.

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Pablo’s Apprentice

PABLO’s Apprentice, Where Revenge Meets Romance, assumed published, copyright and written by Richard A. DeVall.

The book open with a quote from Pablo Escobar: “Geniuses are always branded as crazy” and follows the life and escapades of psychopathic killer Rose Alvara who idolized his thoughts and actions, and how it affected her and the people her life touched. The story opens with the death of David Turner, a California police helicopter pilot and several other police officers at the expense of Rose and her lover and former cell mate, Little Bee as they escape a somewhat botched bank robbery. The reader then is introduced to Brandy Bednarz, David’s utterly devastated love which begins a second thread to follow in this lengthy novel of revenge. She is utterly despondent and moves east to live with her parents where she finally recovers enough to obtain a job and sentimentally begins training to become a recreational helicopter pilot. On her final instructor-accompanied flight, their flight plan takes them by fate over an area where Rose and Little Bee have just pulled another bank robbery and have evaded the police. However, Brandy and her instructor catch the police report, spot the escapees and give directions to the pursuers. Rose and Bee come close to downing their plane with long range rifles, but they escape. The two psychopaths continue their flight but Little Bee is killed and Rose decides to ‘make Brandy suffer’. The story continues on a complicated and hugely Karma influenced path leading eventually to foreign lands and ends in a most interesting manner.

Discussion: This is a fascinating, albeit chilling story depending upon development of a series of fate-influenced actions that severely nudge credibility. It consists of the development of a somewhat sadistic, unusually intelligent narcissistic psychopathic killer, and her resulting activities. It also presents the evolution of a second protagonist who is confused and greatly depressed from the series of fateful actions that she has encountered and eventually sees a psychiatrist. She also has acquired a new romantic attachment who is as confused a person as she is. The two, as a result of her being the recipient of Rose’s hatred, the ineffectual police activity, and being gradually nudged by the selected psychiatrist who also seems to have been psychologically injured, eventually evolve into thinking in a vengeful manner. The characters are well-presented but the action is slowed repeatedly by rather voluminous descriptions of the individuals during their introspective or soul-searching periods. Fortunately, most is mitigated by the fast-moving tempo so the reader’s interest is retained at a sufficient level to want to continue to read to the end.

Summary: A somewhat irregularly paced novel about interrelationships among several psychologically disturbed individuals with some performing particularly vicious activity. Regrettably from this reader’s perspective, judicious editing would have provided some reduction in the plot’s overly heavy dependence upon the influence of fate. The characters are well-portrayed and their indulgence in frequent periods of self-analysis are believable, relevant and well-justified, but again judicious handling could do much to enhance the pace

3* 5* Fascinating albeit unpleasant tale rated for reasons presented.

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Wasted Pain

WASTED PAIN, a novel in e-book assumed to have been published, copyright and written by Ken Ross.

A man in his early fifties with an apparently unfortunate ability to attain any type of meaningful relationship with women hears a whimpering sound emanating from a dark alley while visiting the city where another computer-generated date has proved to be a disaster. Cautiously he proceeds to investigate and finds a very attractive, young female, seemingly probably in her late teens or early twenties huddled against the cold and alive but barely responsive. He picks her up, puts her in his car and takes him to his small suburban home. He really is a nice, moral guy who restores her to health. She is a complete enigma. She will not even tell him her name. Shortly thereafter, he awakens to find her gone. She calls him from the city a little while later. He picks her up and again they return to his home. These episodes continue with him gradually becoming more in love with her. The charade continues with the girl gradually gaining trust in the man who had not made any sexual advances and development of an intensely sexual relationship results that also waxes and wanes. The story continues with the reader constantly wondering if the two actually will be able to reconcile their differences until the very end when all is resolved in an unusual finale.

Discussion: This is an unusual tale that generates interest as to how it is going to terminate and is able to sustain the reader’s interest from this perspective. The author’s narrative is replete with knowledgeable description of how a protagonist such as presented would think and act/react in the situations presented. However, the material is presented mostly in large blocks of this descriptive verbalization with only rather sparse sections of dialogue introduced. This reviewer found much of the book ponderous reading at best, although stimulated to continue to discover how the relationship would end. A caveat must be included for the explicit sexually described sections.

3* 4* Strangely interesting suspense romance(?) 3* ponderous narrative.

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Dying for Justice

Dying for Justice, a mystery with romance overtones, copyright and written by Pauline Isaksen.

Plot/Characters: A prologue describes how sixteen-year-old Michael Bradley happened to kill the top candidate for the position of Chancellor of the Exchequer as he was hunting with Michael’s father on the Bradley’s spacious estate. He swears he shot at a deer, but no tracks could be found and he is charged with criminal negligence. Beautiful Julia Ainsworth did not follow her Nigerian born mother Elizabeth’s passion for art but studied law instead. Perhaps because Elizabeth apparently had little artistic talent other than recognizing it or more probably because Julia and her father became much closer after her mother’s death. Julia now is a lawyer in her father Jack’s prestigious London law firm. Unfortunately, he has become quite heavily involved in politics that is taking much of his time so he asks Julia to defend the boy as he is the son of his close friends Tom and Nicole. Julia, on visits with Tom and Nicole and then with Michael, uses a desktop device that contained a “Stress Detector Analysis Program” which “…was able to identify various types of stress levels, cognitive processes and emotional reactions.” The program is one suggested by Julia’s long-time friend Danny, who has a rather inexplicable relationship with various ‘dark’ groups. He suggests she consult with his good friend Chris, who is most knowledgeable in interpreting these programs, Chris is a former governmental operative now working in the private sector, handsome, recently divorced and the loving father of two very young children. He confirms her suspicion of Michael’s innocence, yet there is absolutely no evidence to support such a conclusion. Therefore, the boy enters a guilty plea which for several cogent reasons will reduce his sentence to a matter of little more than one and one half years of incarceration. She still cannot accept his confinement and continues her attempts to find an answer to the puzzling situation. As a number of most unusual clues emerge she comes closer to the truth, attempts are made on her life and her father urges her to leave the case alone. She continues, more clues are discovered, relationships are established, devastating revelations made and startling actions taken that provide an end result that many readers will not expect.

Discussion: The author has written an enjoyable first novel. The plot is interesting in the twists provided and the pace and verbalization good. There are a few features that could make the story a little more enjoyable, at least from this reader’s perspective. Most prominent was attempting to empathize with any of the characters. Danny and his relationship with members of the Ainsworth family had no explanation. Similarly that of Chris and his ex-wife, and both with Danny and the explosive reaction by Chris. Further, a loving relationship between Chris and Julia developed really only because it seemed reasonable; i.e. they were provided with little help and even Julia and some of her thought processes, reactions and emotions were marginal. Another basically disquieting feature is the description of the hunting incident – relationship of prologue as descried with respect to preparation, persons involved and the subsequent material – all are difficult to resolve for anyone who has hunted,

However to reiterate, the author has written an enjoyable book. The comments offered here simply are suggestions that this reader believes will provide more fully developed tales in the future.

3* 4* first endeavor; 3* as explained.