{Blog Tour/Review} War Stories by Elisabeth Doyle

Welcome to Literary R&R's stop on Elisabeth Doyle's War Stories book blog tour, hosted by Tribute Books.

Author Info:

Elisabeth Doyle is a writer and attorney living in Washington, D.C. She studied fiction writing at Sarah Lawrence College and the University at Albany, and is completing a Masters of Laws Degree at Georgetown University Law Center. Ms. Doyle's short fiction was published in the literary journal Nadir and was awarded the University at Albany's Lovenheim Prize for best short fiction. Her first short film, Hard Hearted One, was admitted into the Philadelphia Festival of World Cinema and the Street Films Film Festival, and was shown on Public Television and Manhattan Cable. War Stories is her first collection of short fiction.

Book Info:

ISBN #: 978-1937928407

Page Count: 119

Copyright: August 7, 2012

Publisher: Two Harbors Press

Blog Tour Site

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Summary:

We all carry our own battle scars.

This is the premise of War Stories, a rich collection of short fiction that draws upon both the literal and figurative meaning of its title. Through a diverse array of characters, settings, and circumstances, War Stories delivers a series of powerful tales from the home front of war: the stories of parents, siblings, and spouses of those who have fought, as well as those who have returned from battle.

Set against the backdrop of contemporary conflicts, War Stories' compelling nine narratives tell of a wounded veteran who seeks renewal through an imagined relationship with a neighborhood girl, a grieving father who finds peace and reconciliation at the site of a disastrous bus crash, a young woman who searches for identity and meaning in the wake of her husband's injury, and an urban teenager engaged in a fateful standoff with local recruiters. Interspersed with these tales are powerful, non-traditional "war stories" - of youth, unexpected loss, and heartbreaking love.

War Stories' thoughtful and beautifully crafted tales, which range in style from deceptively simple to rich and complex, tell of people young and old, male and female, who share two things: humanity and resilience. These diverse and deftly written stories are joined through Elisabeth Doyle's remarkable style and ease in creating a universe full of despair, hope, and dreams. At turns tender and harsh, tragic and yearning, these stories will leave you wanting more.

Mandy's Review:

Everyone has a war story. If you've lived long enough, chances are you've gone through an experience that has changed you in some way. Sometimes those changes are so fundamental you cannot even pinpoint what the exact change is. You just know you've been changed. You just know you have battle scars. You encountered a war.

War doesn't always involve the military, although there are stories in this book that have that aspect to them. A person's war can be emotional, physical, or spiritual. It can be a situation that has one defining moment that is often not noticed until after the 'war' is over.

These stories tell you of a few people's wars. They will leave you wanting more as they all seem to end with a cliffhanger. For many of them I was disappointed that it ended the way it did ... not because the story wasn't well-told, but because I wanted to know the ending. I wanted to know exactly how the person changed after their defining moment.

The book is fairly easy to read being a little over 100 pages, but it contains stories that will cause you to think and reflect. They are stories that will echo through your being.


*A physical copy of the book was provided by the tour host in exchange for an honest review.

{Review} The Obsession: Truth Beauty Trilogy (Volume 1) by T. V. LoCicero

ISBN #: 978-0615681351

Page Count: 352

Copyright: August 13, 2012

Publisher: TLC Media

Description:

(Taken from Amazon)

At a conference in Italy's lake district, American graduate student Stanford Lyle is enchanted with Lina Lentini, a lovely Italian professor of comparative lit. And when she lectures for a term at his mid-Michigan university, she considers a fling with Stan - until she meets John Martens, a professor, author and Stan's mentor. In her passionate affair with John, Lina becomes Stan's obsession, a hated nemesis for John's troubled wife, and the object of a vicious series of attacks aimed at destroying her reputation.

Lina loves the line from Keats, "Beauty is truth, truth beauty," even as her life fills with duplicity. John is pledged to do the right thing with his wife but often does not. And Stan surprises himself with the depth of his own perversity.

Forced back to her home in Bologna, Lina begins to reset her life. Then Stan appears on her doorstep. When John joins them, Stan schemes, threatens and stalks the lovers, first under the city's ancient porticoes and finally to the legendary Sicilian mountain town of Taormina with a shocking confrontation on the slopes of volcanic Mt. Etna.

The Obsession is the first entry in the Truth Beauty Trilogy, a dark edgy saga of suspense and murder that ranges across locations in the U.S., Europe, and the Bahamas.

Charlene's Review:

Stanford Lyle has his sights set on Italian professor, Lina. When Lina comes to the states as a guest lecturer, Stan, as a representative of his graduate school, sets Lina up with a temporary home, and introduces her around to his friends and staff, all in a prelude to what he hopes to be a romantic relationship. When she rebuffs his advances, Stan takes his obsession to terrifying levels. As her friends and lover join in to protect her from Stan, his violence reaches its peak. Lina is eventually forced to return to her home in Bologna, but soon, Stan finds her and the obsession continues to a climactic end.

The Obsession is not for the literary faint of heart. 339 pages is what it takes to reach its ending, and there are a few places when I just didn't think we would ever arrive. The premise of the book is sound, and the action sustaining, but it was a bit wordy in places and that dragged me down a bit. It took quite a while to review this book. That being said, Mr. LoCicero leaves little to the imagination, especially regarding his characters and their personalities. I felt they were old friends by the conclusion.

Religion, intrigue, stalking, fornication, murder, and even cancer round out a story of just about everything except "truth and beauty." A rather slanted view of Christianity, as well as politics, is profoundly evident, and nearly-pornographic scenes can be found among the pages of this book. This is a deeply disturbing look at the mind of a man obsessed, and the levels to which a person can go when they are being threatened.

While there was much I didn't particularly care for in the book, based solely on my own comfort level, this is a powerful, engaging story and one that followers of this particular genre would most likely enjoy.

I would give it 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.


*A paperback copy of this book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

{Blog Tour/Review} Shadow in the Reflection by Joe Niehaus & Mary Sikora

Welcome to Literary R&R's stop in Joe Niehaus' and Mary Sikora's Shadow in the Reflection virtual book blog tour sponsored by Pump Up Your Book. For this tour, Literary R&R is participating by reviewing Shadow in the Reflection. We hope you enjoy!

ISBN #: 978-1475925784

Page Count: 303

Copyright: May 22, 2012

Publisher: iUniverse, Inc.

Book Summary:

(Taken from the back cover)

Can destiny be fulfilled in just one lifetime? Dr. Gregory Ambrose thinks so. Through past-life regression therapy with a young woman named Anne, he finds himself carried over the centuries to not only a different time but a different reality. Anne's memories act like tendrils, drawing Ambrose into this most savage time with her.

Frustrated and confused Dr. Ambrose reaches out to a colleague for help. During their conversations, he learns that one of this doctor's past-life regression patients believes that he was some kind of Viking in another time - not unlike the Vikings in Anne's memories.

The coincidence is too much, and Ambrose's imagination and ambition tempt him down a dangerous path. Determined to know the truth and understand the connection, he begins to push the limits of his ethics.

What evolves is a story from another time, when wizards and warriors battle for power. The fate of two lands - one fighting for unity, the other for safety - hangs in the balance as two druids play out their own endgame strategies. At the same time, two hearts seek their destiny with true love. Fate lends a hand as all meet in a final battle.

Is it truly the end or just the beginning?

Mandy's Review:

Title/Cover

Shadow in the Reflection implies a previous life that one can glimpse a shadow of if looking at their reflection closely enough. I understand this, and the reason why the cover art is done like it is, but I wish a reference to the title would've been made in the book somewhere to tie them together. As it stands, the title seems somewhat separate from the story.

Yes, the prologue is titled 'Shadow in the Reflection,' but it seems as an inappropriate title somehow. I still think the title could've been tied in better with the story.

Plot

A psychologist has had success with hypnotizing a patient and getting her to lose those last 20 pounds she wanted to lose. Because of this success, she agrees to let him hypnotize her into seeing if she's had past lives. Again, they have success and the patient is excited to encounter her previous self. So much so that she gets a little irritated when it's time to come back to the present.

The further the doctor regresses her, though, the more concerned he gets. Not knowing if it's ethical to continue the sessions, he requests the advise of his friend and colleague. As it so happens, his colleague also has a patient who is bearing witness to his past life during hypnosis ... and it seems that his past life may be entwined with the female patient's past life. This gives the two doctors the idea to write down the sessions and, perhaps, bring the two patients together.

What evolves is a story of Vikings, battles, druids, magic, treachery, and honor.

Main Characters

Gregory Ambrose - A psychologist interested in the past life of one of his patients. He also believes his past life is coming to life inside him as Gregor, the Druid.

Anne Prather - Dr. Ambrose's patient who is allowing herself to be hypnotized to a past life. She was a Briton princess by the name of Anya who was committed to becoming Prince Julian's wife.

Tom Ivy - Greg's friend and colleague who also has a patient that is regressing to a past life. He and Greg decide to partner together and write down their patients' stories.

Hap Roth - Dr. Ivy's patient who is allowing himself to be hypnotized to a past life. He was a great Viking warrior by the name of Hrothgar who became king before he was ready.

Overall

On a negative note, there are quite a few editing issues that need to be taken care of (not spellcheck errors, editing errors). Aside from that, I rather enjoyed this story-within-a-story. I actually finished reading this book in September and wrote this post then. I began this book while at lunch one day because I didn't have anything else with me to read. Once I started, I didn't want to stop until I had finished.

I was a little unsure of the depth of Hrothgar's and Anya's love and loyalty to each other. I wasn't sure until she was returned to Julian and Anya's relationship with Hrothgar was brought out into the open. I would've enjoyed seeing Anya and Hrothgar's relationship fleshed out a little more during their time together, but the story mainly focused on the upcoming battles and the fight for unity ... which I understand, but having the balance of a little more romance would've made the book that much better.

As it stands, Shadow in the Reflection is an engagingly unique story that held me captive until the end. I think it would you, too.


*A physical copy of the book was provided by one of the authors in exchange for an honest review for the purposes of this tour.

{Review} Pearl Lover by Kea Noli

ASIN #: B008HLHBY2

File Size: 358 KB

Page Count: 220

Copyright: July 4, 2012

Publisher: Kea Noli

Book Summary:

(Taken from Goodreads)

A spoilt debutante. A manipulating mother. And a love triangle with a twist.

Nixie Veidt is forced to choose between money and love. She must stay faithful to the bureaucrat she marries to save her inheritance, but her love belongs to a Russian dancer. When she hires him for her company, she risks everything.

Is it moral to love two men? Be prepared for an unconventional ending.

Nixie's mother, a wealthy socialite, hires a private detective and spies on her daughter. A debutante's conflicting love for two men, and the struggling rebirth of Ballets Russes, a ballet company.

Kathy's Review:

I began reading this in a complete shroud of confusion. Nixie's father is dying, he tells her "go on, take the money and run" (hoo hoo hoo! TM Steve Miller Band) but ... why? Then there's these gangster types - or are they cops? I don't know. The author is being deliberately mysterious, I'm sure, but I don't even have the remotest of clues what is happening. Even a quarter of the way in, I was still floundering to understand the action. I think I'm in for a kind of fugitive-on-the-run cop thriller, but then it ends up being a story about spoiled rotten prima donna ballerinas.

Huh?

I settled in, finally, and began to despise the main character of Nixie and her boyfriend, Kolya, who seems to be the French equivalent of a d-bag. And only interested in Nixie for her seemingly endless supply of money. They are both immature brats. The money Nixie inherits from her dad quickly disappears with the extravagant lifestyle Kolya lives. Then, did I mention that Nixie has to marry an older (20-something) cop to be able to access her inheritance because she is only 17? He's in love with her, she's in love with Kolya and kind of in love with Morten, Kolya's in love with Lea, another ballerina, but also has feelings for Nixie. Nixie's mother, Maria, really muddles things up, and in the end, things fall apart but kind of come together. Does that make sense? Probably not.

The significance of the pearl in the title is a necklace that Kolya buys for Nixie (using Nixie's money! WTF!) that symbolizes his love for her even though they are both with other people. Yes, it is just an object (albeit an expensive one), but it is used throughout the story to show the love between Nixie and Kolya.

If you ask me, all these people need some tough love, therapy and a "real job." The moral of the story - I think - is that money can't buy happiness. No one in this story really seems to understand this, except maybe Morten (Nixie's husband-for-hire). However, without feeling truly grounded in this novel until maybe the second act, and with characters you just want to throttle, the message is lost for me.

AND - in re-reading the book summary, I just caught something. The genre is listed as "Young Adult." I'm sorry, but this is not something I would recommend to a teen. It's too dry, and the action is very adult as it all revolves around money or the lack thereof.


*An ecopy of the book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

{Review} Reel Life by Jackie Townsend

ISBN #: 978-0983791508

Page Count: 380

Copyright: February 22, 2012

Publisher: Ripetta Press

Description:

(Taken from back cover)

Sisters are meant to always be there for each other, or are they? In the glare of reality, clashing views and acts of betrayal can work to form unbridgeable gaps, and the fabric of sisterly love must be delicately rewoven from whole cloth.

Reel Life charts the story of redheaded sisters Betty and Jamie, who must call upon the past to forge a new and meaningful connection for the future. With iconic moments of contemporary cinema driving the narrative thread, this absorbing work will cut straight to the heart and reveal the intricate, complex emotions that come together to form a family. Exploring themes of motherhood, body image, ambition and love, this tender, deeply affecting tale of two sisters offers a poignant close-up of this most intimate of relationships, which can both haunt and heal.

Surging with drama that is interlaced with subtle irony, Reel Life illuminates how, sometimes, escaping reality can be the clearest path to emotional truth.

Charlene's Review:

The product of a less than ideal home, Betty and Jamie grew up learning how to NOT deal with issues. The ideal escape: a movie theater. With a mother who is depressed and self-absorbed, and a therapist father who withdraws after their marriage fails, the girls think they should have a special bond. The reality is, even without the ability to communicate, their shared lives still hold them in a fragile bond that neither one can break, no matter how hard they try. And try, they do.

Following them through the years, through jobs and relationships, to kids and dealing with their parents as adults, Betty and Jamie come together, often at the cinema. Each chapter focuses on a time period in their lives, and relates it to a movie from that time. This is a very complex story, dealing with a lot of intimate issues. The ending was a bit disappointing to me, but as a whole, it was an engaging story.


*A physical copy of the book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.