Article first published as Book Review: Broken Angel by S.W. Vaughn on Blogcritics. About: Broken Angel by S.W. Vaughn is a fictional book taking place in NYC’s underground street fighting scenes. This is the first book in a the House Phoenix series but can be read as a standalone. 290 pages Publisher: Lyrical Press, Inc Language: English ISBN-10: 1616501618 My rat­ing for Broken Angel— 4 Buy this book in paper or in elec­tronic (free at the time of this post) format* More Books by S.W. Vaughn Thoughts: Broken Angel by S.W. Vaughn (website | @SWVaughn) was an unexpected surprise. I started to read it and found myself being engrossed in the story and characters. The book explodes with violence which works great with the theme of professional street fighting tournaments. Despite the gratuitous violence and torture scenes, I found the novel compelling. The plot is well drawn, the characters are interesting and engaging and the narrative full with enough detail to draw the reader into its world. The book has several twists which the astute reader probably guessed ahead of time. The descriptive fights with all the smells, blood and sweat are excellent, while the protagonist if certainly not the underdog type we all enjoy rooting for, he does…

Article first published as Book Review: How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia: A Novel by Mohsin Hamid on Blogcritics. About: How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid is a fictional book in guise of a self-help book (but with a story). Mr. Hamid has written two previous books which were very well received, however this is the first book I have read from his pen. 240 pages Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover Language: English ISBN-10: 1594487294 My rat­ing for How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia — 5 Buy this book in paper or in elec­tronic (Kin­dle enhanced with audio) format* More Books by Mohsin Hamid Thoughts: At first I was a bit taken aback by the format of How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid (website | Facebook | @mohsin_hamid), but I kept on reading as the novel expended into the universe of an unnamed protagonist and his rise in the business world of Asia. Once I got used to the format and the writing style, I found a delightful book with a simple, yet rapid story full of love and hope. In between each chapter a decade or so passes, the reader is left…

Once more Tolstoy shows his disdain for Russia’s upper class. Even with the invasion going on, the capital battered and people suffering Russia’s elite society still lives as if their gatherings are of utmost importance.

Article first published as Book Review: The Thief of Auschwitz by Jon Clinch on Blogcritics. About: The Thief of Auschwitz by Jon Clinch is a fictional book telling of a family’s struggle to survive. Mr. Clinch’s previous books, Finn and Kings of the Earth won awards and commendation from around the country. The pub­lisher is giv­ing away one copy to two winners of this book –to enter fill out the Raf­fle­copt­ter form at the end of the post. My rating for The Thief of Auschwitz – 5 Buy this book in paper or in elec­tronic format* More Books by Jon Clinch More Rec­om­mended World War II books on Man of la BookStore Thoughts: The Thief of Auschwitz by Jon Clinch (website | Facebook | @jonclinch) is a fascinating and well written book. Even though short, Mr. Clinch is an excellent storyteller presenting a beautiful story and tight page-turner. The story portrays a Jewish family trying to stay sane in a world gone mad. The family is trying to salvage a bit of civility wherever they can in a place that could on be described as hell on earth. The story doesn’t have many twists, but several convenient plot points which, although a bit too convenient are central to…

Arti­cle first pub­lished as The Book Theif by Markus Zusak on Blog­crit­ics About: The Book Thief by Austrian author Markus Zusak is a novel taking place in Nazi Germany. The book was published in 2006, since then it has won many awards and spent over 230 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller list. 576 pages Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Language: English ISBN-10: 0375842209 My rating for The Book Thief – 4 Buy this book in paper or in elec­tronic format* More Rec­om­mended World War II books on Man of la BookStore Thoughts: She was a girl. In Nazi Germany. How fitting that she was discovering the power of words. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is a very popular novel, mainly among the YA crowd, and I can certainly see why. The book celebrates the power of the written word, of language, encourages people to read has an interesting twist in the narration. The book approach to the Holocaust, not straight on but looking from the sidelines, will appeal to teens as well as adults. The young heroine, Liesel Meminger who is a feisty girl who navigates through the claustrophobic and schizophrenic world of adults in Nazi Germany is both smart and tough, with…

Four college graduates volunteer at a refugee camp for Somalis in Kenya. After a few weeks they go on a vacation and disappear. The hijackers demand huge amounts of ransom from the families.

Article first published as Book Review: Rally ‘Round the Corpse by Hy Conrad on Blogcritics. About: Rally ‘Round the Corpse by Hy Conrad is a fictional mystery and it seems to be the first of a series. I jumped on the opportunity to read this book because Mr. Conrad is the writer for the TV show Monk which is, in my opinion, one of the best written shows on TV. The pub­lisher is giv­ing away one copy of this book –to enter fill out the Raf­fle­copt­ter form at the end of the post. 348 pages Publisher: Seven Realms Publishing Language: English ISBN-10: 0983735042 My rating for Rally ‘Round the Corpse – 4 Buy this book in paper or in elec­tronic format* More Books by Hy Conrad Thoughts: Rally ‘Round the Corpse by Hy Conrad (website | Facebook) is an enjoyable novel which is easy to read, doesn’t take itself too seriously and tells a story with humor and energy. I read the book with the author’s sense of humor in mind, as a fan of Monk I might have had an advantages over other readers since I thought that some of the lines which to others might sound over-the-top cheesy, were funny. ““Amy thought of her double bottom drawer as…

Above All Things by Tanis Rideou is an interesting book to discuss, the story is multilayered, the narrative is poetic and the action is exciting.

Article first published as Book Review: A Land More Kind Than Home by Wiley Cash on Blogcritics. About: A Land More Kind than Home by Wiley Cash is a novel taking place in a small town in North Carolina. I saw a lot of great reviews and articles about this book and thought that I might enjoy the story as well. The pub­lisher is giv­ing away one copy of this book –to enter fill out the Raf­fle­copt­ter form at the end of the post. 320 pages Publisher: William Morrow Language: English ISBN-10: 0062088149 My rat­ing for A Land More Kind than Home — 3 Buy this book in paper or in elec­tronic format* Thoughts: I had a tough time getting into A Land More Kind than Home by Wiley Cash (website | Facebook | @WileyCash). The first 80 pages or so seemed to drag and only when the sheriff was introduced did the story pick up. even though the book is cataloged under the “mystery” genre, the story is pretty much straightforward and there is no mystery per-se. From a technical aspect, this is a superb book. Mr. Wiley is extremely talented and even though I might not have enjoyed the whole of the story, I certainly enjoyed embracing the literary aspects…

Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas is the second book in what is now knows as the d’Artagnan Romances (the first being The Three Musketeers and the third being The Vicomte de Bragelonne). As in the previous book, the novel was serialized in 1845 before being published in book format.