Book Reviews

Book Review: Bullets, Teeth, & Fists 3 by Jason Beech

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Bullets, Teeth, & Fists 3 by Jason Beech
Bullets, Teeth, & Fists 3 by Jason Beech

Book Title: Bullets, Teeth, & Fists 3
Author: Jason Beech
Format: Kindle
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, & Suspense
Series: Bullets, Teeth, & Fists
Volume: 3
Length: 218 Pages
Publication Date: January 22, 2020
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.0 stars

Summary:
This is a collection of short stories with some being quite short and others a longer length. The topics vary and keep the reader interested. Some stories are violent and bloody while other stories are surprising and funny. There are many twists and turns to keep the reader guessing at what the end of the story will bring.

Pros:
These stories are written well, with varied language and interesting descriptions. The characters are believable and relatable without being a cliche.

Beech uses great descriptions for various characters, saying one man is a “sack of walnuts” while describing unnoticed insults sliding of the recipient “like he’d rolled in Teflon.”

Cons:
Many of the stories had characters with the same names (Pete for one). At first I thought the stories were continuing from an earlier story with the same character, but as I read, it became clear they were different characters and different stories.

The book overall could have used another few rounds of editing as there were several typos. This, for me, seriously detracts from my ability to concentrate on the story. Typos do not bother some readers, and I wish I was one of them!

Reader Warnings:
Foul language, violence, gore, and sexual content.

Conclusion:
Overall, this was a great read. I enjoyed the stories and found I was finished reading the entire collection before I knew what was happening. I would definitely recommend this book to others.

About the Author:
Jason Beech is a Sheffield native and New Jersey, resident. He writes crime fiction. His coming-of-age crime drama, City of Forts, was described as “tense, atmospheric, and haunting” by UK crime writer Paul D. Brazill.

Jason’s flash and short stories can be found at Spelk Fiction, Shotgun Honey, Close to the Bone, The Flash Fiction Offensive, and Pulp Metal Magazine.

His novel, Never Go Back, was released in November, 2019, and Book 3 of his Bullets, Teeth, & Fists series came out January 22nd, 2020.

You can usually find Jason on Twitter @beech_jason.

Happy Reading!

Contact The Writerie
Eileen’s Writing Website

Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction

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When I sat down to write about this book, I had no words. It is so unique and imaginative itself, that I couldn’t begin to describe it. As you can see, however, I finally found some language that will suffice.

Title: Wonderbook – The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction
Author: Jeff Vandermeer

Wonderbook

This book is amazing and I don’t use that word lightly. It’s full of beautiful artistry and really great writing ideas and tips. There are special pieces from accomplished authors like Ursula K. Le Guin, George R. R. Martin, and Neil Gaiman peppered throughout the book as well. The book contains sections on Inspiration, Story Structure, Worldbuilding, and so much more.

Published in 2013, it has rave reviews on Amazon and many writers I talk to have it, use it, and love it. I can’t speak highly enough about this book. So if you’re a writer, no matter if you’re a beginner or a seasoned professional, you will find something amusing, inspiring, or informational between the covers of this book. If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you can pick it up for less than $20. Non-Prime Members pay $25.

Check it out and let me know what you think. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this book. Click on THIS LINK to peruse a sample of the book on Amazon. Click on the book image in the Amazon listing to see a preview of the book’s contents.

Resources for Writers

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Reading and Writing Tips logo

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you know I used to post a lot of writing resources, open submission opportunities, contests and more on here. If you missed my post a few months ago about my new website ReadingAndWritingTips.com, here’s the information again.

I wanted to keep my writing and the resources separate, so I created the companion website as a way to keep my writing and the resources separate. That way, if you’re more interested in the resources, you can visit that website and get only that information. If you love my writing, you can continue to follow me here and you will get poetry, fiction, and articles here every Friday. If you like both, you can follow both and get the best of both worlds!

Reading and Writing Tips is also where I will post contests, book reviews, free ebook notifications, and continually add to the resource list over there. Reading and Writing Tips will also have YouTube videos where I give book reviews, talk about submitting your work for publication, do some interactive writing exercises and much, much more! I’m just getting started over there and I would appreciate a follow.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Reading and Writing Tips website link

Book Review: The Poets and Writers Guide to Literary Agents

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The Poets and Writers Guide to Literary Agents

[Kindle Edition}

This book is a collection of articles from literary agents with tips and hints for the author who wants to land an agent. I found the insight and tips very helpful and plan toput a lot of the information to good use.

If you’re anything like me, you get bored reading ‘scholarly’ or ‘educational’ information. I need to know the details of how to find a good agent, where the agents are looking, and how best to approach an agent but it’s not as exciting as a piece of fiction. This book, with its collection of essays, articles, and interview snippets, allowed me to get the information I needed in bit sized pieces so I was not overwhelmed and did not lose my place.

If you are looking for information on obtaining an agent, this is a good read.

Here’s the official book description from Amazon.com:

Searching for an agent?

Poets & Writers is here to help. A collection of articles edited by the staff of Poets & Writers Magazine, this handy resource includes straightforward advice from professionals in the literary field and additional resources with insider tips.

This practical guide will give you everything you need to understand what agents do, what you can expect from them, and how to find the best agent for you and your work:

Where agents search for new talent
Tips on how to secure an agent
What agents look for in the first few pages of a submission
How to follow up with an agent after you’ve submitted your work
The agent’s role in today’s publishing industry
How to know when the time has come to dissolve a relationship with an agent

The Poets And Writers Guide To Literary Agents

If you read it or have read it in the past, let me know what you think of this book in the comments below.

Happy Writing & Reading!

~ Eileen 🙂

Book Review: The Angry Woman Suite

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Book Title: The Angry Woman Suite

Author: Lee Fullbright

Format: Kindle

Series: N/A

Volume: N/A

Length: 366 Pages

Publication Date: February 22, 2012

Rating: 4.00 out of 5.00

Summary: The Angry Woman Suite is the story of intertwined lives. Elyse is a young girl when her mother marries Francis Grayson. Francis is angry at the world and is an abusive father to Elyse and her little sister ‘Bean’. To understand Francis’ anger, the book tells the tale of what made Francis into the man he has become and what happens when Elyse is old enough to do something about it.

Pros: This is a touching and elegant story of life-long love, family deceit, mental illness, abuse and just living life. I immediately connected with Elyse and was touched by her devotion to her little sister, her need to protect Bean from the life that was chosen for them. The book definitely elicits emotions of all kinds. Magdalene is a mystery throughout, but you want to like her, to love her as Aidan does. I found myself wanting to love Magdalene, but not knowing how because I didn’t understand her. Which is what the author intended, I do believe. 🙂 The characters really came to life for me and it was a long journey that twisted and turned and came to a peaceful close.

Cons: There were several spots in the book that I found unclear. Especially where the identities of Francis and Jamie were concerned and who was who and which part of the story. There are parts when it is an action scene and I was not really sure what had just happened. For example, without giving too much away, there is a scene where a character is harmed by another character. It’s very unclear what happened. Did the attacker have a knife? Did they attack with a tree branch and inflict that much damage? Was the attacked person nude? I just was left in a cloud, not really understanding what had happened. There are several scenes that, for me, were unclear or confusing as to what had transpired when I was done reading it.

Reader Warnings: I would recommend this book for mature audiences. There are topics of child abuse, violence, alcoholism and sex. There are no over-the-top scenes, but there are scenes and descriptions of child abuse which I found to be disturbing, but who wouldn’t?

Conclusion: Overall, this is a good book. I enjoyed reading it. It’s really just the last few chapters that seemed to get confusing and unclear as to what was going on. The attack scene that I mentioned before, the scene on the third floor of Grayson House, and others that are just very confusing all happen towards the end. But it’s a great story. I love how history is woven into the thread of the story and made to be a part of the tapestry of their lives. The characters pulled at my heartstrings and pushed me on to the last page so I could make sure they turned out alright.

Book Review: If Looks Could Kill by Eileen Dreyer

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Book Title: If Looks Could Kill

 

Author: Eileen Dreyer

Format: Kindle

Length: 354 Pages

Publication Date: October 16, 2012

Rating: 4.50 out of 5.00

Summary: Chris Jackson is the real name of a famous writer who has chosen Pyrite as her new home. The townspeople love her, for the most part, and protect her identity from the outside world. Under a pen name, Chris writes horror stories about horrible murders. While working on her latest novel and welcoming the hunky new police chief, Al MacNamara, to town, Chris is haunted by a real killer who is copying her murder scenes perfectly. While Chris and Al try to discover who the killer is before they come too close for comfort, Chris tries to convince herself that the killer is not herself.

Pros: I liked this book and the underlying story about Chris Jackson. The characters were good and I think readers will relate to the hidden pains of Al and Chris especially. I liked the characters in the town of Pyrite and the descriptions of the town itself. I think I may have lived in Pyrite at one point in my life and not realized it! The supporting characters were very real. I loved Dinah and Trey and I, of course, loved to hate Sgt. Lawson and Reverend Sweetwater. I think my favorite character was Al MacNamara. After suffering a horrendous injury, Al decided to move to a smaller, quieter town, only to be put into the circus that is Chris Jackson’s life. Solid as a rock, Al is calm and cool and carries everyone through the story to the exciting end.

Cons: Chris’ different names are a little hard to keep track of. I can’t be a spoiler, but for me, it was just a tad too much. There were a couple typos in the book, but nothing that hugely detracts from the story. I think the biggest Con for me was that I felt there was no true resolution at the end of the book, and I’m a girl who loves a happy and complete ending. Another thing that is very small, but really sticks with me is that I don’t connect the book’s title with the events in the book.

Reader Warnings: This book does contain some sexual content, violence, child abuse, phobias and negative religious connotation.

In Conclusion: I enjoyed reading this book. If you like suspense and surprises, then this one’s for you. I recommend this one.

Happy Reading!

~ Eileen 🙂

 

Book Review: The Final Arrangement by Annie Adams

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Book Title: The Final Arrangement

Author: Annie Adams

Format: Kindle

Series: The Flower Shop Mystery Series

Volume: 1

Length: 304 pages

Publication Date: January 30, 2013

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.0

Review

This is a great little book that I really enjoyed. The main character, Quincy, is plucky, funny and very lovable. Quincy is at odds with everyone, it seems, until things finally start to come together. Not knowing who she can trust when a fellow florist is murdered, she sets out to clear her name. Items found at the scene of the body’s discovery indicate that Quincy could be the one who killed the horrid man. With colorful characters, exciting happenings and a happy ending to boot, this is a good book for those who love mysteries and love.

Despite my enjoyment of the book overall, there were a few parts that I found confusing as I was reading the scene. I can’t tell you the scenes, or I’ll spoil the book, but towards the end, there is a scene that is pivotal to the story. There is a lot going on and it was sort of hard to follow. There is another conversation later in the book that made me confused as well. The scene and the conversation were both very important parts in discovering who the killer is.

The last scene in the book seemed a little forced as well. A bad-news character from earlier in the book pops up again and is subsequently squelched. All in one scene. I didn’t really understand the need to have that person pop up again, so I think I tried to read too much into it and ended up feeling disappointed that there wasn’t more to the situation than there was.

Overall, like I said, it’s a great book and I’m certainly not sorry I read it.