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Book Review: Little Boy Blu by Cara Brookins

Little Boy Blu by Cara Brookins

The Wild Rose Press, Inc., 2014

ISBN: 978-1628306903

Available: Paperback, Kindle

 

Novels set in Appalachia will always hold a certain mystique: there’s a certain air about the location found only in a few places in America. In Little Boy Blu, readers will find themselves immersed in a dense atmosphere comprised of heavy forests, mountains, moonshine stills, and a culture that entices, amazes, and often frightens those outside of this geographic microcosm. This is what makes Cara Brookins’ tale so tantalizing.

Brookins is the author of the very successful Timeshifters series, and has now penned what just might become a staple in the genre. Based on true stories of the “blue” people of Kentucky, Little Boy Blu centers around a family living far away from the mainstream, deep within the woods, where time and civilization often fail to penetrate. Blu Tracey was born with an anomaly—he’s the only one in his family who does not sport the blue-tinged skin. This characteristic gives them a disturbing bond and also places a target on their souls.

Blu’s mother sold out her family for a reality show, but her pseudo-fame didn’t quite pan out the way she had planned. Her own story is chronicled alongside Blu’s during a journey where he discovers that someone is trying to kill him. But is the killer from the world outside their own, or from someplace much closer?

 Many threads weave together into a story as profound as the mountain song that echoes through the hills and flows down the rivers and streams which bisect Blu’s world. Little Boy Blu is Southern Gothic crossbred with a tight thriller. It sings with Brookins’ stylish writing, smoother than the ‘shine found in those hills, but just as potent. Her characters are the backbone of the story,   and will entice just before punching the reader in the heart with twists and turns that work on so many levels. Tough to categorize but very easy to love, I recommend giving this fine novel a shot. Recommended for age 15 and up.

Contains: N/A

Reviewed by David Simms

Posted on August 22, 2015 by , Reply

Book Review: Burning the Middle Ground by L. Andrew Cooper


Burning the Middle Ground by L. Andrew Cooper

BlackWyrm Publishing, 2012

ISBN-13: 978-1-61318-138-6

Availability: Paperback, eBook(Kindle)

 

Ronald Glassner is a successful web journalist who runs and writes a webzine called American Sane.  Publishers have been calling him to go to the next step, and    write a book. Glassner  decides to tell the story of Brian McCullough. Five years ago Brian was a small town teenager who came home from school to find that his ten-year-old sister, Fran, had murdered their parents. Then she killed herself in front of him. Brian did not speak for a year. Ronald goes to the small town of Kenning, Georgia to investigate, and get the facts firsthand for his readers. He meets with Brian, who is still living in the family home where the murders occurred. Brian seems to be a regular young man. That evening, Ronald stumbles into a pack of dogs that attack him, and he ends up in the hospital. Concurrently, a fight between two churches emerges. One is the established First Church, headed by the mysterious Reverend Michael Cox; the challenger is the New Church, run by the rebellious Jeanne Harper. Before he knows it, Ronald is caught up in the middle of small town intrigue that is more than he and his webzine readers bargained for.

This book started out well; the suspense built steadily and kept me interested. The characters were distinct; their voices were easy to separate. The pacing was good, the descriptions were adequate, the main theme, “good vs. evil” was developed nicely, and the book was well-written, with very few typographical errors.  But halfway through the story it lost me. It just didn’t work for me anymore. The religious aspects got too thick for me personally, and I just stopped caring what happened. Possibly, other readers might be more engaged.

 

Contains: homosexuality, profanity, adult situations

Reviewed by Aaron Fletcher

Posted on November 13, 2014 by , Reply

Book Review: Water Vamps by G.L. Giles

     Water Vamps by G. L. Giles

BlackWyrm Publishing, June 2013 (Second Printing)

ISBN-13: 978-1-61318-147-8

Available: Paperback, Kindle

 

Psychic vampire Setiana and her partner, a shape-shifter, stop at an inn for a good day’s sleep. While there, Setiana enters a dream state, and visits a young girl, Robyn, in Charleston, South Carolina.  It is Robyn’s 11th birthday, and her life will never be the same. Setiana welcomes the girl into a new life. Robyn meets a new companion, a boy named Marion, who discovers he is a shape-shifter. Setiana and her partner help Robyn and Marion understand what their lives will be like in their new forms. There are many types of vampires in the story– some good, some evil. They must all beware of the Water Vampires.

I had real trouble following the story in this work. The overarching problem was the overuse of descriptive elements. This really muddied up the storyline. I give the author kudos for having a unique style, and based on other reviews, I know it works for others. At any rate, the theme of love came through clearly in the story. Ages 12 and up.

 

Contains: Homosexuality

Reviewed by Aaron Fletcher

 

Posted on November 3, 2014 by , Reply
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