The Clueless Gent Book Reviews

Title: Rainbow Bridge Author: Dan V. Jackson Genre: Animal Fiction Publisher: Mirador Release Date: October 6, 2020 Format: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle Pages: 270 Date Read: September 20, 2020 SYNOPSIS OUR BEST FRIENDS NEVER TRULY LEAVE … THEY AWAIT US AT THE BRIDGE. Set mostly in Arizona and spanning 30 years, Rainbow Bridge tells the story Read more

Title: Kaleidoscope Series: The Vision Chronicles Author: Chariss K. Walker Genre: Paranormal Release Date: February 22, 2014 Format: Kindle Edition Pages: 383 The Vision Chronicles, Book 1 Mike Lewis boldly narrates his fantastical story and confesses his secret: He sees horrifying visions of disturbing future events through a kaleidoscope each time he closes his eyes. Read more

Title: The Big Inch Series: Misfits and Millionaires Author: Kimberly Fish Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform Release Date: January 22, 2017 Format: Kindle Edition Pages: 344 Date Read: June 22, 2018 Lane Mercer, sent to Longview, Texas in July, 1942 is part of a select group of women working undercover for the Read more

Title: Leave Tomorrow: My Ride to the Bottom of the World Author: Dirk Weisiger Genre: Travel Release Date: October 20, 2017 Format: Kindle Edition Pages: 232 Date Read: February 28, 2018 “For everyone thinking of a new adventure, a new life, or even a new venture: DO IT.” – Jim Rogers, bestselling author of Investment Read more

Title: Aransas Morning Author: Jeff Hampton Genre: Family Life Publisher: Writer / JL Books and Creations Release Date: October 1, 2017 Format: Paperback Pages: 304 When Sam Barnes’ high-flying life in Dallas falls apart, he flees to the coastal town of Port Aransas and fades into the life of a reclusive beach bum. But things Read more

Title: Missing Isaac Author: Valerie Fraser Luesse Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Fleming H. Revell Company Release Date: January 2, 2018 Format: Paperback Pages: 352 Date Read: December 28, 2017 There was another South in the 1960s, one far removed from the marches and bombings and turmoil in the streets that were broadcast on the evening Read more

Title: Leaving Annalise Series: What Doesn't Kill You #2 Author: Pamela Fagan Hutchins Genre: Mystery Publisher: SkipJack Publishing Release Date: July 1, 2013 Format: Kindle Edition Pages: 314 Date Read: December 24, 2017 Multi-awardwinning, Bestselling Romantic Mystery Series Leaving Annalise picks up the What Doesn’t Kill You series with more romance, hilarity, and thrills. One Read more

Do you have to be an historical fiction aficionado to enjoy Bluster’s Last Stand?  NOPE.  Do you have to enjoy tall tales of the “Old West” to find this story engaging?  NOPE.  Did I find this book particularly fun to read?  Hell yeah!!!!  Why?  CHARACTERS!!!!

The “ambiance” of Death at Thorburn Hall – if a story can have ambiance – is important, but hard to explain.  So, I’ll give an example.  Have you ever heard a song (think It’s a Small, Small World), and then could not get the song out of your head?  What does it say about a book when a reader starts talking to family and friends using the same accent as the dialogue in the story?  Well, it’s like that!

Saving Grace was a wonderful read.  I love a good mystery!  And if there happens to be some romance between the covers (of the book!) – well, that’s okay with me.

I’ll start this review of The Mistletoe Inn with a little disclaimer.  The only reason I purchased this book – and paid full price, I might add – was because the Hallmark movie of the same name was going to premiere on Thanksgiving Day.  It stars one of my favorite actresses – Alicia Witt.  I was a little concerned because, even though I made the purchase several weeks before Thanksgiving, I didn’t actually start reading it until two days before Thanksgiving.  However, that turned out not to be a problem.  I eagerly tore through it in two days!

I love stories that blend historical fact with fiction. Although there was ample opportunity for Masello to dig into the science aspect, I think it was a good choice not to. There was plenty of excitement without it!

In the deep woods of East Texas, Henry supports his family by selling bootleg liquor. It’s all he can do to keep his compassionate but ailing mother and his stepfather–a fanatical grassroots minister with a bruising rhetoric–from ruin. But they have no idea they’ve become the obsession of the girl in the woods.

Title: Abandon Author: Blake Crouch Genre: Horror Publisher: Thomas & Mercer Release Date: September 1, 2015 Format: Kindle Edition Pages: 521 Date Read: October 3, 2017 A history professor, a journalist, a psychic, and a paranormal photographer venture deep into the Colorado wilderness to explore the fate of an entire town that mysteriously vanished in Read more

Title: Stillhouse Lake Series: Stillhouse Lake Author: Rachel Caine Genre: Fiction Publisher: Thomas & Mercer Release Date: 2017-07 Pages: 300 Date Read: September 21, 2017 An Amazon Charts most-read book. Gina Royal is the definition of average–a shy Midwestern housewife with a happy marriage and two adorable children. But when a car accident reveals her Read more

The first two books in this trilogy were pretty much thrillers – albeit good ones.  This last one, however, brings in some of the spookiness that Mr. King has made a lot of money writing about.  I didn’t expect that AT ALL, but I was very pleased.

This second installment of the Bill Hodges Trilogy only loosely ties back to the first novel. However, it’s still action-packed and worth the read!

Title: Into Forbidden Series: Forbidden Series #2 Author: Regina Puckett Genre: Steampunk Publisher: Punk & Sissy Publications Release Date: March 4, 2015 Format: Kindle format Pages: 237 Date Read: August 22, 2017 Freedom isn’t a place Harmony would normally travel to, but she’s there on a mission to rescue her brother and cousin, Walker and Read more

Title: I Will Breathe Series: Forbidden Series #1 Author: Regina Puckett Genre: Steampunk Publisher: Punk & Sissy Publications Release Date: January 13, 2015 Format: Kindle version Pages: 169 Date Read: August 19, 2017 The year is 2836. It has been eight hundred years since The Great War. There are small groups of people scattered in Read more

I thought this to be very well written. It hooked me quickly, but then the action seemed to be sporadic in the middle.

I thought I had a pretty good idea of where the story was going. I was wrong.

I was utterly absorbed in this novel by Kenneth C. Johnson. From cover to cover, I was fully engaged. The storyline was utterly original, and it was written in a way to make it quite compelling!

Silent Child, by Sarah A. Denzil, is a fabulous read! Given the dark subject matter of child abuse, I didn’t think I would like it, but it had me hooked before the end of the first chapter. It is not a graphic story about child abuse (thank God); it is more about the aftermath.

Another great story from the master of great stories – Stephen King. I’m already looking forward to the second book in the trilogy!

Yes, this story has a dragon, but the part isn’t as big as you may suspect. Thus, if the only reason you’re avoiding this story is because you’re tired of dragons, you should still give this a go!

Rarely – and I mean RARELY – do I award five starts. And rarely – and I mean RARELY – do I embark on a book with over 1,000 pages! With that said, I do wish that I could award six stars for this novel, and I also wish that the story went on indefinitely!

I considered this to be an exceptional story about the effects of climate change, and it was pretty well told. However, the excessive number of SPAG errors did take away from the story’s enjoyment, at least for me.

Title: Gray Mountain Author: John Grisham Genre: Fiction Publisher: Dell Release Date: August 18, 2015 Format: Paperback Pages: 480 Date Read: September 2, 2015 #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR The year is 2008 and Samantha Kofer’s career at a huge Wall Street law Read more

I love a good race-against-time-or-the-unthinkable-happens thriller, and this one did not disappoint.  Gideon Crew is a wonderful character, with his own array of assets and quirks.

Title: The Rainmaker Author: John Grisham Genre: Fiction Publisher: Dell Publishing Company Release Date: 2011-12 Format: Paperback Pages: 598 Date Read: October 27, 2015 Abandoning his aspirations about living the good life, Memphis attorney Rudy Baylor fears he will lose everything in the face of a pivotal case that could cost him his life or Read more

Title: Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore Series: Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore Author: Robin Sloan Genre: Fiction Publisher: Picador Release Date: September 24, 2013 Format: Paperback Pages: 304 Date Read: November 15, 2015 A Winner of the Alex Award, a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for First Fiction, named a Best Book of the Read more

While the Sigma team is racing the Russians to hunt down the secrets locked in Ice Station Grendel, something is hunting them.

Title: The Lost Island Series: Gideon Crew #3 Author: Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child, Genre: Fiction Publisher: Grand Central Publishing Release Date: March 24, 2015 Format: Paperback Pages: 416 Date Read: December 6, 2015 Gideon Crew–brilliant scientist, master thief–is living on borrowed time. When his mysterious employer, Eli Glinn, gives him an eyebrow-raising mission, he has Read more

I don’t consider this to be Grisham’s finest book, but it was damned good.  If you have an opinion on the death penalty – be it fore or against – this should be a must-read!

This is actually classified as an autobiography, but it’s really so much more than that.  Yes, we learn about Stephen King’s childhood, his family, his education, his catastrophic accident later in life, but throughout the book there is an entire education on what it takes to be a successful writer.

Title: The Alchemist Author: Paulo Coelho Genre: Fiction Publisher: Harper Collins Release Date: April 25, 2006 Pages: 208 Date Read: August 17, 2015 “My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer,” the boy told the alchemist one night as they looked up at the moonless sky.” Tell your heart that the fear of Read more