Where Fiction and Reality Meet
And here we are readers, the last, but never least, favorite reads of the year. It was an embarrassment of riches, one I appreciate more than I can say. May we all find the same in 2025. Best of 2024 ~ PART II A Shot in the Dark by Victoria Lee: This novel is in... Continue Reading →
Title: The Titanic Survivors Book Club Author: Timothy Schaffert Publisher: Doubleday Length: 308 Pages Category: Historical Fiction Rating: 5 Stars At a Glance: The Titanic Survivors Book Club is a book that loves books. Deeply and without reservation. This novel romances its readers with lyricism and a lushness of prose. It reached for the way... Continue Reading →
Title: Most Ardently Series: Remixed Classics: Book Nine Author: Gabe Cole Novoa Publisher: Feiwel & Friends Length: 304 Pages Category: Teen Fiction, Historical Fiction Rating: 3.5 Stars At a Glance: This story is told with an abundance of heart, and while I do feel there could have been a deeper dive into the characterizations—Most Ardently... Continue Reading →
Title: Gwen & Art Are Not in Love Author: Lex Croucher Publisher: Wednesday Books Length: 352 Pages Category: Historical, Teen Fiction Rating: 5 Stars At a Glance: Full of charm and clever dialogue, rife with peril and betrayal, Gwen & Art Are Not in Love is a sweet and sublime book. Reviewed By: Lisa Blurb:... Continue Reading →
Title: Wrath Becomes Her Author: Aden Polydoros Publisher: Inkyard Press Length: 304 Pages Category: YA/Teen Fiction, Historical Fiction, Speculative Fiction Rating: 5 Stars At a Glance: Aden Polydoros has an immense gift for telling stories that are exceptional, eloquent, and introspective. Wrath Becomes Her is far and away one of the best books I’ve read... Continue Reading →
Title: Bone Weaver Author: Aden Polydoros Publisher: Inkyard Press Length: 403 Pages Category: YA/Teen, Fantasy/Folklore, Historical Rating: 5 Stars At a Glance: Aden Polydoros has once again penned a Teen novel that reaches beyond its intended audience and bewitches readers who love fantasy, horror, monster fiction and folklore, and he effortlessly weaves these things into... Continue Reading →
Title: A Study in Spectres Series: Simon Pearce Mysteries: Vol. One Author: Jess Faraday Publisher: Blind Eye Books Length: 93 Pages Category: Historical, Mystery/Suspense At a Glance: A Study in Spectres is a welcome new book in a welcome new series from an author who knows how to weave a thoroughly intriguing story and fill... Continue Reading →
Title: Aunt Sookie & Me: The Sordid Tale of a Scandalous Southern Belle Author: Michael Scott Garvin Narrator: Angie Hickman Publisher: Self-Published Run Time: 10 hours and 50 minutes Category: Literary Fiction, Humor/Satire, Historical (1960s) At a Glance: This novel was pretty much pure genius, but the narration by Angie Hickman managed to take it... Continue Reading →
Title: Death Checks In Series: A Detective Heath Barrington Mystery: Book Three Author: David S. Pederson Publisher: Bold Strokes Books Length: 242 Pages Category: Historical, Mystery At a Glance: Though some may find the pacing slow, I think it fits with the era. David Pederson does a great job with this classic murder mystery set... Continue Reading →
Lisa: We’re so pleased to have author Elvira Bell joining us today on the tour for her latest release, Astray, book one in the Wavesongs series. Welcome, Elvira! Let’s start right out with a question about the book. What’s your favorite scene in Astray, and what makes it a fave? Elvira: One of my faves... Continue Reading →
Title: Contraband Hearts Series: Portkennack: Book Ten Author: Alex Beecroft Publisher: Riptide Publishing Length: 250 Pages Category: Historical At a Glance: From the vivid setting to the appeal of its characters to the surprise revelation of the story’s true villain, Contraband Hearts added up to another win for me in a series of strong reads... Continue Reading →
Title: Lessons in Chasing the Wild Goose Series: The Cambridge Fellows Mysteries Author: Charlie Cochrane Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: 104 Pages Category: Historical, Mystery/Suspense At a Glance: This is a brilliant series and I highly recommend it. Whenever Cochrane comes out with a new one, it’s an auto-buy for me and is better than Christmas.... Continue Reading →
We're so pleased to welcome author Hayden Thorne to TNA today to celebrate the release of her new novel, The Amaranth Maze. We have an exclusive excerpt to share with you, and there's also the chance for two readers to win an e-copy of the book, so be sure to check out the Rafflecopter widget... Continue Reading →
Hello! I’m Elizabeth Noble and hearty welcome to another great Genre Talk here on The Novel Approach Reviews. Thank you to Lisa and her crew for hosting us. It’s time to give a warm hello to DSP Publications' Mark Wildyr. He’s here today talking out his upcoming release, Cut Hand. Let’s see what this book... Continue Reading →
Title: Raise It Up Author: Nick Wilgus Publisher: Dreamspinner Press/Harmony Ink Length: 350 Pages Category: Historical, Teen Fiction At a Glance: I could go on and on—this novel was just brilliant. Raise It Up by Nick Wilgus may not be an easy read but it is so worth the effort. Reviewed By: Sammy Blurb: Secrets... Continue Reading →
We're so pleased to have not one but two special guests joining us today: authors KJ Charles and Jordan L. Hawk, to celebrate the release of Spectred Isle, book one in KJ's new Green Men series. Welcome, KJ and Jordan! The Interview JLH: I belong to your KJ Charles Chat group on Facebook, and if... Continue Reading →
Title: Comes a Horseman (Echoes Rising: Book Three) Author: Anne Barwell Publisher: DSP Publications Length: 230 Pages Category: Historical, Mystery/Suspense At a Glance: Anne Barwell delivers such an emotional and intense ending to her Echoes Rising series. This WWII historical drama has danger, chaos, betrayal, bigotry, revenge, and suspenseful moments that will keep you on... Continue Reading →
Title: One Perfect Night Author: Lisa Henry Publisher: Self-Published Length: 8500 Words Category: Historical At a Glance: One Perfect Night is one perfect short story. Reviewed By: Lisa Blurb: Townsville, Australia, 1943. Tanner is a captain in the US Army, stationed at a radio post on an island in the middle of nowhere. Nick is... Continue Reading →
Title: Something Sinister (DS Billings Victorian Mysteries: Book Three) Author: Olivier Bosman Publisher: Rocket Man Press Length: 164 Pages Category: Historical, Mystery/Suspense At a Glance: Olivier Bosman has created another amazing installment in the DS Billings Victorian Mysteries series. With Something Sinister, the author took this series to a whole new level. Reviewed By: Maryann... Continue Reading →
Title: Wanted, a Gentleman Author: KJ Charles Publisher: Riptide Publishing Length: 157 Pages Category: Historical At a Glance: While the story was solid in the vernacular and style, the plot felt incomplete and lacking in real depth. Reviewed By: Sammy Blurb: WANTED, A GENTLEMAN Or, Virtue Over-Rated the grand romance of Mr. Martin St. Vincent... Continue Reading →
We're so pleased to welcome author Michael Rupured today to give us all a little insight into Happy Independence Day, the historical novel just re-released by DSP Publications. Enjoy! Inspiration I left my old Kentucky home in 1996 for a temporary assignment in Washington, DC. Forty was just around the corner and I was bitter... Continue Reading →
Title: Happy Independence Day (2nd Edition) Author: Michael Rupured Publisher: DSP Publications Length: 256 Pages Category: Historical At a Glance: Michael Rupured does a tremendous job of bringing historical facts and fiction together for an excellent story. Reviewed By: Maryann Blurb: Terrence Bottom wants to change the world. Little does he know the world is... Continue Reading →
Ain’t Misbehavin’ Thanks for hosting me today. The title of this post is taken from a song title, which is also the title of a mini-series I really enjoyed about two musicians during WWII. Shadowboxing, the first book in my WWII Echoes Rising series, sticks in my mind as one of my earliest stories in... Continue Reading →
Title: Café Eisenhower Author: Richard Natale Publisher: Bold Strokes Books Pages/Word Count: 264 pages At a Glance: An amazing book with two stories: one set in the 1990s, the other told through notebooks from pre/post WWII. Reviewed By: Jennifer Blurb: In the early 1990s, soon after the fall of the Iron Curtain, Matthew Robins, who is grieving... Continue Reading →
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