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Epiphany’s Gift
Epiphany’s Gift
Epiphany has a gift she doesn’t necessarily want, tries to hide, and can’t return. When you think about it, is that even a gift? When a young Epiphany reveals her gift to her parents, her father isn’t so supportive and urges her to keep it hidden. What could be beneficial to everyone around her and, ultimately, save lives winds up being a thorn in her side for most of her young life. As an adult with a son and granddaughter of her own, Epiphany becomes much less reluctant and refuses to hide the truth any longer. She knows now what she didn’t know as a child, the visions she experiences are much more than a gift.
Epiphany’s Gift, by Mallory O’Connor, takes readers on a journey of the mind as Epiphany learns to rein in her exceptional gift of visions. Epiphany is a well-drawn character with many facets to her life. She is a doting grandmother and loving mother who, like all mothers, questions her own decisions and how they impact her family. She is likable and gives readers someone to root for from the first vivid descriptions of her visions.
O’Connor masters the art of the eerie character with the Old Man. It isn’t often that a book gives me chills, but I have to admit that the initial encounter between Epiphany and the Old Man provides one of those moments. O’Connor simultaneously succeeds in giving readers an aha moment while showing the main character to be a strong one from a very early age. In addition, the incorporation of the Old Man into Epiphany’s adult dilemma is nothing short of brilliant.
Epiphany’s visions and feelings come and go in the most unique way. Reading about her premonitions is equivalent to watching them on-screen. Without giving away too much, I can say that O’Connor makes each of Epiphany’s “encounters” amazingly clear to readers. As the book plays out as a mystery, Epiphany uses these encounters to lead her to a resolution–truly unique and engaging.
One of my favorite aspects of O’Connor’s work is the writing style itself. O’Connor’s writing is clean, concise, and descriptive without being overly flowery. Her character descriptions are wonderfully memorable. Susan, Epiphany’s mother, is one of the standouts for me. She is a spry and lively woman in her 90s–I can see her in my mind’s eye now.
Readers who enjoy mysteries but appreciate a blend of nonfiction will find O’Connor’s work appealing. O’Connor proves herself to be powerful as a writer of suspense. There exists a certain amount of the old detective novels within Epiphany’s Gift, and I can see any fan of that genre becoming enamored with Epiphany and her amazing gift.
Coming Soon
The Mad Scientists of Planet Terrorista
The Mad Scientists of Planet Terrorista seems a bit of a mouthful and I thought the plot would be outrageous. As it turns out the plot is outrageous, but surprisingly that does not equate to being terrible and I found myself to be enjoying the story line and characters right from the start.
The story picks up immediately after Hyacinth’s incredibly advanced daughter, Bella, goes missing. Hyacinth hires none other than Sherlock Holmes (who has been cryogenically frozen for a number of years) to help her track down her daughter’s whereabouts. It takes a decade, but eventually Sherlock does locate Bella, who lives on another planet and now goes by the name Brazillia. Holmes enlists the help of Hercules Poirot (say what?!) to help him come up with a magical disguise for Hyacinth to wear on planet Terrorista in order to see her daughter. This disguise ends up being an “interplanetary everlasting butterfly” that allows Hyacinth to travel with ease between her home planet, Debonnaire, and Terrorista. Hyacinth uses her disguise to gain access to the facility that Bella is kept in with many other abducted children, and discovers that the mad scientists have been doing medical testing on the children. Having been subjected to all kinds of untested and unsafe drugs, Bella is in a pitifully unhealthy physical and mental state. If that isn’t a crazy way to kick off a story, I don’t know what is!
From this point, the story continues on with Hyacinth rebuilding her relationship with Bella and trying to help her regain her health and freedom. The story is fast paced and rather abrupt in places, but this is clearly due to it being written as a television script and not a novel. The entirety of the script includes lots of outside references to characters from other stories (Holmes and Poirot, obviously) and a lot of really clever word-play (such as the radio station ‘siriusly sinatra’) that make the story interesting and fun to read. On a more somber note, the story is really about mental illness and encouraging people to see those who suffer from mental illness differently. Mainly, to see them as worthwhile and beneficial to society rather than simply a burden.
My only real complaint about the story is that the inclusion of Sherlock Holmes and Poirot, (while initially drawing me into the plot), don’t seem to really fit in the story. Both are famous crime solvers, sure, but do they fit into an interplanetary story line? I am not so sure. Still, while seeming oddly out of place, the characters no doubt make the story better and are essential to the plot. I would venture to say that those characters would be just as worthy with different names. I still really enjoyed the whole thing.
Pages: 484 | ISBN: 1387010484
Reflection: The Paul Mann Story
Reflection: The Paul Mann Story by Titan Frey is an amazing work of fiction interweaving alternative history within it. Paul Mann is 104-years-old and in a nursing home. Every day he writes in his journal about his life and has a sack of journals that tells the story of his lifetime. He is reunited with his son and grandson in this book, where Paul tells his story through his journals. An intimate family relationship is born between grandson and grandfather where we see the hectic, heartbreaking, and even heartwarming life Paul Mann has led while also following his current adventures.
I love this book. It was intriguing and hard to put down. At first, I did not like many of the characters, but then I saw, as their story developed, that they were shaped by their pasts. The main characters are well-developed in that sense, and we get to know these characters as if they were complex, real-life people. It truly felt as if I was witnessing these events pass and getting to know them. I would have liked to understand the side characters motivations more, though, as they did seem cruel without real reason. Though sometimes, that is the harshness of the world, and this book’s theme seems to be how callous and brutal the world can be, but that love is still important.
The main aspect of this book was learning about Paul through the eyes of his past in the form of a journal, and it was done so well. I love how the journals truly seemed to be written by Paul Mann. It shows incredibly strong character development. I liked the idea of learning about someone through journals; it put me in the mindset of Marlin, the grandson, where I felt like Paul was my grandfather and I got to connect with him in that way. Frey does a marvelous at humanizing her character and allowing you to grow attached to them.
This book is an emotional roller-coaster with lots of twists and turns. Terrible things happen, but you get to see the love Paul has for his family, and that beauty shines through. The portrayal of the nursing home struck a chord with me and made it relatable; at least to me. It made me feel for the residents, especially Paul. In a way, this book made me feel more connected with my own grandmother.
I highly recommend this book. It puts you in the head of an older person by relaying their life experiences. It also shows how sometimes you do not really know a person or how they came to be who they are until you take the time to listen, or read in this case. The book also illustrates the importance of life and spending time with loved ones. In addition to valuable lessons, the book is also intriguing, thrilling, and mysterious. Marlin and his grandson truly have a special bond.
Pages: 186 | ASIN: B07MTSFWJG
Three Burning Red Runaway Brides
![Three Burning Red Runaway Brides (The Water Kingdom Book 3) by [Breaux, Kevin James]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41zJ1I4NCXL.jpg)
Sabrina London is now Queen of the Water Fairies. The problem is she doesn’t really want to be, and she is expected to marry Lord Raion of the Tainted. Sabrina and Dunyasha, the ancient vampire, devise a plan to solve Sabrina’s problems and free her from marrying Lord Raion. They recruit Amber, a Fire Fairy, to become Sabrina’s double. Through extensive surgeries and training Amber takes on the persona of Sabrina and is able to fool most people into believing she is in fact Sabrina London. Her mission is first to dispel of the people that could tell she was not in fact Sabrina, three tests to make sure she would be able to fool Lord Raion. Through these tests and missions, Amber and Dunyasha’s true motives come out. They are not looking out for Sabrina, they are not really on her side, what motivates these otherworldly beings? Who will survive in the end as each race clashes and fights for dominance over all the others?
Kevin Breaux returns to his world of fairies, vampires, and other creatures. We learn more about who Dunyasha is, what her past is, and how she became the cursed undead. Characters such as Jackson and Cade return, well-loved characters from past novels that played integral parts of Sabrina’s development. Three Burning Red Runaway Brides is a complex novel with so many different plot lines all intertwining that you almost need to keep notes at times to keep up with who is on who’s side, what plots are being planned, and is there even a good guy or bad guy anywhere? The deeper you go into the novel the more complex each character gets, and you find things you love and hate about each of them. Learning how the water elements all interact in the water kingdom and move about is fascinating. Learning more about the traditions the water fairies have in place adds to the complex character that is Sabrina as you figure out how she became the person she is now. Amber, also known as Skipper, starts out like a spoiled brat you just want to dislike. As we learn more about her though, we find out she is much more cunning and determined than what she appears on the surface. She has glimpses of good intentions, but most are self-serving in the end. Sabrina while she tries to grow into the role of queen, you see her reverting back to the way she was in the first novel, her growth is less developed, and even regressing in this novel. She reminds me of the teen rebelling more so than Amber as the book continues.
Without giving away key plot elements, I can say the story of Dunyasha is one of my favorites, how she ended up one of the cursed undead, how she created her family, her history and her plans for the future. I can see this plot line continuing into another book as her story continues to unfold and fate of the vampires and their awakening continues.
Kevin James Breaux has a great talent for drawing the reader in with his detailed story lines, descriptive writing and unique plot twists. Each novel builds on the last but stands alone to tell a story unlike the past without feeling like you are rereading the last novel.
Pages: 357 | ASIN: B07MC57D12
7 1/2 Habits To Help You Become More Humorous, Happier & Healthier
![7 1/2 Habits To Help You Become More Humorous, Happier & Healthier by [Jacobson, David]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41MTk8fT92L.jpg)
The first thing that caught my eye even before getting to the first chapter of the book was the dedication part. The author styled dedication as ‘deadication’ and I thought, wow, is this a typo? Reading on, the author explained that the misspelling was intentional because he was dedicating the book to every dead person he knew. I thought that that was cool, and sort of funny. Here I was getting ready to read a book that would make me more humorous, happier and healthier, and what do I find at the beginning? Some funny word. I immediately knew that I was in for a good read. David Jacobson also had a livication part; dedicating the book to all living people.
In chapter one, the author states that you should treat humor as a necessity, not a luxury. The author writes that you should make humor a priority in your life. I agree with him because, with humor, life stops being too serious. Humor will help you improve your attitude, physical and mental health. On using the self-effacing humor, the author writes that it is good because you will let others know your humor, and they will be comfortable knowing that you know they know.
Habit four was my most favorite of all. The habit reads “Use the power of humor to positively influence you and others.” I couldn’t agree more. It is evident that by bringing in humor even during tense situations people feel a little bit relaxed. By reading and adapting this habit, you will help those around you better their own well being. There is no harm in being a little funny with your friends around. Humor makes the environment more cheerful and more fun to be in. The sixth habit was a good one too; humorize – Combine humor with other aspects of your life.
I kept wondering why the author wrote about 7 and 1/2 habits. Why did he half it? Why not write about either 7 or 8 habits? The author explained that he wrote the half habit because you don’t need the entire habit for it to work. The half habit is also the most challenging to maintain. “Mastering your thoughts” is the last and half habit. It is not easy to master your thoughts. The good news is that if you manage to master them half the time, you’ll be doing twice as well.
Every book lover should read this book because the book is educational and amusing. I also recommend the book because it makes you view humor and life differently, and enables you to see the light side of things. The best part is that the book is a light read so you will finish reading it sooner than you realize.
Pages: 167 | ASIN: B07L23YS7C
The Werewolf Queen
I always wished I had supernatural powers. Now I wish I didn’t.
Sadie’s a dud, a failure–the only one in high school who doesn’t have any kind of supernatural powers. Her psychic bff, Jo, knows something about Sadie’s future, but just won’t tell. And what the heck is going on when one of her teachers starts looking at her while he’s going on about powerful lost keys, portals of madness, and destinies?
Then it all starts.
On her 18th birthday, Sadie starts to feel weird. And when werewolves, vampires, and demons all turn up to spoil her party, the weirdness really ramps up.
Leaving her best friend, her family, and the only town she’s ever known, Sadie must find safety. But while the king of the werewolves can offer her somewhere to hide while she’s learning about her new powers, he can’t stop his psycho witch fiancée from finding new ways to try and kill her. Of course, the murderous tendencies of this psycho witch only get worse when she realises the Werewolf King is, um… attracted to Sadie.
And all that’s before Sadie sets off to try and find one of the lost keys. Before she visits hell. Before she picks up a pet ogre.
And before she realizes just how powerful she can become.
But if it really is her destiny to collect one of the lost keys, will she be able control her newfound power and help save the world and all the people in it she loves? Or will she buckle under the pressure?
She’s about to find out. A mansion surrounded by demons and full of vampires and witches intent on her destruction awaits. Oh, and that psycho-witch fiancée of the Werewolf King. What could possibly go wrong?
If you like high stakes, kick-ass heroines, and a solid dash of humour, you’ll love this new Paranormal urban fantasy series by Brandi Elledge. Get it now.
Caring as a Carer
Caring as a Carer is the true story of George and Jenny Mailath and their battle with Jenny’s condition; MSA (Mulitple system atrophy). This book is sort of a mix between the personal story of this couple and a guidebook for those who are suffering from or caring for someone with MSA.
I absolutely love the way this book was written. In the beginning the author (George Mailath) stated that he didn’t want the book to come across as simply a guidebook or a text book. He did an amazing job of accomplishing his goal of writing a heartfelt story that contains a set of recommendations for caring for someone with MSA. I wasn’t familiar with this particular disease before reading the book, but anyone who knows anything about chronic debilitating illness knows that it doesn’t only affect the victim, but their loved ones as well. George was able to expertly convey how his wife’s condition affected his own emotional and mental state, from his desire to be truly empathetic to his feelings of guilt for not being as understanding as he should have been in the beginning. This is, of course, something that can only really be recognized in hindsight, which is part of what makes the story invaluable to readers who may be caring for someone with this illness.
I love how George gives us a brief yet detailed enough background of he and his wife’s relationship and life before being affected by MSA. It perfectly illustrates for the reader how drastically their lives were changed and the effect this change had on their emotional and physical well-being. The chapters are laid out very well, with each one having a specific intention such as “empathy”, “rehabilitation sessions”, and “facing up to reality”. The really unique aspect though, is that while these chapter titles appear to be similar to a text book format, they are filled with as many touching moments of real life as they are of recommendations for treatment. I’ve really never encountered a book with such a great balance in this area before.
George’s love for his wife is so evident throughout the book that I found myself almost brought to tears at times. However, his attitude towards her illness is also incredibly refreshing in that he simultaneously remains calm and calculated in his actions and assessments of the situation without sacrificing empathy, understanding and love. It was really an absolutely beautiful book to read. I don’t have anyone in my life suffering from a debilitating illness and I still greatly enjoyed reading it. In fact, I think it’s really superb in that the book will be beneficial to anyone caring for someone with any such disease, not necessarily just MSA. While it is certainly tailored to people dealing with MSA, the principles of care and love that George expresses can be applied to any similar scenario. I absolutely recommend this book to others and sincerely hope that it circulates widely enough to have the profound effect on caring and carers that I feel it can have.
Pages: 116 | ISBN: 1483448584
Retribution Versus Restraint
The High Court picks up after the events of the previous book, with Hyperion and Kronos being tried for their crimes. What were some themes you wanted to carry over from book one and what were some new ideas you wanted to explore?
I definitely wanted to carry over themes of parenting, or lack thereof. So much of mythology is deities behaving badly. and in Kronos we have the ultimate crappy parent. And how. But I also wanted to contrast that style of parenting with Rhea’s more maternal side. But other parent/ child relationships arise as well.
Additionally, I wanted to carry forward this idea of duality and that nothing is ever as simple as it appears to be initially. I wanted to confuse the readers’ loyalties a bit in that regard.
New ideas I wanted pursue were the ideas of justice and what that meant. And retribution versus restraint.
A race of giants attack the students and force them to flee while the giants grow stronger with every attack. What was the inspiration for this race of giants?
In Greek mythology, there actually was a Gigantomachy, or war between gods and giants. Chronologically, it occurred after the Olympians-Titans war (Titanomachy). I wanted to sneak a representation of it into book 2 seeing as though to many readers a war between gods and giants might have been anti-climactic after all the egos and storylines of the Titanomachy.
Zeus continues to be an intriguing character with multiple layers. What were some driving ideals behind his character development?
Firstly, thank you for that. I’m happy that he came out so well in your eyes. One thing I was very cognizant about was the perception of Zeus, the classic king of the pantheon. He doesn’t have the best reputation. Haha. I wanted to build a view toward more humble beginnings for him and show the natural teen angst, uncertainty, and discomfort with coming of age.
Where will book three in the Sky Throne series take readers and when will it be available?
Sadly, the third book in the series didn’t get picked up for publication. 😦
Author Links: Twitter | Facebook | Website | GoodReads
![The High Court (The Sky Throne) by [Ledbetter, Chris]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51T6H9pWFWL.jpg)
High atop Mount Olympus, as dawn breaks on a new academic term, normalcy returns to campus following a harrowing expedition into The Underworld to rescue kidnapped students.
Zeus and his fellow Olympians now prepare to testify in The High Court where Hyperion will be tried for the attack on Crete and death of Anytos and Kronos will stand trial for the murder of MO Prep’s Headmaster Ouranos.
As the trial draws near, the MO Prep students and faculty are besieged repeatedly by a race of gargantuan stone and earth giants. Under heavy assault, the Olympians are forced to flee to the volcanic island of Limnos to regroup. Meanwhile, a toxic poison Zeus has carried with him since a prior fight with a dragoness creeps toward his brain.
In a race against time and beasts, Zeus and his friends must find a way to survive not only the toxin ravaging Zeus’ body, but also the giants who grow stronger after every attack, and somehow make it to the The High Court alive.
LITERARY TITAN 