Let me begin this post with a question..Have you ever had to make a split second decision and then questioned yourself if it was the right one? Yes, ok, I think we all have. We wonder what would have happened had we made a different decision. What would be the outcome if only…Ah, the biggest little word in the American language..if.  What if it was a question of life or death and what if that life or death was your only child? This is the decision faced by our protagonist, Sadie  O’Connell, in Cheryl Kaye Tardif’s book, “Children of the Fog.”

Sadie O’Connell has her share of problems. She is a alcoholic who is trying hard to recover from her addiction and she has an adulterous husband to deal with on top of it. The only thing that keeps holding her together is her pride and joy, her six year old son, Sam and her best friend, Leah. Then one night, the unthinkable happened. Sam was kidnapped by a serial abductor and Sadie saw it happen. She is the only one that can identify this monster, known only as The Fog. He warned her that if she breathed a word about him, he would send her son back to her in “little bloody pieces.”

What follows is whirlwind of emotions and events that would cause a preacher to drink. So, Sadie relapses and pushes everyone away. She flees her home and rents a cabin on the lake. There she experiences some very spooky sights and she questions her very sanity. Are the visions of children that she sees apparitions of The Fog’s victims or are they alcohol induced spirits from her guilt riddled subconscious?  She wonders if she will ever see Sam again, or if her sanity will abandon her first!

This is a spooky book that will keep you on the seat of your pants the entire way through. Sadie is a believable character, because she isn’t perfect, she isn’t a cardboard cutout. Sadie is you, she is me..she is someone we can relate to. We feel her pain and we are scared when she is scared and sad when she is sad. I was hoping for the scary part a bit sooner, to be honest, but it didn’t detract from the story at all. The author is very adept at building the suspense and bringing it to a climax. I highly recommend this book for a fast exciting read that is sure to satisfy your spooky fix as well as your protective side. If you have small children at home, you will be checking on them to make sure they are safe and sleeping peacefully..

Someone once asked me a question about my reading habits, knowing that I was born with a book in my face..although mostly these days, it is my Kindle. The question was, “What does reading do for you?’ My first intellectual answer was, “Huh?’ No really. They wanted to know what it was that kept me away from other activities, what kept me so engrossed in a story that I would read for hours. This friend was not much of a reader but an avid television watcher and a giant fan of soap operas. So, I explained it to her like this. First, I asked her, “Why do you watch soaps?” She said that she enjoyed the stories. But when pressed, she said she had to know, did the major love interest really die? Or, she couldn’t understand how he could leave her that way! In other words, she was IN the soap opera..those people really existed for her outside of the television screen. She was not merely entertained or swept away, but it was so real..she was consumed by it.

That brings me to my next review. The title was the first thing that caught my eye. “Nourished By That Which Consumes”. This is a very intriguing title, isn’t it?  Think of it: to be nourished is to be sustained or strengthened; and consumed is to be engrossed as the above example, but also to be used up, spent or destroyed. So, already just by the title we know that whatever is sustaining can also be destroying.  

This is not a full length book but longer than a short story, what is known as a novella. The length is just right. This is a debut novel for Joseph Ephraim, but I am sure we will be seeing much more of his work. It starts out with a young Zang Yu-Lin, an Asian female from Singapore. She vows revenge for the deaths of her immediate family when she was a child and the loss of her father, with whom she had a love/hate relationship. She must infiltrate the dark side of the underworld as she seeks revenge on the kingpin responsible. You will laugh, you may even cry..you will be horrified..you will understand and you will root for Yu-Lin as she is betrayed by a friend and discovers a true love. It is an action packed adventure to see if she will be ultimately nourished or will the revenge be all consuming after all..

I highly recommend this book. It is a great read, it will keep you entertained for sure..it will sweep you away without a doubt…But most of all, it will consume you, as you wait for the next story from Mr. Ephraim.

Have you read a good story or a good book? Tell me about it in the comments. I would really like to hear from you and I like to know what you are reading and why you like it, or why you don’t! What is YOUR recommendation? 

Greetings! I’m am sorry for not writing in so long! I promise to do better in the future. I think I am reading so many all at once right now  mainly research books for my novel, that I haven’t finished a larger work. That is why I would like to introduce you to a couple of short stories that are great reads when you want to be entertained and may not have a lot of time. They are both by a debut author, Steven Lloyd. I really think Steven is someone you might like to follow in the future, because I believe he is really going places.

The first short story, “The Wooden Box”, is about an aging man who is crafting a wooden box as a favor for his ailing wife. It is a story of love, memories, and promises that must be kept. It is heartwarming, reflective and bittersweet. I don’t want to say too much more and spoil anything for you as a reader. Check it out!

The second story I read while doing laundry! It even made that mundane task more fun, if you can believe it! This story, “When Darkness Falls”, is a story of a young boy visiting his grandfather, who has a story to tell him. This is a tale of horror and retribution. The grandfather, Max, is about to tell a tale to his grandson, Chad. Their evening together doesn’t go quite as planned however. Sometimes karma comes back to bite us on the behind. Read what happens when it all comes to a head, but a word of warning: If you read it at night, make sure all the lights are on! If not, keep looking over your shoulder…

If you have a Kindle e-reader, both stories are available for download.

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to drop in to let you know that I am still alive and kicking. I am currently reading a debut novel that so far I really like. Within the next few days I will be reviewing it for you. So stay tuned for my next review. Until then, if you have read a good book and you would like to share, please feel free to comment. I appreciate all views, that is why I am here! If you like it let us all know..if not, why? What didn’t quite catch your interest or what distracted you? Or, what really piqued your interest and kept you reading? Until next time, stay happy, safe and loved. Happy reading!

Hi. Welcome to my reviews! I finished a novella by Carolyn Nash called “The Trunk Key” a Kindle Single. This is a relatively new author. She has self-published on Amazon. Her first attempt was a memoir about her raising a severely traumatized son. According to her page on Amazon, she does not really want to market or get stuck in a niche. Hmmm..well.. ok..on to “The Trunk Key”.

This is the story about an overweight  34 year old single mother of two boys–Jennifer Caulfield. It is raining and she is driving on her way to work. It starts out with dialogue with her friend, (and later we find out also her boss), about breaking her diet and getting a doughnut. She is about at the doughnut shop when she gets into a near accident with another car. The trunk is held together with bungie cords and it pops open. For a split second, she sees what she believes is a small hand. She is sure that a child is inside. She calls the police, and they don’t believe her. She then is talking to her sister, Katie. Katie refers to a previous problem or incident when Jennifer was 14, a possible breakdown. She doesn’t believe it either. It alludes to a possible molestation from her uncle. That is what I assume is her motivation to cause her to follow this car and try to find out the truth.

Along the way, she runs into some construction workers and tries to enlist their help. One of them jumps into the car with her and assists her. They end up tracking him down, finding the girl and getting her to safety.  Then it ends.

I think this could have been good. The action with the car chase and the conflict with the kidnapper  and also with the sexual/romantic interest with this man could have been a great plot.  The problem is that it was never developed. The back story of her molestation was not fully developed, her interest in the man is not developed, nor his character. There were some glaring grammar usage problems that could have been corrected with  proofreading. (For instance, the use of the word “way” for “weigh”) and a few others. It felt quite unfinished. 

I was quite disappointed because I was hoping to find a great book for my first review, but in my opinion, this was not. There are many reasons why someone would self publish. That is not to say that they are all bad because they self publish, because that is not the case. I am sure there are some great treasures out there and I hope to prove that with my next review. I am still reading..so I invite you all to send me your opinions of books that you have read. Why did you like them? Why didn’t you? Let us all know. After all, that is why we are here!

-Becky-