Vengeance is Mine by Kat Henry Doran

Blurb:

Ever consider going back to study hall and face down the school bully?

The mean girls?

The brainless jocks who made your life a pure misery?

For Dru Horvath, gypsy orphan turned Pulitzer Prize winner; Rafe Archangeli, once the Scourge of Summerville and now leader of a multi-million dollar trust; and Fiona “Fat Aggie” Thorpe, current high fashion model with her own A-list agency, the opportunity to exact revenge is too good to pass up.

Will they find vengeance they crave?

Or something more valuable?

About the Author:

Nurse, paralegal, insurance investigator, victim advocate, sexual assault forensic examiner. Kat Henry Doran has been there and done that. More than once. Now she spends her time writing and sewing and occasionally acting as chauffeur to the four best things in her life: Meredith, Ashlin, Owen, and Kieran. Join Kat and her alter-ego Veronica Lynch, as they explore the north country of New York State, including the wild shores of Lake Ontario and the Saint Lawrence River, and as they create tales which always include strong women and the men who love them.

Review:

Vengeance is Mine is a collection of novellas about three people from the town of Summerville, New York, which is located on the shore of Lake Ontario somewhere between Syracuse and Buffalo.

The first story is about Rafael (Rafe) Angeli. Having been called the “Scourge of Summerville,” Rafe went on to team up with his AA sponsor to become a very elusive, high class thief/con-man. Somehow I think he and his sponsor missed the part in the Twelve Steps about honesty. At any rate, when he returns to Summerville for his best friend’s funeral, he’s shocked to find his friend left him in charge of a charitable trust. And even more shocked to find himself falling for a feisty, crusading do-gooder whose past is nothing he would ever be drawn to.

Our next heroine is Fiona (Fat Aggie) Thorpe. Few people recognize her when she returns to town. Having lost a couple-few hundred pounds, Fiona is now a well-known model and the owner of a respected modeling agency. She’s out for revenge against the bullies who taunted her, drove her into the next county and left her to walk home after dark in a rain storm, and even caused the death of a friend with cerebral palsy. They greased the handicapped toilet seat and the girl fell off. Not only did she break her wrist, but the resulting back injury caused pressure on her lungs and Fiona’s friend eventually died of related complications. The bullies thought the elbow cast was funny and never related the girl’s death to their pranks.

And finally, Dru Horvath, bullied simply because she’s an orphaned child of gypsies.

Vengeance is Mine was unfortunately marred by editing problems. There were words missing and some grammar issues. I realize editing can be expensive, but at least buy a subscription to the Chicago Manual of Style. When asked what her advice to new writers was, Dorothy Parker said, “First buy a copy of The Elements of Style.” My second bit of advice is, go through your galleys backward. You’ll be amazed what you find that way.

Otherwise, it’s a pretty good read. Each story could stand alone, but they also segue together nicely—especially Fiona and Dru’s stories, since they’re best friends and it’s Dru who convinces Fiona to attend their reunion. I recommend Vengeance is Mine, as a great example of what happens when people grow up and move on.

Author Website:  http://www.WildWomenAuthorsx2.blogspot.com

Heat Rating:  PG-13

Length:  203 Pages

Prices:

Print:  $15.00

Digital:  $3.99

Buy Link:  https://www.amazon.com/VENGEANCE-MINE-Class-Reunion-Story-ebook/dp/B01GGJHVWS

Thanks for visiting.

Grandma Must Die by Maureen L. Bonatch

Blurb:

Carman has worn out more towns and last names than impractical shoes protecting the secret of her magic blood. But when a friend goes missing, and another is infected with a deadly spell, Carman must choose. Expose her magic blood by curing the spell—or stop the infection from spreading by killing the source…the grandmother. Magic bounty hunter Dylan has scoured libraries of banned magic paraphernalia seeking a method to distinguish genuine witches from impersonators. He suspects unorthodox librarian Carman might hold this information tighter than the hair he’s dying to unleash from her bun. With a past as hidden as his sleeve of tattoos, Dylan discovers he’s been used to gain Carman’s trust, and their passion risks more than mixing mortals and magic.

About the Author:

Growing up with four siblings had Maureen familiar with escaping into a good book, or the recesses of her mind. She realized later in life everyone didn't have characters telling stories in their heads, or weren't envisioning magic and mayhem within the everyday. This, and long walks in the beautiful state of Pennsylvania spawned a love of writing.

Since her desire to become a Solid Gold Dancer was thwarted when the show was discontinued, Maureen opted to pursue other paths. Writing stories proved fruitful, while other endeavors, such as challenging a fear of heights with parasailing, were unsuccessful. Therefore she's chased other interests, though none-the-less-daring, but closer to the ground, such as belly-dancing, becoming a self-proclaimed tequila connoisseur, fulfilling her role as biker babe to her alpha hubby and surviving motherhood to twins.

She pens stories boasting laughter, light suspense and something magical in the hope of sharing her love of finding the extraordinary in the ordinary world.

Review by Rochelle:

I really wanted to enjoy Grandma Must Die and to an extent, I did. I liked the characters and the plot grabbed me and kept my attention.

But really, what has happened to editing? Where was the editor of this book? I know we tell our authors not to use too many adverbs, but substituting adjectives is not the answer; it’s just bad grammar. Grandma Must Die was also full of sentence fragments. In fact, the final sentence of Ms. Bonatch’s bio was a sentence fragment which I edited to read as a sentence. It originally read “Penning stories boasting laughter, light suspense and something magical in the hope of sharing her love of finding the extraordinary in the ordinary world.” That’s not a sentence.  Penning, boasting and finding are gerunds. There is no subject and no verb in these lines. No one is doing anything. There are a lot of instances in the book like this where I would read several lines, and then go back to see what I’d missed because it went nowhere and I was confused. Then I’d realize it was another fragment. That slowed the action considerably.

The Wild Rose Press needs to find some editors who at least know enough about grammar to recognize problems and look up the solutions in The Chicago Manual of Style. It’s as simple as changing a gerund like “Penning” to a noun and a verb like “She pens.” As for the adverb/adjective dilemma, if you use a strong enough verb, you won’t need either. When a person rushes to the door, they don’t need to do it quickly—or worse yet, quick.

It’s bad enough when an indie author has grammar problems, but it’s shameful when a book that’s supposedly been edited has them.

As I said, I liked the characters and the plot really engaged me, so while the grammar made me want to toss my Kindle across the room, Grandma Must Die was good enough to overcome that obstacle and earn four roses.

Author Website:  http://www.maureenbonatch.com

Heat Rating:  R

Length:  318 Pages

Prices:

Print:  $16.99

Digital:  $3.82

Buy Link:  http://www.wildrosepublishing.com/maincatalog_v151/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=242_177_139&products_id=6408

You’ll notice we always include the publisher’s buy link. That’s because authors usually receive 40-50% of the net proceeds from the publisher. Editors and cover artists usually receive about 5%. When you buy a book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble or another third-party vendor, they take a hefty cut and the author, editors and cover artists receive their cuts from what is left. So, if a book costs $5.99 at E-Book Publisher.com and you buy from there, the author will receive about $2.40-$2.99. If you buy the book at Amazon, the author will receive about $1.70-$2.10.

Download the file from the publisher onto your computer as you would any other file. I’ve created a folder for books on my computer, with subfolders by source (Marketing for Romance Writers, Net Galley, Authors who find me on Kindle lists, etc.). That way, if there’s a glitch with your Kindle, the books are on your computer. Some publishers send books in all digital formats. If my Kindle breaks and my kids buy me a Nook, I won’t have to replace all of my books. If you have a Kindle and your hubby has a Nook, you won’t have to buy separate copies, so buying directly from the publisher can save you money.

Moving the file from your computer to your e-reader is as easy as transferring any file from your computer to a USB flash drive. Plug the larger USB end of your e-reader charging chord into a USB port on your computer and simply move the file from the folder into which you’ve downloaded the book to Documents/Books directory on your e-reader. Your author will be happy you did when he/she sees his/her royalty statement.

Thanks for visiting. Donna, Julie, & Rochelle