Welcome to the Friday edition of the Cafe and Bookstore where I share recent reviews for authors on the shelves.
The first author with a recent review is Olga Nunez Miret – for her contemporary novel – You’re Never Too Old to be A Prom Queen
About the book
Have you ever found yourself in the unenviable position of being told that you are too … (fill in the gap with whichever word fits: young, pretty, thin, fat, short, tall, clever, silly, old…) to do something? Mildred, one of the protagonists of the story, had always dreamed of having a prom. But when she finished her studies, in the UK, that was not the done thing. Now, many years later and with time in her hands after having retired from her full-time job as a nurse, she is still thinking about it. She tells her husband, who is less-than-enthusiastic about her idea. After years of being told what to do, she decides it’s time to take things in her own hands. With more than a little help from her friends, her project starts to take shape.
What started as a challenge becomes a mission that engages the imagination and the hearts of all the people involved.
A heart-warming story for all ages about friendship, creativity, determination, and the power of a tight-knit community and of dreams.
A recent review for the book
June 27th 2020 Christoph Fischer
I really enjoyed this beautiful book. Told in parts in interviews with Mildred , her family, friends and new acquaintances of hers, this is a charming book about a woman making a life long dream come true.
Mildred is an instantly likeable character, a psychiatric nurse with a drive to help others. In her quest she meets a lot of other great characters with similar passions and resolves a few issues and problems on the way to her very own prom.
There is a wonderful air of diversity around the cast, people coming together and enriching each other’s lives. While the narrative documents the events and preparations taking place, the interviews cast additional light onto the characters, their past and likes and disliked.
Once again, Olga’s background as psychologist adds credibility and deeper insights.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a lovely story, engaging and warm characters and a feel good story through and through. A definite winner.
Head over to buy the book: Amazon US
And: Amazon UK
A selection of books in Spanish or English by Olga Nunez Miret
Read the reviews and buy the books including audio: Amazon UK
and: Amazon US
Follow: Olga on Goodreads
Connect to Olga via her blog– AuthorTranslator Olga
The next review is for a kiss for the worthy: Poetry inspired by the Walt Whitman poem ‘Leaves of Grass’ (A Love Poetry Trilogy Book 2) by Frank Prem
About the collection
Houses and rooms are full of perfumes,
the shelves are crowded with perfumes,
I breathe the fragrance myself and know it and like it,
The distillation would intoxicate me also,
but I shall not let it.. . .
from Leaves of Grass
Drawing on the phrasing of Walt Whitman’s great late 19th century poem Leaves of Grass (above) Frank Prem has produced a collection of expansive and outward looking love poetry written, as always, in the unique style that allows every reader to relate.
Prem’s interpretations breathe new life into contemporary exploration of themes of love in poetry, and utilise Whitman’s original phrases to inspire a contemplation of the self in the context of landscape and the wider world:
and as they open
I realise
they are filled
with sweet perfumes
golden glory
wafted aroma
from a house filled (with the sensual)
a kiss for the worthy is the second of three collections that together comprise A Love Poetry Trilogy, with each revisiting outstanding work by stellar poets of the past to produce vibrant new collections. The first collection, walk away silver heart, draws on Amy Lowell’s deeply personal Madonna of the Evening Flowers, while the third, rescue and redemption, derives from T.S Eliot’s The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.
This is a new kind of poetry that tells stories, draws pictures and elicits emotional responses from readers. Just as the best poetry should.
A recent review for the collection
This is the second book in Prem’s Love Trilogy. Prem has taken from Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass and once again, transforms his own version of thoughts and feelings putting his own creative spin on Whitman’s poetry by taking in and evoking the simple joys of life, love and nature.
Three of these poems stood out to me: – Clean (This soil, my air), transformed from ‘From this soil, this air’, Prem goes deeper – ‘A bootprint in the sand, breathing my own air – a cleansing’. And he takes the poignant line from ‘Born Here (an immigrant son)’, transformed into – ‘Born here of parents born here from parents of the same, and their parents the same …’, the author shares his own lineage on this controversial and au current topic. He continues – “Sing me a song of an immigrant, on the road – sing me the song of a traveller, I will join you in the chorus, for I carry, that same dusty weight.” ‘No to Espresso’ gives us a stunning conversion into the realms of addiction to the coveted java – which Prem expands on in stanza, elaborating on how caffeine affects.
Prem leaves us much to both savor and contemplate with his altered perspective on Whitman’s work. A mixture of emotion and perspective, cleverly re-wrapped into engaging bite-sized stories with robust meaning. I look forward to the last book in this beautiful series.
Read the reviews and buy the collection: Amazon US
And: Amazon UK
Also by Frank Prem
Read the reviews and buy the books: Amazon US
And Amazon UK: Amazon UK
Read more reviews and follow Frank on Goodreads: Goodreads
Connect to Frank via his blog: Frank Prem WordPress
The final author is Balroop Singh, with a review for her poetry collection Moments We Love
About the collection
Moments of fragrant love that stand frozen in time, of dreams that dare not unfold, of passion that fleets by, of erratic joy that we meet at the crossroads of life, butterflies of time that add color to our dark moments to scare the demons away – I have gathered all of them in this book. Some of them whisper softly to create a magical aura while spring of life sings with them, trying to wipe silent tears. Mother Nature steps in with all her grandeur to breath quiet messages of tranquility.
Each poem would soothe your emotions with élan and add a dash of color to your life. Life – that doesn’t halt for your sad moments; that just floats by. You just need to dive in to soak in myriads of moments to discover how it could ignite positive tones. All the poems in this collection are imaginary but inspired from people around me, some of whom chose to share their frustrations and tremors with me. Sometimes I could read between the lines to pen my thoughts down.
Memories and moments merge here
Today when I return to share
The glow of rainbows
Embers of emotional entreaties
And smoldering debris.
One of the recent reviews for the collection
Last year I read Sublime Shadows of Life by Balroop Singh and loved it. It delighted me to read Moments We Love by the same author. I enjoyed Singh’s poetry style. The poetry in this book depicted deep emotions, sensitive to human relationships, and appreciation of nature. It reflected the vivid imagination from the author’s personal experience and her observation of the surrounding circumstances.
The poetry collection is divided into three sections. Moments of Love in section one included poems of the passionate and magical feeling of young lovers, the lovers drifting apart, and turning against each other, and the return of love brought above by cuddling of the grandchildren. Moments of Harmony in section two included poems about nature and seasons. Moments that make Life in section three included poems about buried dreams, moment of tranquility, moment in waiting, moment of deceit, moment of waiting, and moment of new beginning.
Section three ended with the poems When I Go and The Last Smile as the author’s thoughts of the transience of life.
Also by Balroop Singh
Read the reviews and buy the books: Amazon US
and : Amazon UK
Read more reviews and follow Balroop on: Goodreads
Connect to Balroop via her blog: Balroop Singh on WordPress
Thanks for dropping in today and I hope you will be leaving with some books under your arm… thanks Sally.
Another fabulous group, Sally. Thanks.
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Thank you John..have a great weekend..hugsx
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Good to see my friends Olga, Frank and Balroop here, Sally. Thank you for including my review. Congrats to the authors for all the great reviews.
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Thanks Miriam.. and for a great review to share..hugsxx
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You’re welcome, Sally. ❤
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Lovely to see Olga, Frank and Balroop here, Sally. I have read books by all of them. I have this one of Frank’s on my TBR and will be featuring Frank as my July Treasuring Poetry guest and sharing my review.
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Hi Sally, Olga, Frank and Balroop certainly make a wonderful trio of authors – and congratulations to them on these fantastic reviews. Toni x
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Thank you Toni. Have a great weekend..hugsx
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I have books by some of these authors on my ereader waiting for me … and waiting … and waiting … lols
Another great collection of authors. Thanks for sharing, Sally. Hugs xx 🙂
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At least something to look forward to in the future Harmony….hugsxx
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Thanks so much, Sally for sharing the first review of my new book and especially for featuring me next to such talented writers. Congratulations to Frank and Balroop and thanks to all for their lovely comments. Happy weekend! ♥
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Delighted to share Olga..hugs ♥
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Reblogged this on Just Olga and commented:
Thanks to Sally for featuring a review for my newest book in her update, and for the chance to accompany such great writers as Frank Perm and Balroop Singh. ♥
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Thanks for sharing Olga..hugsx
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Reblogged this on Author Don Massenzio and commented:
Check out these author updates from the Smorgasbord Cafe and Bookstore featuring Olga Nunez Miret, Frank Prem and Balroop Singh
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Wonderful mood based books, i will love. The “You’re Never Too Old to be A Prom Queen” sounds also funny. Getting older one realizes to miss something of the youth. Thank you for sharing, Sally! Enjoy your Friday afternoon. Here we have British weather, but temperatures of 23 degrees (C). :-)) Michael
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Thanks Michael.. and we have intermittent sunshine.. now you see it, now you don’t.. the laughter extra tonight is all about Irish Weather…xxx
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:-)) Sun rays on demand.
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Olga’s book sounds like a cheery summer read, Sally. And Frank and Balroop are both amazing poets that I enjoy reading. Excellent reviews. Congrats to all three authors. 🙂
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Thanks Diana.. we didn’t have proms in my day at school.. and the last year sort of fizzled out with a whimper… Rather nice to celebrate even when older..xx
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We did have proms, but I don’t recall them being outrageously fun. They’d be much more fun now! Lol.
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Especially as we are old enough to drink! xx
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Ha! True. 🙂
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Thank you for your comment. I never had one!
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Well, if you ever want to… you have the formula to get it done. 🙂
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Thank you so much Sally, I am in wonderful company. Thanks to Miriam too for a lovely review of Moments We love. Cheers to awesome authors of our cafe!
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Pleasure Balroop and a lovely review.. have a good weekend..hugsx
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You too dear. 🙂
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Wonderful trifecta of authors and friends here today Sal. I’ve enjoyed every book I’ve read from all, Frank, Balroop and Olga. And such fantastic reviews! Thanks for including mine for Frank’s book. I’ll be into book 3 soon, as well as Olga’s coming up ❤
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Thanks Debby.. and will look out for those reviews.. we are lucky to have so much good stuff waiting for us..♥
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True Sal ❤
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Thanks, Debby!
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Thanks you, Sally. Thank you, everyone for your support.
I am grateful.
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Pleasure Frank.. enjoy your weekend..x
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