Welcome to the Friday cafe and bookstore update and we have some great new books to add to the shelves. The first is Highland Peril by Amy M. Reade which was published on 5th September.
About Highland Peril
Trading the urban pace of Edinburgh for a tiny village overlooking a breathtaking blue loch was a great move for budding photographer Sylvie Carmichael and her artist husband, Seamus—until a dangerous crime obscures the view . . .
Sylvie’s bucolic life along the heather-covered moors of the Highlands is a world away from the hectic energy of the city. But then a London buyer is killed after purchasing a long-lost Scottish masterpiece from Seamus’s gallery—and the painting vanishes. As suspicion clouds their new life, and their relationship, Sylvie’s search for answers plunges her into an unsolved mystery dating back to Cromwellian Scotland through World War I and beyond. And as she moves closer to the truth, Sylvie is targeted by a murderer who’s after a treasure within a treasure that could rewrite history . . . and her own future.
An early review of the book
Another 5 Star hit from Amy M Reade. The prologue set me off! Intrigue might be a good word to describe it. After reading those first few pages, I could not wait to get into the story. And the story did not disappoint. It was beautifully written, filled with edge of your seat events. And if you think you know what will happen next, think again!
Having read all of Amy’s books, I think I have a good feel for who the murderer is going to be. Expect the unexpected is what I tell myself! But lo and behold, I was wrong as usual. The characters were beautifully developed to give the reader a sense of their emotions; sadness, happiness, disappointment, not to mention helplessness.
Of course Amy never disappoints when it comes to descriptions, which is something I love. The food, the language, the countryside smells, everything a reader needs to be right there with the characters! I have a new favorite Amy M. Reade book and I highly recommend!
Head over and check the book out: https://www.amazon.com/Highland-Peril-Malice-Novel-Reade-ebook/dp/B01N9GF9WF
Also by Amy M. Reade
Read all the reviews and buy the books: https://www.amazon.com/Amy-M.-Reade/e/B00LX6ASF2
and Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Amy-M.-Reade/e/B00LX6ASF2
Follow Amy on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8189243.Amy_M_Reade
Find out more about Amy Reade and connect via her website: www.amymreade.com
Our next author with a new book on the shelves is Seumas Gallacher with a move from his thriller series starring Jack Calder…Those of us who follow Seumas on Facebook have enjoyed his all too rare poetry posts and so this collection has been published due to popular demand. A Few Poetry Stops in a Life’s Journey was published on August 31st.
About the collection.
An innovative collection of poems with prefaced stories on the genesis of each piece. An established author’s reflections in verse on parts of a journey through a life and career.
And here is an early review for the collection.
I loved the format of this collection and the way each poem is grouped according to subject matter:- reflection, humour, love or, the more general, ‘the madness of man,’ making the book easy to dip into and providing plenty of material to suit a particular mood or occasion. Each is introduced by a brief resume from the author about his life at the time of writing and what prompted him to write it, creating a fascinating potted biographer along the way and increasing anticipation of what is to follow.
For example, as in, ‘The Night Rain,’ a poem in which it adds an extra layer to know that these are the thoughts of a sixteen year old boy, recovering in hospital from an operation and far from home and family:- ‘See the moonbeams, lonely, shine in puddles forming on the ground, reflecting, for no-one, a silvery water-line.’
The book encompasses a life-time, past and present, youth and age, innocence and experience, from the light and tender, ‘To Weep is not a Shame’, to the sense of loss in ‘At Home’, or to the reflective, ‘A Thought or Two on Memories’, a looking back on life in ‘the quiet times/with no one else around’. But all the poems touched my emotion in some way. I particularly liked, ‘Thoughts on a Wild Thing’ and the ‘kindly evening breeze’ that brings a refreshing coolness to the young couple walking home, flushed from the dance. The movement and emotion of the dance, ‘the coil of tousled hair and cheeks, flushed with fast and furious flurry’, is carried on throughout the poem, as in the dancing ‘leaf-laden birches’ and it’s just a sweet and innocent poem.
‘Golden Moments’, a moving tribute to enduring love, is just beautiful, the deep feelings expressed contrasting strongly with the despair of, ‘I asked the Wind’, which is about the hopelessness experienced when a love affair turns sour, leaving one partner bereft.
Of the more general poems, ‘To the Flowers of Tiananmen Square’, stood out for me. We probably all remember the iconic image of the young, flag-bearing student, bravely facing down the tank, but reading this poem, made me remember how I felt at the time, too and catches at the mood exactly. I was also touched by, ‘How many more migrants must we lose?’
The reality of the tragic loss of life really hit home as the voice of the narrator switches from father to child, re-enforcing the senseless waste of a child’s life.
In the preface, Seumas Gallacher talks of the little attention he feels he’s paid to the rhythm, balance and metre of his poetry but on reading his collection, I could only think that this really doesn’t matter. Each poem has its own flow and is expressive of an honest and vivid emotion, carrying the reader along with it with its own force. I think he has a true poet’s heart.
Here is the link to buy the collection: https://www.amazon.com/FEW-POETRY-STOPS-LIFES-JOURNEY-ebook/dp/B0759V7L3J
and:https://www.amazon.co.uk/FEW-POETRY-STOPS-LIFES-JOURNEY-ebook/dp/B0759V7L3J
Also by Seumas Gallacher
Read all the reviews and buy the books: https://www.amazon.co.uk/seumas-gallacher/e/B005DVJY8U
and at Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/seumas-gallacher/e/B005DVJY8U
Connect to Seumas via his website: http://seumasgallacher.com/
And another collection of poetry, Sitting in Silence was published on September 2nd by Nicholas Rinth.
About Sitting in Silence.
Sitting in Silence is a collection of poetry and prose birthed during the idle instances of life that allow for noiseless introspection. It’s about the struggles of love, of loss, and of the unsuspecting experiences in between that make life worth living—and worth scorning.
From a beginning filled with bitter ruminations, to an ending that embraces reality and its sufferings, Sitting in Silence is a reminder to accept what the world hurls in your path, and to let those hardships shape you into something better.
You can buy the collection here: https://www.amazon.com/Sitting-Silence-Nicholas-Rinth/dp/0998821683
Also by Nicholas Rinth
The most recent review for Heartstone – The Drowned Tower
The drowned tower is the first fantasy novel in the Heartstone Series written about a girl named Sylvie. Sylvie possesses magical powers and works for the Zenith Council by doing their biddings. The Drowned Tower is at the Eastern Branch of the land, which is called, Ferus Terria. The Practitioners Institute of Magic picks one child as the “Chosen” and just like any other institute, it teaches kids to enhance their magical abilities.
Things begin to change when an Elder comes to Ferus Terria. He has a mission and is seeking for people with best abilities. Sylvia is sent to the drowned tower. Those with special blood that have magical powers live in the drowned tower. The Nebbin are called the non-magic folks that live nearby. As Sylvie gets sent to the tower and begins her schooling she begins to make friends and have a better understanding of how the system works. Her path and background are revealed and she has to make some tough decisions about her future.
Everything begins to unravel while she is there and that is where the excitement begins. I particularly liked Sylvie’s personality. Although she was a girl, there was nothing girly about her. Her spirit was strong and her will was even stronger. The story had epic battles and much backstory, creating a well-balanced foundation for any future sequel.
I found the literature standard and the lyrical storytelling to be strong. The plot may not be as novel and unique, however, the picturesque descriptiveness of the book is in my opinion, the reason why this book is special.
I recommend this book to Sci- Fi/ Fantasy lovers and people that like to read on magical encounters.
Buy all the books: https://www.amazon.com/Nicholas-Rinth/e/B071CPG7WM
Read more reviews and follow Nicholas on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16594647.Nicholas_Rinth
Connect to Nicholas Rinth via her blog: https://nrinth.wordpress.com/
Thank you for dropping by and perhaps today you might just check to see if you are in the Cafe and Bookstore and if you are missing a new book that has been published recently let me know at sally.cronin@moyhill.com so that I can include in the next update and add to the shelves.
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