The Confessions of Frances Godwin – Robert Hellenga

Posted on August 24, 2014 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “My life doesn't add up to anything, Father. More like the story of Troy—all in a day’s work—than Rome, going in circles instead of moving forward. I've worn out all the roles I used to play—daughter, student, lover, wife, mother, Latin teacher. Now I’m just…I don’t know what I’m doing." Do…

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Posted in Modern Literary Fiction | Comments Off on The Confessions of Frances Godwin – Robert Hellenga

Rockaway – Tara Ison

Posted on August 11, 2014 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “…the relationship of note to note, that’s what music is, we should have been listening to music in all those art classes, trying to grasp color, refraction, translucence, perspective, the illusion of depth…” It also occurred to her that she had been too afraid of color. She remembered her old college art professor…

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Nochita – Dia Felix

Posted on July 21, 2014 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “I am feeling the burning comet feeling again and I want to run out of the house and keep running for hours. Or stomp the glass coffee table and shatter it and shoot beams of blood out of my fingers. I want to run off the cliffs and just keep running…

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Madam: A Novel of New Orleans – Cari Lynn and Kellie Martin

Posted on July 13, 2014 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “Everything I have, everything I am, I owe to them--to her. …Her family tree was but a stump. And yet, the riches she bestowed upon me: my education, my inheritance…This house, in all its faded elegance, is all I have left. How I hated that it once lived as a bordello—hot…

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Posted in Historical Fiction | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Looking Glass Killer: Volume II: The Matthew-Matt Trilogy – Floyd Merrell

Posted on July 2, 2014 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “I never was, am always to be; no one ever saw me, nor ever will; who am I?”        A serial killer is on the loose. The police are stumped and the public is frantic and impatient. He is referred to as "X-Man","X" standing for an unknown variable as this killer…

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Intimates and Fools Paperback – Laura Madeline Wiseman (Author), Sally Deskins (Illustrator)

Posted on June 4, 2014 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Cathy Carey) New styles of bras always swear they'll save me. They like to lie. I've the stretch marks to prove it. Or they'll come home with me to pinch my shoulders. Or they'll dig red rings around my rib cage. Or they'll twinge my nipples. Promise after empty promise.  Who knew someone…

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Posted in Humor & Satire, Poetry, Short stories | Comments Off on Intimates and Fools Paperback – Laura Madeline Wiseman (Author), Sally Deskins (Illustrator)

More of This World or Maybe Another – Barb Johnson

Posted on May 25, 2014 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) I'm usually critical of short stories. They tend to leave me unsatisfied, wanting more. I'm left unsure of what makes the characters tick, and what ultimately happens to them. So needless to say when I was visiting New Orleans,  I hesitated as to whether I should pick up a copy of Barb…

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Posted in Modern Literary Fiction, Short stories | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Small Moments: A Child’s Memories of the Civil Rights Movement – Mary M. Barrow

Posted on May 13, 2014 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Pat Luboff) I just discovered a treasure that you might not find if you’re depending on the mainstream bestsellers list for reading recommendations. I can’t say enough good things about Small Moments by Mary M. Barrow. Small Moments is a big book, but I don't mean page-wise. It illuminates the horrors of racism and…

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Errata – Michael Allen Zell

Posted on May 11, 2014 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “New Orleans seems to exist as a blank slate for outsiders to grasp and cast their own aspirations, pretenses, and prejudices upon. A few of the outsiders always end up lingering, holding fast, and adding to the city’s layers, despite the fact that New Orleans changes them more than otherwise, ingrains…

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Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers, Modern Literary Fiction, Reviewers' Top Picks | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Power Play – F. Ethan Repp

Posted on May 3, 2014 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “Democracy doesn't just happen, it takes dedicated citizens continuously fighting to preserve it. Elected officials will get away with as much as they can and if no one picks on them for a long time, they slip into an arrogance that breeds a careless contempt.” Though this novel takes place in…

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Posted in Historical Fiction, Political fiction | Comments Off on Power Play – F. Ethan Repp