Law of the Jungle – Christina Hoag

Posted on January 7, 2022 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Don Jung) Rowena Aldus is an Oxford scholar whose passion is researching the venom in spiders to use for medicinal purposes in humans. Though she finds this fascinating, she struggles to get funding. Author Christina Hoag details the hardships one has in living a very primitive life in the Amazon Jungle away from…

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The Unwanted Dead: The Shocking End of Zorba’s Heretical Author – Yorgos Pratanos

Posted on January 3, 2022 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned Nikos Kazantzakis, a popular post WWII Cretan writer, died in October 1957. His works included Zorba the Greek and The Last Temptation of Christ. Many thought he was a Communist and a heretic, and the Greek clergy tried to ban his books. Some even wanted him excommunicated. His enemies not…

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Wishing you the Best in the New Year!

Posted on January 1, 2022 by J D Jung

( by JD Jung) We at UnderratedReads wish all our readers a safe and Happy New Year filled with health, love, and truth throughout 2022. We have discovered wonderful books during 2021 to help us get through these trying times. Since we only post reviews of books that we recommend, all books on our site…

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Jazz Age Cocktails: History, Lore, and Recipes from America’s Roaring Twenties – Cecelia Tichi

Posted on December 27, 2021 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned On January 16, 1920, the Volstead Act was enacted, which established Prohibition in the United States. Of course, people found a way around it and alcohol consumption and bootlegging flourished. Jazz Age Cocktails takes an in-depth look at Prohibition and the rise of the cocktail culture of the 1920s, predominantly…

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The Professor’s Wife – Marina DelVecchio

Posted on December 21, 2021 by J D Jung

Reviewed by JD Jung) “She was not what she had promised, what she had led him to believe. And he couldn’t help but feel deceived. Tricked, somehow. Bitterness coursed through his bloodstream like an invisible worm consuming him from the inside.” Dr. Carl Bingham, a middle-aged professor of British literature was content living a life…

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In Remembrance – Eve Babitz (1943-2021)

Posted on December 18, 2021 by J D Jung

(by JD Jung) Author Eve Babitz who wrote about the decadent 1960's and 1970's sub-culture of Los Angeles passed away December 17th.  Her books were among the "highly recommended" on UnderratedReads. Revisit our reviews of her memoir "Slow Days, Fast Company: The World, The Flesh, and L.A.", and her novel "Sex and Rage". Her books…

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An UnderratedRead Revisited: The Berlin Woman – Alan Kaufman

Posted on December 14, 2021 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned “She turns her giving of love available to transact with, as a form of punishment, a torment, an affliction, an act of revenge. She replays overtures of love with suffering and pain.” So why is writer Nathan Falk so obsessed with the icy, callous but beautiful Lena? She’s also an…

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My Monticello – Jocelyn Nicole Johnson

Posted on December 7, 2021 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned “My whole life, it seems, there’s been a revival of hatred and violence toward people who look like me. Waves of men have surged into our town from all over the state, the country.” This is Charlottesville, VA in the somewhat near future. After severe thunderstorms rip out the electrical…

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Five-Alarm Fire (Cat Caliban Series Book 5) – D.B. Borton

Posted on December 3, 2021 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Pat Luboff)   I have a friend named Dori. We don’t see each other or speak to each other often, but when we do get together, something special happens. We get into a rapid-fire back-and-forth that turns into laughter and the laughter feeds on itself and grows and grows until we don’t know…

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Seven Down – David Whitton

Posted on November 30, 2021 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned Why would someone agree to participate in a clandestine operation in which they knew nothing about? Would it be for the excitement, money, or for a totally different reason? This is the premise of the character-driven, off-beat novel, Seven Down. Not only did these people have no idea as to…

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