Underrated Reads

Pastels and Pedophiles: Inside the Mind of QAnon – Mia Bloom and Sophia Moskalenko

Posted on July 10, 2021 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “In a short four years, QAnon metastasized from a fringe movement on anonymous message boards into a cultlike movement, with millions of followers around the world…and practically seized control of the Republican Party.” What actually is QAnon? How has it been able to attract followers from all socioeconomic and educational backgrounds?…

Posted in American Politics, History, Non-fiction, Politics and Social Justice, Reviewers' Top Picks, World Issues | Tagged conspiracy theories, psychology, QAnon, terrorism | Comments Off

Cyclops Conspiracy: An Adam Weldon Thriller – William McGinnis

Posted on July 6, 2021 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Don Jung) If you like spy thrillers, Cyclops Conspiracy is an exciting fast-paced story you’ll enjoy. This is the third book featuring the ex-Navy Seal Adam Weldon and his girlfriend, Tripnee, as they try to retrieve small nuclear bombs stored in suitcases. Interpol adds a female operative to the group who specializes in…

Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers | Tagged espionage, Greece, spy thriller, terrorism | Comments Off

Lilia: a true story of love, courage, and survival in the shadow of war – Linda Ganzini

Posted on July 2, 2021 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Heidi A. Swan) If you love historical fiction, WWII and a book that will make you cry, this book is for you. Lilia is a true story about a young girl’s impoverished life growing up in Italy in a time of war. It’s about agonizing loss and, thankfully, survival. Each scene in the…

Posted in Historical Fiction, Reviewers' Top Picks | Tagged biography, Nazism | Comments Off

Broken Pieces of God – David B Seaburn

Posted on June 29, 2021 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Jeyran Main) Broken Pieces of God is a fictional name about a couple and their struggles with cancer, unemployment, financial hardship, and religious reliance. Eddy works for a cable company and loses his job. Gayle is a tax accountant who has ovarian cancer, enduring failed treatments and insurance problems. The family is under…

Posted in Modern Literary Fiction | Tagged cancer, faith, God, health | Comments Off

Dangerous Conjectures – Brian Finney

Posted on June 22, 2021 by J D Jung

(reviewed by JD Jung) “She couldn’t decide which was deteriorating faster---her life or the country. They were all in the hands of a president who was spreading misinformation as fast as the virus was spreading infection across the world.” “Even his country seemed in danger. Was it going to survive? Would his marriage? Adam and…

Posted in Modern Literary Fiction, Political fiction, Romance | Tagged adultery, COVID-19, disinformation, drug addiction, emotion, facts, family, misinformation, QAnon, San Francisco | Comments Off

Nine Moons – Gabriela Wiener, Jessica Powell (Translator)

Posted on June 14, 2021 by J D Jung

(reviewed by JD Jung) “Europe is the best place for a Latin American to starve to death and drink good wine.” Gabriela Wiener and her husband originally travelled from Peru to Barcelona on student visas. However, when these two journalists sought employment as undocumented immigrants, they found they were on the bottom of the hiring…

Posted in Bios and Memoirs, Latin American Literature | Tagged childbirth, immigration, pregnancy | Comments Off

Where Silence Ends – Angela Ruiz, Mary Ruiz

Posted on June 8, 2021 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Jeyran Main) Where Silence Ends is a beautiful story about how a young girl finally breaks silence over all the abuse and trauma she has gone through. Reading through four generations of Mexican American culture, family drama, and abuse, this memoir truly advocates for those who endure sexual abuse and how hard it…

Posted in Bios and Memoirs | Tagged memoirs, Sexual abuse | Comments Off

Hits, Heathens, and Hippos: Stories from an Agent, Activist, and Adventurer – Marty Essen

Posted on June 3, 2021 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Don Jung) Marty Essen is an interesting personality who went from being in the music industry to becoming a political activist and then a travel writer/lecturer covering seven continents. This autobiography has a laid-back narrative that feels like your cousin coming home to tell his stories. Starting with his teenage experience working…

Posted in Bios and Memoirs, Non-fiction | Tagged autobiography, Business, entrepreneur, travel | Comments Off

Barcelona Dreaming – Rupert Thomson

Posted on May 30, 2021 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “His discovery that I had been seeing a Moroccan immigrant half my age shocked him even more than the fact that I was implicated in my next-door neighbor’s death. He believed I was trying to destroy myself. Kamikaze behavior, he called it.” “The Giant of Sarrià”, the first in these three…

Posted in Modern Literary Fiction, Short stories | Tagged addiction, Barcelona, class, illegal immigration, race | Comments Off