The Emissary (One Great Year Book 1) – Tamara Veitch, Rene DeFazio

(Reviewed by Jeyran Main) The Emissary is a trilogy fantasy novel written about a group of supernaturals that come to earth in order to assist humans in welcoming what is known as the Great Year. Every twenty-six thousand years, the Atitalans, who are also known as the Emissaries, usher in the Great Year. The Emissaries…

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Death in Shangri-La (A Dotan Naor Thriller Book 1) – Yigal Zur (translated from Hebrew by Sara Kitai

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “Would I have taken the bet if I’d known that as a result Israelis would be murdered, innocent people would die, the popular Israeli image would be shattered, India and Pakistan would be on the verge of a violent conflict that threatened to spiral into nuclear war, and the valleys of…

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Last Exit to Montauk – Phillip Vega

(Reviewed by Jeyran Main) Last Exit to Montauk is a romance novel  about two people who meet and how their relationship affects each other. The love story is set in  Long Island during the 1980’s. With that, comes everything we used to love from the 80’s and the author does a splendid job reminding us…

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Sydney Noir (Akashic Noir Series)- John Dale (Editor)

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “Noir is as much a part of Sydney’s character as frangipanis and cockroaches, rusted iron lace and sandstone terraces, torrential rain and potholed roads.” “Crime and Sydney have always been inseparable: a deep vein of corruption runs beneath the surface of even its most respectable suburbs.” I can’t verify the accuracy…

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Exile On Second Avenue – James P. Walsh

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “What was I waiting for, it would be so freeing to slide so gently from the pain of this place, into the quiet comfort of the unknown, just like him. With every passing moment my grip grew weaker, my eyes shut with the latest gust of wind.” New York writer Mike…

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Are We French Yet? Keith & Val’s Adventures in Provence – Keith Van Sickle

(Reviewed by Don Jung) What would happen if you decided to divide your family life between two countries and live six months of the year in each place? Well, that’s what author Keith Van Sickle has done as he tells us how we can be American and French at the same time. It’s an interesting…

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Our Favorites of 2018

( by JD Jung)   We at UnderratedReads wish all of you health, happiness and prosperity in 2019. As a tradition, we want to remind you of the books that received a 5 bookmark  (Must-read now!) rating  from our reviewers this year. The actual books may have been published in a prior year, but they…

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An UnderratedRead Revisited:The Trouble with Reality: A Rumination on Moral Panic in Our Time – Brooke Gladstone

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “American history is picked with ferment, battles and brawls over with is true. But at this moment, the nation seems to waging Civil War over reality itself. It is thrilling to watch, and tough to sit out, because the stakes are so high. But how will it end?” Donald Trump continues…

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Hôtel Inspiré – Douglas Warren

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “Without realizing it at the time he would be unable to crawl back into his former ‘safe’ life. He had emerged like a butterfly, le papillon. Now he would learn to fly, in fact soar.” Though twenty-eight-year-old Henry Harris came from a wealthy family, he lacked even the basic social skills.…

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Lowdown – Anthony Schneider

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “…Jimmy is from the old days…They really were family when he was young; now there’s not the same trust. Some things like that, they never come back once they’re gone. All five families are the same. Less trust, less power, less money. He came up at the end of a golden…

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