book reviews | Mandy Eve-Barnett's Blog for Readers & Writers

Bibliophile’s Collective Tuesday – Steampunk Book Cover Reveal

September 15, 2020
mandyevebarnett

And now here is the eagerly awaited full cover reveal of my steampunk novel, The Commodore’s Gift. I am so pleased with it. Thanks to DLG Cover Design for making my vision come to life.

The Commondores's Gift 282-1

Genre: Steampunk

Blurb: Under the Buldrick Empire’s rule, Owena finds herself fighting alongside a rebel force. Her aptitude for strategy and swordsmanship come to the fore. When she meets Galen, not only does she fall in love but becomes even more determined to join the fight to restore the rightful King to the throne.

Official launch date 26th September 2020

Location: Facebook Live – Writers Foundation of Strathcona County’s Words in the Park Virtual event. https://www.facebook.com/groups/178555652163835/

10:00 am – 4:00 pm Enjoy author interviews, book trailers, Trivia games and a story sharing contest, prize draws, book readings and much more.

ATTENTION BOOK CLUBBERS!

HAVE A BOOK CLUB AND NEED A BOOK RECOMMENDATION? Have a Book Club? Or thinking of starting one? Know someone who does? If you said YES! Please contact me at www.mandyevebarnett.com I am happy to supply Q&A for any of my books and can arrange a prize draw too.

Book Review

One Step Closer by Sophie Pollard – A good debut novel by Sophie Pollard. The twists and turns and internal angst came through well in the writing.

My current read is: City of Dreams by Suzanne Burkett

What are you reading?

Bibliophile’s Collective Tuesday – Famous Books and Author Readings

September 1, 2020
mandyevebarnett

Once we leave the education system, our reading choices change. Free from scheduled literature, some we had no interest in reading in the first place, our choices expand. Depending on our own particular favored genre, we pick books for a variety of reasons. However, have you read any of the classics?

The following list is for the 20th century, but of course there are many other books that have been hailed as excellent over the decades.

TOP TEN WORKS OF THE 20TH CENTURY

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust
Ulysses* by James Joyce
Dubliners* by James Joyce
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
The complete stories of Flannery O’Connor
Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov

How are you liking your current read?

Due to a variety of things I am still reading One Step Closer but hope to finish in the next week or so. Then I will begin If It Bleeds followed by The Secrets of Flight.

Have you reviewed each book this year? Remember your pledge in January.

I found a great reading by Stephen King from If It Bleeds. There’s something special about hearing an author read their work.

Take care an happy reading.

Bibliophile’s Collective Tuesday – Back to the Work Office, Reading & Book Reviews and Four-legged Distractions

June 16, 2020
mandyevebarnett

Photo by Ken Tomita on Pexels.com

Two weeks ago saw me return to the work office, it was rather anxiety giving but once I had moved my desk to increase distance, cleaned it with disinfectant and posted signs all over the place – I calmed down a little. It is symptomatic of how many people must feel returning to their workplace. We have been in a safe bubble remotely working from home. Then to be plunged back into an environment, which prior to COVID19 was normal and we didn’t give it a second thought about. Now there are people from other households with differing levels of ‘safety’ protocols. I am taking extra care and will continue to do so. The second wave will come…unfortunately.

It is an adjustment for everyone and we will need time to settle into routine again. In the meantime, I am continuing to read some great novels and edit other author’s work. For some reason my own steampunk manuscript has lacked attention. I need to get back to it. There is the new distraction, of course – Sammie the Schnoodle – and a sharp increase in my step count. Currently I am walking between 10K – 12K a day. So health benefits – yay!

Here she is after her first grooming appointment – a different dog entirely.

Sammie groomed

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life

Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Read

Really enjoyed the parallel lives of Hannah. It is similar to Sliding Doors but not if you get my drift. Great alternatives lives and how one choice can change everything.
Loved the characters, particularly Henry!
If you could see the results of your choices – would you want to know?

Currently reading: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31449217-the-heirloom

Heirloom

What are you currently reading? Have you left a review?

Do you have a book recommendation?

Why not friend me on my Goodreads page? https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6477059.Mandy_Eve_Barnett

Bibliophile Collective Tuesday – Reading & Book Reviews

June 2, 2020
mandyevebarnett

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uncommon

I finished Tom Hanks – Uncommon Type and really enjoyed it. My review: Such a great read. Short stories, some with recurring characters. Each one a glimpse into a life. Well written and fun. An easy book to pick up anytime. Well done Tom!

Now I am reading: Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid

If you know me you will understand my purchase. It is not quite reincarnation but a ‘Sliding Doors’ type story. The central character, Hannah lives parallel lives after an accident. It is an easy read.

life

How is your 2020 Book Pledge to review coming along? Have you managed to review every book you’ve read so far in 2002?

Are you also participating in the Goodreads Reading Challenge? I am on track currently with mine. I also completed reading a new manuscript from a fellow author which was a speculative/sci-fi story of nearly 300 pages. Unfortunately, it doesn’t count against the challenge.

What are you currently reading?

What is the last book you reviewed?

Bibliophile’s Collective Tuesday – The Effect of COVID-19 on Authors & Writers

March 17, 2020
mandyevebarnett

covid19

None of us can escape the barrage of information on this devastating virus and it’s effects. Our priorities are to ensure we are practicing social distancing, self isolation (if needed) and to help those in our community that are most vulnerable.

So instead, I am sharing a small post today to inform you that the planned Book Lovers Weekend, I was to attend on 21st & 22nd March in Jasper, Alberta has been cancelled along with many other events. It will be rescheduled in time and I hope to read at that time.

book lovers schedule

I ask if you can please purchase (or download from your library) a local author’s book and show some love during this time, many will lose the opportunity to read and share.

In the meantime as the hotel and vacation time was already booked, my friend Linda and I will use the four days as a mini writing retreat in Jasper. For writers extra time to write is a blessing, although in this case we would rather have had the opportunity to share our stories. I will utilize the weekend to edit a friend’s manuscript and my own steampunk novel and enjoy the peace and tranquility of nature in Jasper’s National Park. It is a place we regularly visit and every time it is different with animal sightings, weather changes and the expanse of mountainous terrain.

jasper national

Let me know what you are reading and the last book review you made – remember your pledge.

I am still reading this incredible story, some is hard to read considering the conditions the plantation workers endured but the characters are well balanced and believable.

black

Take care and remember you can escape into a narrative at any time.