E.S. Barrison's Blog, page 8
June 7, 2021
The Quest for the Holy Hummus – Book Review
Book Rating: ★★★★✰ (4 / 5 stars)
George has one desire: hummus.
Meanwhile Julian yearns to keep his organic vegan store open.
Little did either of them expect their lives to intersect. Yet, Julian only sees George as he really is: a monster. Can George escape the prejudice of being a dragon? And can he find a place where he is accepted, away from the delinquent dragons of Dragonville?
Or will his quest for hummus be for naught?
In a fun, fast paced story about a dragon who wants hummus, we venture with George to People Town. Along the way, George faces persecution from both humans and dragons alike. Yet, like anyone on a daily trip to the supermarket, George only wants to complete his routine, and obtain a small thing that makes him happy.
The Quest for the Holy Hummus is a fun, satirical book reminiscent of a sketch on Adult Swim or from Monty Python. The entire premise is light hearted, constantly poking fun at both serious and not-so-serious topics. In all honesty, you should go into it expecting something silly and ridiculous!
And that’s exactly how I approached reading this book. You can’t go into any book like this expecting it to be too serious. I thought it was silly and fun – and if that was the goal of the book, then it certainly accomplished it! On top of that, it was well written, and I had a clear visualization of the story.
Truthfully, I think this would work fantastically as an audiobook! A talented narrator, or even a full cast, could bring the story to life! I’ve already heard similar stories narrated on Audible, and I think this one fits!
Sure, the story isn’t revolutionary, and some of the moments felt a little too “forced”, but overall The Quest for the Holy Hummus is a fun and fast read!
I’m definitely going to check out the rest of The Chickpea Chronicles in the near future!
What’s it about?
A journey for organic hummus results in unwarranted prejudice. The story of how George The-Decent Dragon became the greenest vegan in human society.
Despite being a regressive and unhelpful stereotype, it was nevertheless accurate to say that dragons were aggressive, bloodthirsty brutes. Not George, though. He’s a self-professed ‘decent’ individual with a penchant for organic cookery, gardening, and making his own clothes. Oh, and he’s a vegan, you know!
George’s adventure begins when he decides he wants some hummus. However, as Dragonville definitely isn’t the sort of place to find chickpea-based snacks, he sets off towards People Town to visit his favourite place in the whole world, the glorious Farmer Fred’s feel-good, local, family, fair-trade, organic wholefoods store.
Follow George as he traverses Dragonville, desperately tolerating the idiots who wander into his path – before continuing on towards lovely, civilised People Town where unfortunately our heroic, massive, fire-breathing reptile encounters further unwarranted prejudice.
Will George get his delicious dip? Will he make any new friends? Will years of suppressing his true instincts make him have a terrifying and very-public nervous breakdown? Find out!
The Quest for the Holy Hummus on Goodreads
June 6, 2021
Insane: – Book Review
Book Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.5 / 5 stars)
Audio Book Performance: ★★★★☆ (4 / 5 Stars)
America’s relationship with mental illness has been a long and tenuous affair. With a history of underfunded and abusive asylums – depicted in such fictional stories as One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest – we have since transitioned out of these institutions to ones hidden in the shadows of society. The mentally ill have become a product of the American Prison system, and without proper funding and resources, many of these convicts are stuck a system that keeps them incarcerated for most of their lives.
In a harrowing, but equally fascinating, examination of the American Mental Health system, Insane delves in the systematic epidemic that has been created from the country’s inability to take care of its most vulnerable. Individuals, most male and female alike, are stuck in a chain of psychosis, incompetency, and confusion that consistently sends them back into the system. It is horrifying to think that the inability to get help when and individual needs it most could turn them into a felon.
But this isn’t just a story of the incarcerated, but also the officers who are transformed into these mental health professionals. Individuals never trained to be counselors or to respond to incidents involving psychosis or schizophrenia, are often put onto the front line. While this book was written before the “Defund the Police” movement that came out of “Black Lives Matter”, this book shows the exact problem with the current allocation of funds. With so many calls made about mentally ill individuals who pose a societal danger, police officers aren’t the ones who should be responding. Unfortunately, in most cases they are, and this leads to unfortunate and untimely deaths – especially in the black male population.
I saw this book when it first came out in 2019, and am so glad I had a chance to listen to it as an audiobook. While some parts dragged a bit – as nonfiction sometimes does – from start to finish I was intrigued and horrified by the treatment of these individuals. While some certainly committed crimes that cannot be judged by mental illness, for someone to end up in the prison system for years due to repetitive misdemeanors that could be solved given the proper care is unimaginable!
Alisa Roth approaches this examination of mental illness with care and social awareness. She speaks on how more women are impacted by this than men in prison, but due to how more men are incarcerated, more of her case studies belonged to those of men. She interviewed from all sides of the system. In addition, in true journalistic fashion, she is clear when answers weren’t provided.
Overall, Insane has been an eye opening discussion. This is one I definitely recommend!
What’s it about?
An urgent expose of the mental health crisis in our courts, jails, and prisons.
America has made mental illness a crime. Jails in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago each house more people with mental illnesses than any hospital. As many as half of all people in America’s jails and prisons have a psychiatric disorder. One in four fatal police shootings involves a person with such disorders.
In this revelatory book, journalist Alisa Roth goes deep inside the criminal justice system to tell how and why it has become a warehouse where inmates are denied proper treatment, abused, and punished in ways that make them sicker. Through intimate stories of people in the system and those trying to fix it, Roth reveals the hidden forces behind this crisis and suggests how a fairer and more humane approach might look. Insane is a galvanizing wake-up call for criminal justice reformers and anyone concerned about the plight of our most vulnerable.
Insane on GoodreadsJune 5, 2021
The Gorgon and the Stranger – Book Review
Book Rating: ★★★★★ (5 / 5 stars)
Euryale has one goal: protect her sisters. But when she has a prophetic vision about an untimely demise to her family, she is left with an impending dread as to what to do. Is it the stranger that has arrived in the woods? Or something far worse?
This quick story did exactly what it needed to do: it pulled me in and made me want more. With Ashley Castillo’s Bright One series on the horizon, creating this short story was the perfect way to draw readers like me into the world before it was released. While I certainly want to know more, and was disappointed when the story ended, it only means one thing: I will definitely be picking up the Bright One series once Castillo releases it!
I do admit, I had to do some mythology research while reading this, especially regarding Gorgons. Of course, I am familiar with Medusa, but I had to research more about the species for the story to really sink in. Yet, just a 5-minute Google Search was enough for me to sink into Euryale’s story.
I have a feeling that good things are to come from Ashley Castillo! Definitely one to watch!
What’s it about?
Her visions foretold a threat. Can a mysterious encounter melt a stone-cold heart?
Bestowed with prophetic powers, the gorgon Euryale tries to channel her visions to protect her sisters from the dangers lurking within their unforgiving world.
After witnessing a terrible vision bringing harm to the ones she loves, Euryale becomes determined to prevent her prophecy from coming to pass. But when she hunts down the stranger that she is certain must be the threat and meets him face-to-face, an unexpected series of events unfold that cause her to question her visions – and whether she can really trust anything at all…
Imbued with timeless and thought-provoking themes of friendship and trust, The Gorgon and the Stranger is a riveting short story that will resonate with fantasy fans of all backgrounds. If you like gripping reads with fantastical worlds and plenty of magic, then this tale is for you
The Gorgon and the Stranger on Goodreads*Cover Reveal* A Pool of Peony
The mist has thickened with a vendetta. A bounty has been offered for answers.
And no one’s story is safe.
It’s been six months since the Storm of Nightmares and Bria has not gone home. With wanted signs plastered throughout Rosada, she has been stuck chasing the so-called Story Collector throughout the Independent City of Mert. Yet, when a break-in occurs in Todd Dray’s shop, it unleashes a chain of events that sends the city into disarray.
With his mind tormented by demons and flashes of his past catching up with him, Brent has been navigating Mert as a half version of himself. When a masked figure offers to help, he accepts, unknowingly stepping into a conflict that has riddled the world for centuries.
The City of Mert has become a target for both the Order of the Effluvium and the Council of Mist Keepers. With fear mounting, Bria, with the help of a mysterious, red-eyed woman, a palaver of immortals, and a silver pool, must decide what part she plays in this oncoming storm.
Can she find the Story Collector before it’s too late?
A Pool of Peony, the much anticipated sequel to The Mist Keeper’s Apprentice, will be released on August 22, 2021!
While pre-orders aren’t available online yet, you CAN pre-order directly from me and receive some exciting bonus items!
Details on pre-orders for Amazon, B&N, and more coming soon!
Haven’t read The Mist Keeper’s Apprentice? Make sure to pick up a copy before A Pool of Peony is released
June 2, 2021
Light to Darkness – Book Review
Book Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.5 / 5 stars)
Imagine a world where vampires and humans coexist.
That is Victoria’s reality. With her parents working at a blood bank, and two of her three best friends vampires, the idea of vampires and humans at odds seems like something of fiction. But one day, when she and her friend Nicole get abducted by a group of individuals who hate the way society has turned, their entire lives are turned upside down. Victoria becomes the product of an experiment, and while balancing her conflicting emotions when it comes to her vampire friend Von, as well as her newfound interest in the secretive vampire Zane, she must learn to navigate her new reality.
I’ll be frank: I don’t usually read Paranormal or Urban Fantasy. This was a mystery read sent to me as a part of the Indie Takeover Event on Tiktok. But, that being said, I had a lot of fun reading this book! It was fast paced, but not to the point where it left me confused or wanting more, and I absolutely adored how Victoria came into her own towards the end of the book. The lesson is simple, in the end: choose the path you want and don’t let others control you.
I find that, in a way, it was a commentary on vampire fiction as a whole. Victoria is sick of being lied to by, controlled by, and ordered around by these ancient vampires who seem to know more than her. While for the longest time, Victoria accepted her friends as her protectors, she ultimately recognizes how controlling they are to an extent. Her choices are her own in the end, and that is what makes Light to Darkness so great.
Yet, while I had a lot of fun reading Light to Darkness, I had a few small hang ups. This once again could be due to how I don’t typically read Paranormal Fantasy though, so some of the tropes common in it don’t appeal to me. For instance, the love triangle that forms around Zane and Von made me uneasy. In addition, some of Zane’s ways of flirting didn’t quite land with me, but that really does come down to personal taste.
I also felt like if the book had been a bit longer, we may have been given a chance to explore the dynamics of the society with vampires and humans (although Flerl did quite a good job putting that together). I think the part that I really wanted to know more about revolved around the werewolves though. I won’t spoil how they are involved, but they seem to come out of nowhere, and have a deep involvement in the overall outcome of the story.
Ultimately, Zane’s storyline is the more interesting one in my opinion. I would have loved to delve into his involvement more. I won’t give away if he is a good or bad guy though, since that would spoil a HUGE part of the story.
Overall though, if you enjoy fast paced paranormal fantasy, I think you’ll have a great time with Light to Darkness! So definitely check it out if vampires are right up your alley.
What’s it about?
Light to Darkness is the story of college student Victoria Stratton, a spunky, head strong, and fun spirited woman, whose fierce devotion to her friends, human and vampire alike, is threatened by rebels of the new society.
The new society is a mixture of humans and vampires that live in harmony together until a group of rebels decide to cause trouble. They kidnap and experiment on humans and vampires. Victoria has to overcome torture, love, and guilt. Her stubbornness gets her into trouble but her strong nature makes her a fighter.
Contains mature content and violence. Intended for readers 18+
Light to Darkness on GoodreadsMay 28, 2021
Night Magick – Book Review
Book Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3 / 5 stars)
Audio Book Performance: ★★★★☆ (4 / 5 Stars)
Cole always looked up to his father: a neurologist who also dabbled with magic. But, after his father passes away in an accident, Cole is left with only his mother, as well as his two best friends Sanchez and Ethan. Magic proves to be the one connection he has with his father, and when he finds a mysterious clue hidden in his father’s old belongings about a book, it sends him on an adventure of a lifetime. Suddenly, Cole and his friends are being hunted by Evil Elvis Impersonators, a nefarious Vegas Magician, and a college professor! Can Cole find the book before it is too late? And even if he does, what then? Magic can’t be really real, right?
A puzzle, layered with magic and detective work, Night Magick puts a twist on movies and books like National Treasure or The Da Vinci Code. Placed on the Vegas Strip, with three adolescents as the stars, it takes a classic story and adds a twist that both children and adults will enjoy.
Overall, the plot is simple and to the point, with the group dynamic being the standard: the leader, the jokester, and the smart-one (Cole, Ethan, and Sanchez). I already anticipated most of the “surprises” but seeing as I was not the target audience, that is to be the case. It’s predictable and expected, but children will love it!
My rating ultimately came down to the predictability, slight ridiculousness of some of the parts (although that is to be expected with Middle Grade books so it really didn’t matter much) and open ended questions. Why didn’t Cole’s father just destroy the book in the first place? Why create clues so his son could find it, with the risk it would end up in the wrong hands? These aren’t questions that are answered, but perhaps if another story of Cole and his friends come out, then it might be! The ending left that open as a possibility.
Night Magick, overall, is a fun story that explores magic, puzzles, and the Vegas Strip. It’s definitely one that children will enjoy, and with Josh Gad as the narrator…you’re bound to have a good time!
What’s it about?
Cole Balek is a liar.
Okay, not really. He just makes you think he’s sawing someone in half or that he’s trapped in a trunk. All Cole wants is to continue the love of magic that he and his late father shared by becoming the best tween magician in the Las Vegas area.
But when Cole and his mother get a mysterious note from a rare book collector, he’s forced to search among his father’s belongings for A Lesson in Magick, an old book of spells connected to an ancient group of magickers. What he finds instead are a series of coded clues his dad left for him – clues that send Cole and his best friends Ethan and Sanchez on a wild scavenger hunt throughout Las Vegas, in search of A Lesson in Magick. Cole must use every hack and magic trick he’s got, because he knows that if the book falls into the wrong hands, disaster will strike.
As danger mounts, who can this clever, funny, and determined group of friends really trust in a world filled with professional magicians, strange professors, and scary Elvis impersonators?
Night Magick on GoodreadsMay 13, 2021
The Mist Keeper’s Apprentice: Audiobook Now Available!
The Mist Keeper’s Apprentice is now available in audiobook format!
Storytelling was outlawed. Magic had all but vanished.
That all changed when the woman in black came to town.
Branded with the black stamp at a young age, Brent thought he would end up a vagrant like his father. His craft was telling stories, but the Order had long forbidden any weaving of tales. When Brent sees the woman in black, she leads him into a menagerie of tunnels beneath the earth where his life falls into the nauseating, but beautiful, mist of the dead.
He finds friendship in Rho, a young woman who hides her face with a tree branch while roots and vines bow to her every whim. Together, they embark on a journey to explore the world, escape the watchful eyes of the Order, and discover the woman in black’s secrets.
For thousands of years, the mist and the tunnels were under the sole guardianship of the Council of Mist Keepers. But as new monsters enter the mist, and magic is forced out of the shadows, the Council searches for young blood to join their ranks and Brent’s next in line.
Content Warning: This book is rated 16+ for mentions of death, violence/sexual assault, adult language, alcohol use, and psychological abuse/trauma.
Over the past month I have worked with the fabulous Jack Nolan to produce an audiobook for The Mist Keeper’s Apprentice.
Jack has done a phenomenal job bringing my characters to life!
Purchase the Audiobook TodayI have a select number of free audiobooks to give away (in exchange for an honest review). If you are interested, please fill out the form below! I’ll select recipients in the coming days.
Submit a form.May 9, 2021
The Good Nurse – Book Review
Book Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.5 / 5 stars)
Audio Book Performance: ★★★★☆ (4 / 5 Stars)
We go to hospitals expecting our lives to be saved.
Yet, for many unsuspecting victims, that wasn’t the case.
Meet Charles Cullen – possibly one of America’s most prolific serial killers. Over the course of a 16 year career, it is believed he killed at least 40 individuals…but some believe he murdered upwards of 400. For years, he acted under the noses of hospitals, injecting patients with lethal levels of insulin and other drugs. Why? What did he hope to gain? What did he see in doing this? Author Charles Graeber may be one of the only individuals granted an interview with Charles Cullen, and in this, be one of the few people who can put together the events that ensued.
As with any true crime narrative, one thing you have to remember is this: the story is an examination of a killer, but it is also about the victims. Graeber does not do anything to romanticize Cullen, but rather shed light onto the perverse nature going through this man’s head. Charles Cullen saw himself as a victim, using his own “trauma” as a method to justify his terrible ways. In no case are the victims blamed for what Cullen did, and nor is his mental illness seen as justification for what he did. While Cullen suffered through depression most of his life, and experienced great trauma in childhood, this is not an excuse; this is foiled by his friend, Amy, who has suffered similarly, but did not turn to murder. No; Cullen is a ruthless individual, manipulative and emotionless in his crimes.
When writing these types of novels, I believe it is important to make this distinction. As a reader, it is important to remember that too. Personally, I love true crime; I love examining the minds of these killers…because part of me cannot FATHOM someone ever going to these extreme actions. (I do have to say, as a writer, it is a great character study as well.)
One thing we do not ever truly get an answer about is WHY Cullen did all of this, and truthfully, there might not be a “why”. His apathetic nature was a cry for attention, and whether he got a rush or wanted to cull the pain of others, even Cullen never quite sheds light onto it.
But, what this investigation does show is the failings of bureaucracy in a corporate structure (such as the hospitals Cullen worked at through his 16 year career). If there were better employment records, more adherence to ethics and morals, and less red tape…would someone like Charles Cullen have succeeded? Or would his victims be alive today? I was happy to hear that the State of New Jersey has increased their oversight laws since Cullen was arrested. But I am sure more “Angel of Death” killers are out there today, even if they aren’t killing by the tens (or hundreds).
Overall, this was an intriguing true crime novel (and audiobook) that kept me engaged and curious about what will happen next. While I wish we might have gotten more of an insight into the court case as well as Cullen’s motivations, I know sometimes that is limited to what is offered by witnesses and the convicted himself. Definitely an intriguing case overall.
But remember: do not put Cullen on a pedestal. Remember his victims. And celebrate the heroes.
What’s it about?
After his December 2003 arrest, registered nurse Charlie Cullen was quickly dubbed “The Angel of Death” by the media. But Cullen was no mercy killer, nor was he a simple monster. He was a favorite son, husband, beloved father, best friend, and celebrated caregiver. Implicated in the deaths of as many as 300 patients, he was also perhaps the most prolific serial killer in American history.
Cullen’s murderous career in the world’s most trusted profession spanned sixteen years and nine hospitals across New Jersey and Pennsylvania. When, in March of 2006, Charles Cullen was marched from his final sentencing in an Allentown, Pennsylvania, courthouse into a waiting police van, it seemed certain that the chilling secrets of his life, career, and capture would disappear with him. Now, in a riveting piece of investigative journalism nearly ten years in the making, journalist Charles Graeber presents the whole story for the first time. Based on hundreds of pages of previously unseen police records, interviews, wire-tap recordings and videotapes, as well as exclusive jailhouse conversations with Cullen himself and the confidential informant who helped bring him down, THE GOOD NURSE weaves an urgent, terrifying tale of murder, friendship, and betrayal.
Graeber’s portrait of Cullen depicts a surprisingly intelligent and complicated young man whose promising career was overwhelmed by his compulsion to kill, and whose shy demeanor masked a twisted interior life hidden even to his family and friends. Were it not for the hardboiled, unrelenting work of two former Newark homicide detectives racing to put together the pieces of Cullen’s professional past, and a fellow nurse willing to put everything at risk, including her job and the safety of her children, there’s no telling how many more lives could have been lost.
In the tradition of In Cold Blood, THE GOOD NURSE does more than chronicle Cullen’s deadly career and the breathless efforts to stop him; it paints an incredibly vivid portrait of madness and offers a penetrating look inside America’s medical system. Harrowing and irresistibly paced, this book will make you look at medicine, hospitals, and the people who work in them, in an entirely different way.
The Good Nurse on GoodreadsNebula Andra: Synchronicity Abyss – Book Review
Book Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.5 / 5 stars)
Anya has always had a psychic connection with her friend, Raymond. But, she doesn’t know anything about him other than his name: not the way he looks, not where he is located, nothing. So when Raymond cuts off contact with Anya, she leaves home with only his name and heirlooms from her family. But, along the way, as she meets friends old and new, she discovers the how deeply entwined her destiny might be with the Dark Lord Kyros…and the future of her world.
Enter Messier Andra and the world of Wasp Garafia and venture with Anya as she travels with Evalyn, Edwin, Zain, and the others she meets along the way in her pursuit of her friend Raymond. I loved the magic in this: combined with astrology, we each “nebula” grants its user a different power. Anya is a skilled Cancer – mastering the Nebula of Sound with her music. But you have ones who can control time with Virgo, or Leo with Light, and more! This was a great way at defining the magic, and in this element of world building, I have to give the story kudos.
The middle of the book sagged for me though – primarily due to pacing. The beginning and end move slower, focusing on Anya’s start of the quest and the competition at the end. To me though, it felt like the middle the book moved at a very alarming pace, introducing us to new characters and perspectives, just to get us to the competition at the end. If we were given a chance to sit with these characters more, and the adventures that ensue, I think the middle would have thrived more.
Yet, despite the uneven pacing, the characters pop and the magic in this world is phenomenal! I personally think I would love to have Virgo, the Nebula of Time. The way each character has control of their nebula, and how it influences their decisions and power, is remarkable. Really, I’m just greedy, and wanted to see *more*.
That being said, I am definitely going to check out the sequel in the near future to see what Anya does next. Will she stick by Ray’s side now that she knows his secrets? Will her friendship with Edwin remain in tact? What about with Zain? And will Evalyn save her brother? There are so many questions that I hope will be answered in the next book…especially with the reveal at the end!
What’s it about?
The first of an epic fantasy series that takes you into a world that mixes magic with astrology. Anya Ciran sets out across a country torn by a dark lord in order to find a friend she’s only met through telepathy. But how will she find him when all she knows is the name that she gave him–Raymond?
Nebula Andra: Synchronicity Abyss on GoodreadsMay 4, 2021
There’s a Giant Trapdoor Spider Under Your Bed – Book Review
Book Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3 / 5 stars)
It’s a sleep over! No big deal, right?
Well, so the kids think…until they claim a giant trapdoor spider is under their bed. Now they have to escape giant trapdoor spider and all the terrors that come with it…while keeping their friendship in tack!
As with a lot of these “Dark Corner” tales, I don’t feel like this quite landed. While the premise is clearly interesting, it took a lot of backtracking and reading to really understand what was happening. The idea of venturing into a child playgroup and experiencing their trepidation and horrors while playing is one of great interest. It was, in a twisted way, like watching an episode of the Rugrats or another cartoon, transporting us to a realm of childhood imagination.
Overall though, I just thought the execution could have been a bit better to really hit the point home.
What’s it about?
The thrill of a sleepover becomes sheer terror as kids voice their greatest fears into existence in this cheeky, vividly cinematic tale by New York Times bestselling author Edgar Cantero. Lights out.
It’s bad enough that its venom-dripping chelicerae can slice through flesh like warm butter. Worse? It’s right there under the bunk. It’s a fact now. To make it through the night, the children must obey the rules: don’t get out of bed, stay out of the shadows, and don’t wake the beast. But as the threats multiply, so do the rules of survival. And with the safety of dawn still hours away, the fun is just beginning.
Edgar Cantero’s There’s a Giant Trapdoor Spider under Your Bed is part of Dark Corners, a collection of seven heart-stopping short stories by bestselling authors who give you so many new reasons to be afraid. Each story can be read in a single sitting. Or, if you have the nerve, you can listen all by yourself in the dark.
There’s a Giant Trapdoor Spider Under your Bed on Goodreads
