Miguel Angel Hernandez Jr.'s Blog, page 9

Moon Soul by Nathaniel Luscombe

Moon Soul by Nathaniel Luscombe

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Not bad.

Moon Soul is a science fiction novella about August, who is half-human, half-Spyren. As part of Spyren, she can see memories in the sand. At first, August uses this gift to make a living with her parents out of the picture. Yet, she grows tired of dealing with other people’s memories all the time and seeks help from her therapist. Nathaniel Luscombe has readers follow along as August explores the Spire and Aygysi. August suffers from loneliness, and her therapist suggests she make friends. She has a habit of writing her thoughts down in her journal; she is desperate for a reprieve from reading other people’s memories. August takes a sabbatical, and things change.

I did not issue Moon Soul a five-star rating because of:

1) the slow pace. While the slow pace could be because of developmental editing, I did not enjoy reading August doing gardening work for more than one chapter (the exception is chapter fifteen).
2) Songs that August’s mother sang to her as a child. It was strange the narrative did not mention this in an earlier chapter.
3) Moon Soul would benefit from a glossary.
4) A five-star rating means the book is excellent; a four-star rating means I liked it. I chose a three-star rating because it was OK. I will not re-read this novella.

The PDF is superior to the e-book version because of the appearance of the interior. I did not enjoy reading multiple chapters of August eating food. The Planets We Become is superior to Moon Soul, which I find overrated.

I give Effie Joe Stock props on the editing, as I didn’t see any typos or grammatical errors. But there were too many redundancies in the prose. Despite the slow pace, chapter twelve was interesting. Chapter thirteen continued to exhilarate me, and it upped the pace. Then it slowed down again. The Letter to the Readers was a captivating addition to Moon Soul. The Planets We Become is Nathaniel Luscombe’s best work so far. I would disagree with any rating lower than three stars. Although I issued this novella a three-star rating, I enjoyed it.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.



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Last Liar Standing by Danielle M. Wong

Last Liar Standing by Danielle M. Wong

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Not bad.

Last Liar Standing by Danielle M. Wong is a story about a woman named Vonny who suffers from amnesia. When she wakes up in the hospital, she remembers nothing about her past. Vonny makes friends and enemies, and people aren’t who they seem to be. Everyone seems to have secrets, and Vonny isn’t sure who she can trust. It doesn’t help that the two detectives following her have hidden knowledge that could make things more complicated. Did something happen that triggered Vonny’s amnesia? You’ll have to read this novel to find out.

Danielle M. Wong is a talented writer. She takes time her time giving vivid details of Vonny’s surroundings, and the characterization is superb. I like the book cover, and the twists were good. I did not issue this a five-star rating because Last Liar Standing was too long, and it would have benefited from keener editing. I noticed several typos as I read through this novel.



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Twilight Perils by Miguel Angel Hernandez Jr.

Hey guys,

I am revealing the book cover for my newest book, Twilight Perils: A Collection of Eight Secret Stories. I am happy about publishing this horror mystery collection. It took a lot of work to make it happen, and to get everything ready to meet certain deadlines. Only the e-book version is available, but if you wait a bit for the paperback version, it will include illustrations in it. Only the paperback version of this book will include illustrations. If you choose to purchase my book, please think about rating and reviewing it. If you leave a review off of the digital orders page, your review will show up as verified on Amazon. This is huge, as other readers around the world will see your review! Please also consider leaving a review on Goodreads, BookBub, and/or your blog.

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Digger by Arjay Lewis

Digger by Arjay Lewis

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Godlike.

This book showcases the power of a standalone novel and why it is important not to underestimate them. The narrative is crisp, sucking you in straight from the first chapter. It was captivating how the author omitted the typical prologue in fiction, and started straight from chapter one. The author richly portrays the characters. I felt like I was walking through a horror mausoleum as the writer shares his knowledge of frightening creatures, and his preference in creepy flicks. It was fascinating how Arjay Lewis gave the protagonist a handicap, but still made it work in the prose. This eerie chronicle will transport you into a world full of devilish, supernatural beings and will unravel the enigma behind the title. What I found alluring was how the author’s deft blending of mystery with mayhem. The wordsmith’s well-formatted fabrication aided my reading experience. The yarn flowed well and continued to do so as the plot unwinded. I imagine the creator of this work made a detailed outline for this text, and I can envision him smiling as he developed this book. Arjay Lewis is a gifted writer, and he knows how to keep readers engaged. I thought it was cool how he separated the book into different parts, and I’m not referring to chapters. I liked that Arjay Lewis offers readers freebies in this book.

I wish there were more illustrations planted in this outstandingly composed novel to immerse readers more into this provocative anecdote. I wish the story was a little shorter, as I felt myself become a little restless while digging into this novel. The editing wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough to not impede my reading experience. Arjay Lewis should revamp the book cover because it could be better. Still, I would disagree with any other reviewer who rates this book less than four stars.

If you’re reading this review and wondering if you should read this horror chronicle, yes, you should. The first sentence of this novel hits hard, and chapter one does not disappoint. While this tale concludes well, I like how the author made it so that he can choose to turn it into a series if he wanted to. The Wizard of Odd has showed why every author should include a few standalone yarns in their arsenal. If you haven’t figured it out already, what I’m saying is I’m a fan of this tale, and I would be interested in reading other works by this talented novelist.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.



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Boneyard Tales by Michael Carter

Boneyard Tales by Michael Carter

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Great.

I like that this book is easy to read. You’ll be able to squeeze in 1-3 stories a day, while reading a longer novel on the side.

The stories that I enjoyed the most were Yetimaker, Becoming Bones, The Man with a Golden Face, Boilermaker, I Had a Boneyard in the Dakotas, and Monster Inside Me. The stories that I thought were the most disturbing were The Guillotine Grabber, Body Parts Jewelry, and The Last Horizon.

What I like about Boneyard Tales is how each story isn’t too long. Once you start one, you’ll be able to push through until you’re done, letting you stop at the next chronicle. The book cover is fantastic, which will increase the marketability of this book.

This book is not perfect. Most of the anecdotes aren’t scary, which was kind of a let-down for me. I thought about giving the author a five-star rating, but there was more than one story in this collection that I didn’t care for, and the editing wasn’t perfect. I also wish this book had illustrations. However, I would disagree with any other reviewer giving this collection less than a four-star rating.

There are some gems in here that will stick with you after you finish them.

Click here to get the e-book! Click here to get the hardcover!

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Boneyard Tales by Michael CarterMy rating: 4 of 5 starsGr...

Boneyard Tales by Michael Carter

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Great.

I like that this book is easy to read. You’ll be able to squeeze in 1-3 stories a day, while reading a longer novel on the side.

The stories that I enjoyed the most were Yetimaker, Becoming Bones, The Man with a Golden Face, Boilermaker, I Had a Boneyard in the Dakotas, and Monster Inside Me. The stories that I thought were the most disturbing were The Guillotine Grabber, Body Parts Jewelry, and The Last Horizon.

What I like about Boneyard Tales is how each story isn’t too long. Once you start one, you’ll be able to push through until you’re done, letting you stop at the next chronicle. The book cover is fantastic, which will increase the marketability of this book.

This book is not perfect. Most of the anecdotes aren’t scary, which was kind of a let-down for me. I thought about giving the author a five-star rating, but there was more than one story in this collection that I didn’t care for, and the editing wasn’t perfect. I also wish this book had illustrations. However, I would disagree with any other reviewer giving this collection less than a four-star rating.

There are some gems in here that will stick with you after you finish them.



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Sea Among Stars – Compiled by Nathaniel Luscombe and Cheyenne van Langevelde

Sea Among Stars by Nathaniel Luscombe

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Great.

I didn’t like all the stories in this book, but I did enjoy most of them.

Usually, I only mention my favorite tale in an anthology; but this time around, I have to mention two of them because the latter was sort of a wildcard that did not mesh well with the theme of this album. In my opinion, the two best stories in this compendium were Siren Song by Anna Augustine and ADA by Shawn P.B. Robinson. Ironically, both of these stories were the longest in this anthology.



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Raven Hill by Jools G. King

Raven Hill by Jools G. King

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Great.

I liked that the author chose to make this a novella, rather than a full-length novel. It was an easy read, apart from what I feel was a little too much blaspheming, and I like the way it ended. The descriptions that the author used in the story were great, and the character development was good. I hope the writer focuses on this series next year, rather than doing other works. I was happy to see Nate’s progression throughout the story, and I hope he gets a harem going.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.



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Book of Fear by Mary Black Rose

Good.

As I read through this novelette, I originally decided to rate it four stars. However, the author was clever enough to throw in two freebies, which made me happy; therefore, I decided to bump the grade up to five stars.

The prose was good, and the premise of the story was OK. I give the writer props for working hard on the plot of this story. I like how the narrative unfolded, and it flowed nicely. This book reminded me why I prefer novellas and shorter reads over novels.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

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Bleached Reminders by Effie Joe Stock

Bleached Reminders: A Gothic Anthology About Bones, Magic, and Grief by Effie Joe Stock

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Distinctive.

It was refreshing to read a book like this, and I am glad that Effie Joe Stock chose not to overdo it in terms of word count. I chose to read this because it had good ratings and reviews, and because I wanted to read something different. I was happy to see that it was edited, and the text was easy to read. I did enjoy the poetry and I thought that was a clever addition to this work.

I decided not to issue this book a five-star rating because in my opinion, the prose is not amazing. For me, a five-star book is amazing, a four-star rating means I really liked it, and a three-star rating means it was OK. For an anthology, I think that the book is too short in terms of word count. In most cases, an anthology is a group of works from different writers combined into one book, so I thought it was strange that the author chose to title this an anthology. In my opinion, the book cover is lackluster, and hurts the marketability of this book. To be clear, this fiction would have benefited from including more short stories and/or poetry.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.



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