Amina Warsuma's Blog, page 4

Amber Stone Agent Zero PaperbackReviewed By: Christian Sia Review Rating: 5 Stars - Congratulations on your 5-star review!

Reviewed By:
Christian Sia
Review Rating:
5 Stars - Congratulations on your 5-star review!

Amber Stone Agent Zero by Amina Warsuma is a masterful blend of sleuth, espionage, and terrorist thriller featuring Amber Stone. Working for the DEA in Colombia, South America as an undercover agent, Agent Zero faces complex situations and meets with characters driven to the extreme by the injustice of their pasts. Having a dubious past herself, how can she reconcile the ethics of her work with a past that continually haunts her?

The author has a wonderful sense of setting and weaves focused scenes that take readers across well-painted landscapes, making them visualize the action as it evolves through space and time. The references to a political conflict are compelling and the apt descriptions of both characters and aspects of the setting give the writing an atmospheric character that is, in itself, a huge delight. Character is meticulously accomplished and I enjoyed that the protagonist gets into very tight spots where she has to make split-second decisions. The sense of danger is imminent and at every turn of the story, the reader is hoping for the worst not to happen. Agent Zero is sophisticated and her growth throughout the narrative is interesting, each layer of her personality revealed one at a time.

Amber Stone Agent Zero is gripping, exploring the psychology of a covert agent and a character whose destiny readers want to know. Amina Warsuma's prose is elegant and it is packed with attention-grabbing, humorous, and unusual descriptions. The author uses suspense, unique and powerful storytelling skills, and a tight plot to keep readers captivated throughout the narrative. It's a great story of espionage.

Amber Stone Agent Zero Reviewed By Lesley Jones for Readers’ Favorite 4 Stars

Amber Stone Agent Zero is written by Amina Warsuma. In 1975 a terrorist cell is forming and rebel forces rule the city. Two young girls lose their mother in a car bomb and revenge becomes their number one goal as they grow older. Years later, they join an elite terrorist group under the dictatorship of Queen Niarb, along with other women whose past painful experiences motivate them to seek retribution. Meanwhile, Amber Stone, an African American undercover agent for the DEA in Columbia has finally captured her nemesis drug dealer, Banderos. Amber Stone becomes entangled in a dangerous mission involving the terrorist group when they kidnap her scientist father who has invented a serum which protects the immune system from any attack. Stone must track down the terrorist cell, rescue her father and thwart a possible chemical attack on the West. Stone and Queen Niarb are equally determined in their goal, but who will ultimately succeed?

The brilliant narrative at the beginning of the novel certainly will grab your attention and take you on a spine-chilling adventure filled with espionage and terror. I loved the backstory to each of the characters as it built a great visual picture of their distorted view of the world. I love strong female characters and Amber Stone is a great protagonist. She hides many painful memories of childhood abandonment under her cool exterior. The plot moves forward effortlessly with some fantastic conflicts placed perfectly. The settings evoked great sadness of a world filled with hatred and revenge in the Middle East against the West. I feel this is a great example of how past life experiences can take your life down different paths, depending on the choices you make. The final scenes certainly kept me on the edge of my seat and I am now left wondering what lies in wait for Amber Stone next.

Reviewed By Divine Zape for Readers’ Favorite 5 Stars Amber Stone Agent Zero by Amina Warsuma

Reviewed By:
Divine Zape
Review Rating:
5 Stars - Congratulations on your 5-star review! Get your free 5-star seal!

Reviewed By Divine Zape for Readers’ Favorite 5 Stars
Amber Stone Agent Zero by Amina Warsuma is a thriller with strong themes of espionage and terrorism, a novel that will appeal to readers seeking strong female characters and tightly plotted narratives with exciting locales in the setting. In this thriller, readers are introduced to Amber Stone Agent Zero, working for the DEA as an undercover agent and going through very tight and dangerous situations in Columbia. On the surface, she is a very simple woman, but underneath the calm surface is a past that is as uncomfortable as it is terrifying. Can she beat her dangerous past and find purpose in her new calling?

The narrative begins with wonderful images of the setting. The author offers intriguing details about some of the key characters that readers encounter in this gripping story and situates them in a specific timeline: “In 1975 two baby girls reside in Beirut in the middle of a multifaceted civil war, and they survive the chaos for ten years.” The references to the civil war and images like the ruins in the western part of the city already evoke a sense of austerity and difficult life. Then there are the terrific descriptions that strike the imagination, such as the way characters are presented for the first time: “Emani’s big, hazel eyes gleam through a hijab” and “Heleema is mature and bossy with her sibling with chiseled features resembling their father.” Character development is one of this author’s signature skills and I enjoyed how they peel off in layers until the reader is left with their core. Amber Stone Agent Zero is intelligently plotted, deftly crafted, and rendered suspenseful in a way that it becomes irresistible.

Amber Stone Agent Zero Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers' Favorite 4 Stars Paperback

https://readersfavorite.com/book-revi...

April 2, 2019

Amber Stone: Agent Zero is a work of thriller and espionage fiction penned by author Amina Warsuma. The plot is female-focused, bringing an inventive new twist to the spy genre as we follow our heroine Amber Stone into the intriguing world of the DEA in South America. When a standard undercover job turns out to be more than Agent Zero bargained for, our plot expands into the discovery of a worldwide terrorist cell bent on causing chaos and destruction to bring down the current world order. Six women driven to despair by pain are the answer. Amber must face the Daughters of Al-Lat, even when the stakes turn against her and her family in a very personal way.

I particularly enjoyed this spy thriller tale because of its unusual premise, and I felt that author Amina Warsuma brought that aspect to life with emotional depth and some interesting psychological understanding of what it takes to turn someone into an extremist. Whilst Amber herself was a little generic and clean cut as a spy hero figure, the complexities of the plot forced her to test new elements of her character, presenting a mixture of the predictable and unpredictable in terms of the twists and turns of the narrative. I liked the dialogue, which was fresh and honest, free from the old fashioned information overload of older books in the spy genre. Overall, Amber Stone: Agent Zero marks the dawning of a new age of female-led spy novels and it’s a good place to start exploring that genre.

Reviewed By: Ruffina Oserio Review Rating: 5 Stars My Stars Are Still Shining

My Stars Are Still Shining by Amina Warsuma is a moving memoir with powerful lessons on what it takes to succeed, a story of grit, focus, and determination. Follow Amina’s journey from humble origins into the spotlight and learn how she got to interview celebrities and strut the fashion catwalks. All Amina wanted was to succeed as a model, but this isn’t something that just happens because we want it. She quickly learns that the path she’s chosen is filled with challenges and she faces them with unusual courage. In this memoir, she shares her journey with readers, revealing moments and encounters in her path to achieving her dream, and bringing in stories with people like Elizabeth Taylor, Karl Lagerfeld, and Michael Jackson. While this memoir tells the story of a successful model, it offers readers glimpses into the world of glamour, allowing readers a closer look at some of the famed artists and fashion designers. Amina Warsuma writes with great clarity and she makes her characters come alive, including those she’s known from childhood such as Miss June and Billie who lived in Mobile, Alabama. Although this is a memoir, it’s a gripping story that inspires while providing great entertainment for readers. I enjoyed the grit and how the protagonist’s personality comes out through the narrative. The writing is gorgeous and perceptive, loaded with insights on life, purpose, and success. My Stars Are Still Shining is a ride you will want to take, a skillfully written memoir with vivid settings, emotionally charged moments, and a lot of entertainment. As you read from page to page, you also get a strong idea of turning your own challenges into great opportunities. A great offering, indeed!

Review by Gabriel Constans Format kindle My Stars Are Still Shining

Gabriel Constans‏
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Just finished this excellent memoir by @AminaWarsuma. Here's the review I wrote on my blog. https://tinyurl.com/y9vxm2mh #memoir #autobiography #Harlem #NewYorkCity #model #writer

My Stars Are Still Shining book review by Dyane Harwood on net galley 5 star rating

What an incredible, heart-wrenching story. Amina is a true survivor of a horrific childhood. Her writing is vivid and raw, but ultimately inspirational. She is an amazing example of how the human spirit can get through unimaginable horror, yet make a successful life for herself. You won't forget this book!

My Stars Are Still Shining

Amina has succeeded in authoring an inspirational memoir about her life as an international fashion model whose life has influenced so many others. Her journey from the tough streets of Harlem to the high-fashion runways of Paris and New York is remarkable.
Companions on Amina’s journey include fashion-world luminaries, movie stars, and renown artist. Quite a contrast with her life as a physically and psychologically abused child.

Gail C
Editor Chief
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Review by Bookiegalke Format Kindle My Stars Are Sill Shining

Review by Bookiegalke
Format Kindle
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If you are like me and grew up listening to Michael Jackson’s hit songs, you will definitely find My Stars are still shining my Amina Warsuma interesting. This is a Memoir told by one of the people who were closest to the pop star. The text documents the life of Amina Warsuma, a Somali-American model, and filmmaker who was lucky enough to have known Michael Jackson as a young person when he began his music career all the way to when he met his unfortunate death. This is a story of overcoming hardship with perseverance and courage.

The rise to stardom as a model for Amina was no walk in the park. She grew up with an absentee mother who neglected and physically abused her. The first quarter of the book focuses on two ladies Billie and her mother Miss June. The duo impacted a great deal on Amina as a young girl thus the need to tell their story. Amina often found herself left under the care of strangers some of whom were kind to her and also those who mistreated her. The rest of the memoir details Amina’s journey as a fashion model, Michael’s dancer and as a filmmaker.
While I found Amina’s memoir to be interesting and even drew many life’s lessons such as perseverance. I found Amina to be a brave woman. Sharing how she was sexually molested by a man in his fifties is something that must have taken a lot of courage to pen down for the world to read. There were other instances where she opens up about very personal details in her life but I will not get into them because those would be spoilers.

Generally, My stars are still shining is a memoir with a story worth telling about especially because Amina’s life was intertwined with Michael’s though Amina’s personal life was inspiring enough on its own.

My Stars Are Still Shining excerpts

I have often wondered how people enter other people’s lives and become a significant part of their senior years. I’m not talking about family or grandchildren. I’m talking about strangers. This memoir is about my life and how I happened to come into the lives of Miss June, who was sixty-nine, and her daughter Billie, who was fifty-one when I came into their lives. There is a beginning, a middle, and an end of our relationship. I must start from the beginning of their lives, because never in a thousand years could they imagine meeting me.
My mother, Virginia, hadn’t been born when Miss June and Billie lived in Mobile, Alabama, without an inkling of New York or what the future held in store for them. I give an account of what transpired and led up to their migration to Harlem, forsaking their past life to become settled into being Harlemites. Thirty-four years later, out of the blue, Miss June and Billie discovered me as an infant. I was floating down the river of life, and they fetched me out, not realizing they both would be entwined in my life forever.