Evil Winds

Title: Evil Winds (Tradecraft Phase 2)

Author: Michael Shusko

Publisher: self published, 2018

Genre: military thriller

Obtained: from the author's publicist in exchange for an honest review







Synopsis: Angie Bryant goes to Darfur to do research for a story about the atrocities happening to the people who live there.  With the help of Jason Russo, a medical doctor, she uncovers more than she thought she would.  Will they make it out alive to share their discoveries with the world?

Thoughts:  I had never read a book that took place in this setting and knew very little about this part of the world, so the best part of this story, to me, was learning about Sudan and Chad.  The author did a terrific job showing the reader what it is like in this part of the world.  The plot was good and the writing was organized.  The characters were okay, but I didn't feel like they were real, so that kind of turned me off.  I didn't really care what happened to them, so I didn't get into the story as much as I would have liked to.

If you are interested in reading about other parts of the world and like military thrillers, definitely give this one a try.  If you are all about the characters when it comes to a story, skip this one.





                                                               

Company: Davids Tea

Tea: Moringa Mermaid

Obtained: purchased

Moringa Mermaid is a caffeine free herbal tea.  The ingredients are melon pieces (melon, sugar, citric acid), apple, carrots, pineapple (pineapple, sugar), moringa, blackberry leaves, rose petals, and natural watermelon and lemon flavouring.  The leaves were beautiful.  They were a light green and there were orange and off white chunks mixed in.  The colors went perfectly with each other and reminded me of spring.  The leaves had a fruity scent.  I purchased the single serving iced tea packets, so I dumped the contents of one packet into my tea maker, poured 10 ounces of water that had been boiled over the leaves and let this steep for 4 minutes.  I poured this over ice.  The liquid was a yellowish brown and the scent was a blend of fruit and grass.  The taste was odd- both fruity and vegetal, but overwhelmingly sweet.  I didn't care for this one.

Lethal

Title: Lethal

Author: Sandra Brown

Narrator: Victor Slezak

Publisher: Hachette Audio, 2011

Format: 11 compact discs, 12.5 hours

Genre: fiction, mystery, thriller

Obtained: borrowed from friend




Synopsis: When Honor Gillette and her four year old daughter find a "sick" man in their yard and he turns out to be the man accused of murdering seven people the previous night, what will happen?

Thoughts:  I liked the author's writing style, especially the way she used dialogue.  Her characters were interesting and I liked that they were all ages and very different from one another.  There was suspense and mystery to the story. What took away from the story was the corny romantic relationship between the two main characters that was just not believable.  I don't think this is a spoiler because it is very obvious what will happen as soon as these characters meet.  That piece really spoiled this book for me.  I also did not love the ending- everything was tied up, but when I finished the book I didn't have that satisfied feeling. 

If you like romance books along with suspense, this might be a book for you.  I am not a romance fan.  Romance books very often seem silly to me unless they are extremely well written.


                                                                

Company: Davids Tea

Tea: Organic Japanese Sencha

Obtained: purchased


Today I tried Organic Japanese Sencha from Davids Tea.  This is a steamed green tea with a high caffeine content.  The leaves were a very dark green of all shapes and sizes, with the majority being long and thin.  The scent of the leaves was vegetal.  I put 1 1/2 teaspoons of leaves in my teapot and poured 12 ounces of water that had been boiled over the leaves.  I let this steep for 1 minute.  The scent of the pale yellow liquid was almost floral but still had a vegetal quality. The taste was of spinach with a slight floral note to it.  The texture was a bit creamy.  This is a pleasant, refreshing tea.

Wolf Hollow

Title: Wolf Hollow

Author: Lauren Wolk

Narrator: Emily Rankin

Publisher: Listening Library, 2016

Format: 6 compact discs, 7 hours

Genre: young adult fiction

Obtained: library




Synopsis: Someone has thrown a rock causing Annabelle's friend, Ruth, to lose an eye.   Was it Betty Glengarry, the mean and manipulative bully, or Toby, the odd World War I veteran who keeps to himself, but has only shown Annabelle kindness?


Thoughts: My synopsis does not come even close to describing what this story is about because there is so much more to this book, but I don't like knowing too much going into a story.  I think it can take away from the reading experience and I don't want to do that to any potential readers.  This story is about bullying, stereotypes, judging people, friendship, family, looking at the outside of a person and not what's inside, jumping to conclusions, manipulation, psychiatric disorders, death, courage, speaking up, lying, finding your voice, taking responsibility, standing up for what you know is right, truth, kindness and strength.

This book is recommended for ages 9-12, but I have to warn that it is a haunting story with depressing topics.  My 11 year old son and I listened to this book for the Massachusetts Book Awards project.  It was in the 5th grade section and listed as a level X F&P and 800 Lexile.  My son is immature for his age, so this was not really a good match for him.  He followed the story and felt the ending was sad, but didn't really get all that the author was trying to convey.  I wonder if a mature 5th grader would even "get" it all.  I also believe that for those preteens that "get" it, the book could be disturbing to them.  I encourage parents to read this wonderful book to see if it would be suitable for the child they would be giving it to.  Personally, I think it is more appropriate for middle school and up.

As an adult, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  I usually don't like books without a happy ending, but I was okay with this one.  I loved the author's writing style and her characters.  The story was told at an excellent pace and was balanced with action, thoughts, and descriptions.  The narrator was excellent and a perfect fit to read this story.  I felt like I knew the characters and that the setting was real.  The story was unique and interesting.  It is very hard to write more without talking about what happens in the book, so I will stop there.

I highly recommend this book to adults.  I also recommend it for mature kids ages 12 and up, but I really encourage the adult to read it before giving it to a child to make sure it is appropriate for that particular kid.






                                                   

Company: Plum Deluxe

Tea: Comfort Blend Black Tea

Obtained: sample with tea of the month club delivery


I tried Comfort Blend Black Tea from Plum Deluxe today.  The ingredients were black tea, cinnamon chips, orange peel, ginger, clove, and orange extract.  This tea is also available without the caffeine.  The black tea leaves were all shapes and sizes and were mixed with off-white and brown chunks.  The leaves had the scent of oranges and cinnamon.  I put the teaspoon of leaves in my tea ball and poured 12 ounces of water that had been boiled over the leaves.  I let this steep for 3 minutes.  The liquid was a yellowish brown and had a mild scent of oranges and cinnamon.  The taste was a wonderful blend of oranges and spice.  It is sometimes hard for me to find an orange spice blend that I really like- but this one is excellent.  It is a tad lighter on the orange and a bit heavier with the spice than other orange spice teas I've purchased .  I found it refreshing, revitalizing and delicious.  It gave me a calm, yet awake feeling.

The Haunting of Hill House

Title: The Haunting of Hill House

Author: Shirley Jackson

Narrator: Bernadette Dunne

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, 2010 (story originally published in 1959)

Format: 6 compact discs, 7 hours and 27 minutes

Genre: fiction, horror

Obtained: library



Synopsis: Dr. Montague invites two women that have had supernatural experiences to be his guests for the summer at a house that is said to be haunted.  Also joining them is the heir to the house.  The doctor's goal is to find scientific evidence of the supernatural.

Thoughts: I loved the author's writing style, especially how she described Hill House, and how she conveyed mood and atmosphere.  The way she introduced the remarkable characters before they even got to the house, then the way she slowly built tension and suspense when they arrived, and finally how she wrote the ending was all superb.  Many times I have not been truly satisfied with the ending to a horror story, but I was with this one.

The narrator did an excellent job telling this story.  Her reading was easy to follow and held my attention throughout the book.  I was never lost or confused.

I don't want to write much more about the story itself because it would spoil it. I recommend this book to anyone that loves a good writer and psychological horror stories with no blood and gore. 


                                                                     

Company: Plum Deluxe 

Tea: Vanilla Creme Herbal Tea

Obtained: sample with tea of the month club




Today I tried the Vanilla Creme Herbal Tea from Plum Deluxe.  I received this one a couple of months ago with my tea of the month club package.  I've been putting it off because vanilla and honeybush are not my favorites, and the ingredients of this tea are honeybush tea, calendula, and vanilla extract.  Honeybush is too sweet for me and I don't usually like vanilla unless it is blended with another flavor.

The tiny brown and orange leaves were mixed with yellow flower petals.  The scent of the leaves was sweet vanilla.  I put 1 1/2 teaspoons of leaves in my teapot and poured 12 ounces of water that had been boiled over the leaves.  I let this steep for 3 minutes.  The dark orange liquid had a sweet vanilla scent.  The taste was also a very sweet vanilla.  For those that like vanilla and sweet tea, I'm sure this would make a wonderful dessert tea, especially along with a creamy dessert.