Category Archives: Book reviews

This one has been a long time coming, and I’m excited to finally get to share my thoughts with you.  As I’ve made abundantly clear, Patrick J. O’Brian is one of my favorite authors and biggest inspirations.  He’s also the most prolific writer I know, having almost twenty book credits to his name.  I’ve read most of them, but hold his West Baden Murders Series in high regard.  This is the series that introduced me to O’Brian, leading me to his other works.

So with that, it only seems fitting that I write a recap of my experience with the most recent entry into the series.  Right off the bat, you’ll notice that The Doomsday Clock (West Baden Murders Series Book 6) is a lengthy read and covers a lot of story line.  There are a wealth of characters, spanning across several of O’Brian’s other books and series.  The West Baden Springs Hotel takes a backseat in this entry, as the story bounces  from French Lick, Indiana, to the Bering Sea, the Kentucky Derby, and eastern New England. Continue reading →

It’s been awhile since I wrote a book review, and there’s a reason for that; it’s been awhile since I’ve actually read a book!  When I came across Princess Olive by Jonathan Degler, I had no choice.  I had to read it.  (Partly because he asked me for editing help, but there was never a question that I was going to read it regardless.)  So I did.  And boy am I glad!

**Oh yeah, in the interest of full disclosure, I had a part in the editing of this book so feel free to be advised of that.  It doesn’t impact my overall thoughts on the story, but people tend to feel the need to know things like this.**

As a big, bad biker who works in the criminal justice system, books about teenage princesses typically don’t hit my radar.  Throw in the fact this title falls under the fantasy genre, introduces magical beings, is set in medieval times, and this story checks all the boxes for books that I generally ignore when I’m looking for my next read.  But when the author is a close friend, of course I had to check it out!  (For clarification, I’m not bashing any of those things that I just mentioned, they just aren’t usually in my realm of interests.  If magic and castles are your thing, then there’s nothing wrong with that at all – I just don’t happen to be a big fantasy aficionado.)  Continue reading →