Face Blind by Rory McFadyen.

Face blindness may affect up to 2.5% of the population and I am not good at recognizing unfamiliar faces or meeting people out of context. The title of this novel attracted me, so I downloaded a copy.

This novel has three central characters, Ethan a security guard, London a college professor who has face blindness and his wife Jane. The story is set in California during 2008. Character development is okay and I develop an empathy with London because of his face blindness. Readers without face blindness may not have empathy for London and view him as a poor husband who is only interested in his work. His wife Jane comes across as quite loose and Ethan is a sad loser.

All three characters do their best to deal with life as this novel rumbles along. It is not an exciting read and is easy to put down. The plot is unrealistic and you wonder if people in real life would really bother to get involved like this. Face blindness is only addressed three times during the story and it is not the focus of this novel. It is more about relationships and cultural identity. The back story to each character is very good but how they perform in 2008 is a let down. The story starts off good but steadily goes downhill all the way to the end. The ending is whimsical but leaves you with a feeling of loss.

Face Blind is a disappointing read that offers little pleasure for the reader with only tiny bits of humour thrown in. I got to the end and thought it was not worth my time reading it. I took very little away from this novel and think it is a poor read that I can only vote 2 stars. Rory has failed to entertain or enlighten me with his novel that lacks a punch.

Face Blind is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook and was written in 2014.

The Essene Conspiracy by S. Eric Wachtel.

This novel is set in 1991 and involves a plot by a secret Jewish religious group to further their cause. Conspiracies are my favourite book genre and this novel will be popular with fans of Dan Brown. It has religion, some symbolism, a rich historical detail and a race against time to save the day.

The author goes into great detail about Jewish culture and heritage so that the reader can understand the passion held by these Orthodox Jewish fanatics. You can enter their world and learn how their beliefs differ from those of other Jews living in Israel.

The plot rolls along at a good pace as little bits add up giving you a realistic scenario. As an Atheist, I found the religious parts of this novel very funny! I do not think this was the author’s intention but it did give me a lot of reading pleasure.

As conspiracy novels go, this novel is quite run of the mill. What is different is the amount of culture involved and the historical context. We all have our views on the Six Day War but the author weaves this history very cleverly into his story.

The ending of this book is very average but the political context is very good. The thoughts of any religious fanatics pursuing their own agenda and treating life so cheap and disposable is very creepy indeed. I enjoyed reading The Essene Conspiracy a great deal, it is not the most original of novels but it does the job. It taught me a lot about Jewish culture that I was ignorant of before reading this story and I view this book as a good read that I will vote 4 stars.

The Essene Conspiracy is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook and was written in 2010

Devil by J. Paul Stephens.

Devil is a novelette about Magdalene, a 22 year old girl and James, her lover.

This book starts off okay about a couple having an adult relationship. Then it becomes rather odd and stretches the reader's belief. This is followed by supernatural scenes leaving you more confused about this book's direction. When I got to the end I thought "what the devil was this all about"?

I got little reading pleasure from this book as I felt I was being led up the garden path. I did not like it's structure or the writing style. It started off okay with a little promise but slowly went downhill. The ending was very poor and just left me feeling disappointed. Devil misses the mark, I will vote it only 2 stars and I suggest you give it the MISS.

Correcting the Army Brat by Lexi Darrow.

This short story about Taylor, an 18 year old girl and her stepfather who is a Sergeant. He considers her to be an Army Brat who may need some fatherly guidance.

For a short story the introduction is rather long as Lexi sets the scene around the military base. Then the Sergeant confronts Taylor about her absence from home and the fun begins. It is not a realistic scenario but is a sexy nonsense. The fantasies are regular and the sex is normal. There is nothing unusual about this tale but it does raise a smile as a coffee time read. As short erotic stories go, this one is an okay read that I will vote 3 stars.

Correcting the Army Brat is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook and was written in 2014.

A Beautiful Chaos by Rebecca Moorestorms.

Meet Sammie Woods, a 16 year old girl with bipolar disorder living in North Carolina. This novel is about her struggle with her home, parents and school while she tries to cope with her illness.

A Beautiful Chaos is a powerful story that is focused on Sammie and I quickly developed an empathy for her. Sammie gets the reader on-side because she tries to do the best in challenging circumstances despite her normal teenage rebelliousness. This novel takes the reader through an alarming journey as Sammie struggles with her medication, abuse at home and problems at school. As her emotions rage, she sees a light at the end of her tunnel, a potential boyfriend called Cody Shadows who has special needs.

Rebecca goes into great detail about the drugs available and what it is like to live with bipolar disorder. You ride the rollercoaster of highs and lows begining to wonder, just like Sammie, if the drugs actually help.

I enjoyed reading this book as it gave me the chance to dip into another world and mindset. Rebecca does warn readers that some of the content may risk triggering vulnerable readers - but this is a realistic and hard hitting story. The pace is good and characterization is spot on. I really got to feel for Sammie and her father. Although this novel is aimed at the Young Adult market, older generations should enjoy it too. It was a shame that the finished book was not proof-read and the errors interupted the smooth flow of the story. However, this is a good read and deserves 4 stars.

A Beautiful Chaos is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook and was written in 2014.