Artistic Expressions by Victoria Kaye.

Emma gets a job as a housekeeper for Jethro who has a keen interest in art. Follow Emma in this 186 page romantic fiction.

The blurb supporting this novel is brilliantly written and encourages the reader to explore a very private world. This should be an exciting and sexy read.

I found Artistic Expressions to be a BIG yawn. This novel teased big time and led the reader to believe that the story would improve into a sparkling erotic read. Artistic Expressions did not deliver on its promise. It touched on naked models and dominance/submission role play but that was all a big tease.

This was not an erotic read and there was nothing graphic to excite or offend anyone. For a blurb that clearly sexed up this story, there was actually no sex in this tale, just hints and references, for example…

The sound was familiar, but not familiar enough to immediately allow her to understand its call as she awoke on the morning after a most satisfying love session.

… I took nothing away from Artistic Expressions and feel that I have wasted my time reading this book. People always say “don’t judge a book by its cover” and this applies to this book for all the wrong reasons. Artistic Expressions is a BAD read, so gets the minimum score of 1 star from me.

Artistic Expressions is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook and was written in 2014.

Killman Creek (Stillhouse Lake #2) by Rachel Caine.

 Gwen Proctor has to deal with another message from her ex-husband, serial killer Melvin Royal. Follow Gwen as she struggles against her ex-husband and a network called Absalom.

I enjoyed this second book in the Stillhouse Lake series. I loved the linear time frame and that Rachel does not repeat things from book one in the series. The format is different to the first book which is a first person narrative wholly from Gwen’s point of view. Killman Lake has separate chapters in the first person of Gwen, her friend Sam and her children Connor and Lanny. This four spoke format adds to the novel because quite often the reader knows far more than the other three central characters.

I think Killman Creek has a good plot and the workings of the dark web cast further doubts on what exactly is going on. Lots of warning flags are thrown up and it is great fun taking these details onboard as you question how this story is going.

There was plenty of detail to keep me happy and I loved the challenges Gwen took to keep off the grid. It made me chuckle just how many burner phones Gwen has got through in these two books. It also made me smile when in these modern times, Gwen felt naked without a mobile phone and using a printed map was something special. I was amazed at one of the locations used when Rachel writes …

“GPS coordinates,” she tells me. “It maps to a cabin in Bumfuck, Georgia. But you be careful, Gwen.”

I found Killman Creek to be an engaging, entertaining GOOD 4 star read. The pace was good and the story had a nice flow. I did not find any slow or boring parts. There was no padding in this novel so there is no chance of the reader wondering whether to buy book three or not. Count me in for the next book in the Stillhouse Lake series.

Killman Creek was written in 2017 and is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook.

2,024 QI Facts To Stop You In Your Tracks by John Lloyd.

This is number seven, the largest and last in the QI Facts Series of books. It follows a popular British television programme called QI.

I am not a fan of the television programme but picked up a copy of this book because it was featured on the Kindle Daily Deal for just 99p. I hoped it would be an interesting read and that I would discover some unusual facts.

I quite liked the format of this book. The 2,024 facts are just a sentence long. If you want background information to a specific fact, then go to the website, put in the page number and a source page will appear. This means the reader can cover all the facts and not be bored with detail they have little or no interest in. I think this was the right publishing decision, otherwise many readers would not finish this book.

I found most of the facts interesting but a lot of them were obvious if you gave the issue a fair amount of thought. Some of the facts were simple trivia and others made me feel “so what?”. 

I did not find this book engrossing. Reading these one sentence facts is fine for a handful of pages but I could not engage with this book like I do with crime/mystery/thriller novels. My reading experience was like watching the adverts broadcast on commercial television. When I finished a regular novel, I would read a small number of pages from this book before progressing onto my next novel.

I consider 2,024 QI Facts to be a coffee-table book. It is an OKAY 3 star read that is fine to pick up for around 15 minutes once a week. I feel it is a book to browse rather than read. It will give you the same pleasure of resolving your curiosity as wading through the Argos catalogue. I am glad I got a copy of this book for just 99p but if I had paid the usual price of £4.68p then I would be very disappointed.

Of the 2,024 one sentence facts, here are the 3 facts I found the most interesting and unusual…

Scurryfunge is to tidy up quickly before visitors arrive.

The hands of a human foetus touching the walls of the womb causes the fingerprints to form.

A pluviophile is someone who loves rainy days.

2,024 QI Facts is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook and was written in 2018.

Safe Word Not Required by Cheri Verset.

 Tressa finds a flower with a note attached on her desk at work. Who is it from and what does the note state? Join Tressa on her erotic journey in this short 27 page story.

This book gets off to a very good and descriptive start. Tressa travels to her workplace as a passenger on the number 7 bus. At the moment in the UK face masks MUST be worn when using public transport due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Bus and coach drivers always wonder about the detail of what their passengers are wearing. In over 40 years in the industry I have never thought of one of my passengers wearing one of those!

The story continues and although it involves adult content, it ticks ALL the consent boxes and will not offend anyone. This short story is all fantasy and is simply a fun read that will brighten up anyone’s day. I think this book will appeal to both genders and I consider it to be a GOOD 4 star read.

Safe Word Not Required is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook and was written in 2014.

63GTHxz.jpg (Basement of Doom) by Mike Leon.

Mike is a computer hacker who is trying to access photos stored in the cloud. Mikes strikes lucky and downloads some images in this 11 page short story.

I found this short story quite run-of-the-mill. Mike builds the tension at a steady pace until it reaches a surprise ending. I found this an easy coffee break-time read which hits the spot as a refreshing distraction. This little Kindle story was an OKAY 3 star read, not unlike reading the free Metro newspaper to see if anything new is of interest.

63GTHxz.jpg was written in 2014 and is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook.

CoWorkers by Jade Lane.

 Jade got a job in a call centre and kept a journal of her CoWorkers. In this short 32 page book, Jade shares how she found the people she worked alongside.

I found CoWorkers to be a light, jolly read with a nice dry sense of humour. It was not a glamorous job as Jade explains…

My very first impression was that I didn’t feel like I was at an office. I felt like I had arrived at the Biggest Loser Ranch. Yes. They were all overweight.

… Jade makes colourful descriptions of her CoWorkers personalities and all the things they did that wound Jade up. This all makes for an amusing read and has the same vibe as the popular Netflix television series called Brooklyn Nine-Nine. I found CoWorkers to be OKAY 3 star read and I am pleased that Jade has put her workplace memories in the public domain. Readers can enjoy it for what it is, a glimpse behind closed doors and Jade can call up anecdotes to use in parties for years to come. The best bit of this short book is rather funny and I can imagine a stand up comedian using something like this in their set…

Becky was undeniably frumpy. I’m not sure if it was the frizzy hair that was down to her butt, the lady mustache, or the floral dresses that she paired with athletic sneakers that made her so. But this is exactly what 

she was. She was the quintessential example of someone who was obsessed with clearance racks, bought whatever the heck was on sale, but had absolutely zero fashion sense.

… I could not read this section out aloud to my wife of 29 years because she only wears flat shoes and is the queen of the clearance rack.

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

Stillhouse Lake (Stillhouse Lake #1) by Rachel Caine.

 Gina Royal returns home to discover her husband has an unusual hobby. The police are called and her husband ends up in prison. Gina tries to make a new life for herself and her children but with the power of the internet, trolls and vigilantes want to track her down.

Stillhouse Lake is a modern tale of stalking and trolls. This novel is from the point of view of an innocent victim of internet and telephone abuse. This is a serious global problem and Rachel has made a thriller out of it.

I enjoyed reading Stillhouse Lake and loved its format, a first person narrative with a linear time frame. I loved the strong character development of Gina and her two children. I loved the rural setting and all the steps Gina took to hide her past. I liked the plot and how it made suspicions about all the people living close to Stillhouse Lake.

I found this novel an entertaining and interesting read. It is similar to many “cabin-by-the-lake” films but is still a solid GOOD 4 star read.

Stillhouse Lake was written in 2017 and is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook.

How to manipulate your mind and kill anxiety by Sergio C. Brown.

This book explores how the mind works and how a reader could manipulate their mind to help anxiety and depression.

I found this book a little disappointing as I feel it lacks focus. Sergio knows his stuff but I did not feel this was an empowering read. I liked his comments on food and chocolate in particular! It kept my interest and I hoped it would get better towards the end. Sadly I found it was a long trip around the houses to get his core ideas across.

I did enjoy his insights into different ways of thinking and understanding how your whole body functions. He was also careful with his language in case a reader may be suicidal. Sergio has lots of ideas to move forward and this could help readers who are at risk,

I found this book an interesting introduction to different ways of thinking but it lacked any WOW! Factor and it’s lack of depth made it a POOR 2 star read.

How to manipulate your mind and kill anxiety is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook and was written in 2020. 

Mind in Depression by Jeugene John.

 This is a short, 14 page book about depression. It is written in an easy going essay style that gets the reader thinking about the problem of depression and how our brains work.

Jeugene has grouped and explored depression into six attitudes that can result in this mental health problem. The Perfectionist, The Worst is yet to come, It’s my fault, Weight on my shoulders, I forgive but don’t forget and Addicted to love. Read through these six triggers of depression and you will gain a quick insight to this condition.

I found this short book a quick and clear read that was very easy to follow and understand. I think Mind in Depression is an OKAY read that gives the reader an introduction to the condition, so gets 3 stars from me.

I think Jeugene has hit the nail on the head when he writes…

There may be many cases or situations, but our brain can find solutions even in the darkest corners of the psyche.

Mind in Depression was written in 2020 and is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook.