reviews

A Reverse Persephone: An Angel, a Woman, a Tragic Love Story Author: E.J. Wenstrom Orphaned, suspected of dark magic, responsible for a rebellion which has reached the gods and angels themselves, and desperately lonely – Rain is the story of Nia – a young girl who follows the temptation to feel peace again to a brutal new level. A prequel to Mud, Rain is a rare offering that stands on its own while also fleshing out a previously explored dystopian realm through new eyes. If you haven’t already read Mud, this short but compelling novella will capture your soul with a need equally as powerful as [...]

A Sellout, a Pardon, and a Planned Assassination Author: John Grisham I’ve heard of John Grisham (who hasn’t!) my entire life and seen many of his bestsellers lounging in brightly lit grocery store racks and Barnes and Nobel’s spiffy “hot right now” shelves. You’d basically have to be in a vacuum not to have heard of him and, admittedly, read one of his books. But the entire legal thriller genre never really appealed to me. Sticking “bestseller” on it actually made the distaste worse – I immediately assumed that Grisham must be the Stephanie Myer of the thriller world.  When The [...]

“What is dark within me, illumine.” Author: John Milton Back on the classics kick, I warily approached Paradise Lost. The antiquity of the item combined with the natural complexity of epic poetry was daunting at first, especially because as a devoted bookworm (and official holder of an English degree) poetry remains elusive and incomprehensible to me. The story, written by John Milton who shadows Homeric tradition by adopting blank verse (instead of the typical approach of his time devoted to rhyming verse) depicts the aftermath of Satan’s rebellion and revenge, the rise of sin, and the fall of man (i.e. Adam [...]