Review: The Cockatoo from Timbuktu by William AE Ford

The Cockatoo from Timbuktu is from the same author who wrote Timothy Mean and the Time Machine (a 4/4 book I reviewed about a year ago) by William AE Ford. Just like the first book I reviewed by him, it is an amazingly cute book with fun rhymes.

Kian is a baby Cockatoo that lives at a zoo but wants to go home to Timbuktu and his parents. The little Cockatoo plans his escape and goes on a trip around the world to go home. He visits places like India and China, along with Egypt and Rio. He directly visits eight places during his journey and if readers pay attention he flys over even more amazing places such as the Stonehenge.

I absolutely love the cute little Cockatoo that is the focus of the story. “Cockatoo” and “Timbuktu” are both fun words to say, drawing interest from children. The artwork is also extremely cute as are all the other animals. Other than the few areas where the rhyme falls apart, I could find nothing to complain about. I do understand losing the rhyme at spots for the sake of the story.

This is designed for children. It could easily be read to newborns and older. A great book fro the beginning reader. It may also spark interest in different animals in older children as they track Kian’s path home. I rate this book 4 out of 4. Just like the book before it, this book is wonderful. I love the bright artwork and repetition and rhymes. Everything about this book is great for young children.

https://www.facebook.com/nightreaderreviews/
https://smashbomb.com/nightreader
https://nightreaderreviews.blogspot.com/

Review: The Secrets of the Forest by Helena Brady

The Secrets of the Forest by Helena Brady is a creepy-pasta in a slightly longer book. It takes on elements of the 2016 movie “The Forest” and Slenderman who showed up sometime around 2009. It also talks of depression and suicide a lot, along with murder, death, and abuse. If these topics bother you please be advised.

Sarah-Rose has entered the hardest time of her life. Her father has recently died and her mother blames Sarah-Rose for his death. Not only is Sarah-Rose’s mother blaming her but she has turned to alcohol and beating her daughter as a way to cope. Understandably enough Sarah-Rose can not handle all this, even more so because it is her sixteenth birthday.

In order to escape all of this Sarah-Rose heads into The Forest that is on the edge of town, the one no one goes into for fear of death. She is hoping that the stories are true and like everyone else who has entered The Forest that she either won’t come out or will come out as a lifeless corps floating in the river. What Sarah-Rose didn’t expect was that The Forest had its own plans for her. Upon entering The Forest, Sarah-Rose starts discovering secret after secret about her town’s past and herself. The only question that remains is if and when The Forest plans on claiming her as well.

It was well thought out as to what the requirements were for someone to become a spirit or not. The same goes for if said person’s spirit becomes bound to The Forest or if they can leave it of their own free will. I did not find this book to be very original at all. It seemed to be a combination of a few different popular stories of recent years. The name and cover even immediately made me think of other things.

This is a young adult book, but it is largely about depression and suicide. With these extremely tough subjects being at the front of the story I encourage anyone extremely sensitive about these topics to put the book down. All others, please enjoy. I rate this book 2 out of 4. Overall the story was good. It was just too unoriginal for my taste. I do believe this book will be enjoyed by those who choose to read it. There are a few small surprises that the unsuspecting reader will find interesting.

https://www.facebook.com/nightreaderreviews/

https://smashbomb.com/nightreader

https://nightreaderreviews.blogspot.com/

The Secrets of the Forest | Book| Austin Macauley Publishers

Review: Go Back for Love by Anne-Marie Sassoli

Go Back for Love by Anne-Marie Sassoli is an extremely brief romance. This book can easily be read in a day, in not just a couple of hours. It also relies heavily on time travel in very short bursts.

Laura is a bit of a nobody and always has been, at least in her own opinion. Then one seemingly random day she gets a letter from a solicitor. This letter sets her off on a whole new life as it is her inheritance from an aunt she barely knew. Along with a large sum of money Laura is given a mysterious coin collection that is connected to her aunt in a most unusual way. Through these coins, Laura learns about her aunt's past. She is introduced to her aunt’s fall from riches to being a servant. Her aunt’s journey doesn't end there but in an unexpected interaction with a man who sees her potential as a person despite the differences in their social classes.

During Laura’s discovery of her aunt's past, she also starts forming a cautious relationship with her neighbor, Blaire, who also happens to own the building she lives in. What is most startling is how Blaire is already interwoven into Laura’s life by a surprising connection to her Aunt. Was their meeting predetermined by fate (or the Aunt) or is it just something that happened by chance?

Like many of the books that I do not care for, I do like the concept, it just wasn’t presented very well. So much could be done with how the Aunt's coins allowed Laura to travel back in time. What Laura saw when she traveled was also interesting but lacked relevance, it contained no lesson and did nothing to directly encourage Blaire and Laura to get together. The book is extremely vague. It is almost as if it is an unfinished draft of what could be a much larger story. Unfortunately, everything felt glossed over, like the author had a good idea but didn’t want to take the time to write a larger novel.

If I were to recommend this book to anyone it would be adults who like romance (there is one semi-vivid sex scene). It is good for those that want a basic and quick read, but those wanting something with more depth will be disappointed. I rate this book 1 out of 4. I was rather disappointed in it. While so short stories have the amazing ability to quickly draw readers in, provoke emotion, or make them think, this one missed the mark. In fact upon thinking about the story, time travel wasn’t even needed as the money that Laura also got put the couple in contact and not the coins.

https://www.facebook.com/nightreaderreviews/
https://smashbomb.com/nightreader
https://nightreaderreviews.blogspot.com/

Go Back for Love | Book| Austin Macauley Publishers

Review: Vanished by Gillian Alice Lock

In Vanished by Gillian Alice Lock time travel is not a scientific discovery but a natural phenomenon. This book also falls in a gray area between science fiction, historical fiction, and romance.

Andrea lives with her little dog, Muff, out in the country. She tries to live a structured life but since she works from home she finds herself giving in to cravings more often. Luckily Muff is extremely high energy for a little dog and requires Andrea to take her for long walks. One day Andrea makes plans with the neighbor guy for a date after Muff’s walk. The neighbor waits for her but she doesn't show up, for years.

During their walk Andrea and Muff finds themselves pulled into a dense yellow mist and when it dissipates things have changed. The area they are in looks familiar yet it is not the home they are used to, but instead, it looks more like pictures from a history book. Andrea draws a lot of attention to herself from the way she talks and dresses and soon finds herself with Father Jones. Through the Father, Andrea learns of Robert who also seems to have come from the future. Andrea manages to secure work along with room and board for herself and Robert at the home of William Farthing, a Lord. Sadly Andrea knows of the fate that is going to befall William and wars with herself about intervening. She also must come up with a decision if she wishes to return to her old life in the 21st century or try to keep her new one int the 17th.

I enjoyed ho both positive and negative aspects of the 17th century are addressed. The dirty and poor living conditions are clearly depicted, as are the differences in food compared to what we are used to today. The lifestyle of those in the 17th century is very different from modern times but slower and calmer as well. There was inconsistency with the names of the characters in a few places. At times it was as if the reader is expected to recognize the name of a character that is only mentioned once. I can only guess that this is in error. The back of the book also says that it takes place in 2015 but in the actual story it is (to start out with) 2019. Without going into a lot of details as to why the wedding is also in the wrong year.

There is nothing in this book the I noticed that would make it inappropriate in any way. The topic and writing style might make it quite a bit boring for even middle school-aged readers. Those who like historical fiction and romance will probably enjoy this book. I rate this book 2 out of 4. Besides the inconsistencies and other issues, I mentioned earlier the book also had multiple typos and grammar errors. While I myself am not good in that area of writing the errors in this book were glaringly obvious even to me. The book needs to be closely edited and this seriously lowered the score.

https://www.facebook.com/nightreaderreviews/
https://smashbomb.com/nightreader
https://nightreaderreviews.blogspot.com/

Vanished | Book| Austin Macauley Publishers

Review: Traveller Inceptio - Traveller Book 1 by Rob Shackleford

Traveller Inceptio: Traveller Book 1 by Rob Shackleford is a hard book to put into just one genre. It is both an adventure and a romance while also being science fiction and historical fiction. Overall an odd combination.

A group of friends working towards advanced college degrees decide to work on some research together. They are even able o secure funding from a major security company, Helguard. Their goal is to create new scanning equipment to be used by security in places such as airports. The team works extremely well together and soon they have a working prototype. However, something goes wrong with the machine and a mass of wires fuse together, causing a completely different result. When they turn the machine on and tell it to scan something, the item disappears instead.

After some research, it is discovered that the machine is sending items to the exact same location, just 1,000 years into the past. This discovery naturally gets the attention of governments around the world and the military who try to take over the project. Military men are trained in the ways of the Saxons and are sent back in time to become part of their society and provide reports and pictures of a time period that was originally poorly documented. There are many dangers that the travelers face for this project, but the main one is that the Saxons are currently at war with the Vikings.

What I liked best was the one member of the original team who was largely responsible for the creation of the transporter never claimed it. I am unsure if this is because he remains unaware of what he did, or out of fear because he was messing where he did not belong, either way, this is what stuck with me the most. There was a lot of technical speak, along with war and battle pans that were confusing and boring. The war or battle aspect of the book was very drawn out, though I have never been one to enjoy play-by-play fight scenes.

This is more of an adult book. The length and technical stuff would probably be a bit daunting for younger readers. It is also rather detailed in the more graphic fight scenes (gore) and rape, which might make some readers uncomfortable. I rate this book 2 out of 4. The more interesting parts of this book, such as when Michael is becoming part of the Saxon culture moves quickly and is enjoyable. The duller areas such as the fights and technical speak are dry and really bring this otherwise interesting book down.

https://www.facebook.com/nightreaderreviews/
https://smashbomb.com/nightreader
https://nightreaderreviews.blogspot.com/

Traveller Inceptio | Book| Austin Macauley Publishers

Review: When Darkness Falls by Kathleen Harryman

When Darkness Falls by Kathleen Harryman is an extremely gripping thriller that will have readers up all night. This psychological murder mystery is uniquely written from the killer’s perspective and will have you making conclusions only to find out that you are oh so very wrong.

Tracy Bennett seems to be an average young woman. She has a typical and relatively boring job at a store and leads a typical life. Tracy has her own apartment which she shares with the mysterious Lauren. In her free time, Tracy hangs out with her two best friends Susie and Abigal. For as normal and mundane as Tracy’s life is there are things going on that are directly related to her, yet just like everyone else, she remains oblivious.

There is someone terrorizing the city, though the police have prevented an all-out panic. This person is suspected to be a large and rather muscular man, the press has named The Slasher. The real Slasher hates this name as they see their murders as artwork. This is the killer’s story and they take great pride in what they do. The killer is extremely aware of how forensic teams work and finds it funny playing mind games with them. The killers is also aware of how society labels them and often debates the characteristics of these traits and personality types. But just who is The Slasher? What makes them choose the seemingly random victims and how will all this affect Tracy?

I don’t know where to start when talking about what I liked best about this book. The perspective this book was written from was refreshing in how unique it was. Even once I figured out what was going on I did not want to accept it and the book always had me second guessing myself. While it may be a little confusing at times it is all explained in the end. What I liked least about this book is that there is not currently a sequel (thought I truly hope Kathleen Harryman writes one). This is one of those books that once you finish it you are left wanting more.

This book is ideal for adults and young adults who can handle reading graphic descriptions of blood and gore. Other than that there are mentions of a rape but nothing in detail. It could however, potentially give younger readers nightmares. I rate this book 4 out of 4. A word of warning, be careful when you start to read this book because you won't want to stop until its done. There was nothing in this book that I truly did not like and that alone is rare and impressive.

https://www.facebook.com/nightreaderreviews/

https://smashbomb.com/nightreader

https://nightreaderreviews.blogspot.com/

When Darkness Falls | Book| Austin Macauley Publishers