Rich culturally immersive time-travel read

Invisible Footprints in Time by Irwin Wislesky offers an imaginative real-world take on time travel. The story centers around protagonist Maxine Samuels, a 55-year-old research scientist who questions why humanity has lost its spiritual connection to a higher power. Her goal is to find a way to revitalize that connection. She hopes to find the answers she seeks in the past. She has an idea of how to time travel but questions if it is possible to visit the past without leaving any “footprints.” This leads to another question. Have time travelers already visited the past? And if so, did they alter the future for their own benefit? Wislesky raises many pertinent questions relevant to time travel in this intriguing story as Maxine considers both ethical and historical aspects of time travel as she moves back in time to visit ancient cultures looking for answers. 

Book Review: Invisible Footprints in Time

For me, the story started out slow as Maxine celebrates her birthday. Her son Patrick comes for a visit and through their conversation, much of the time-travel techno-babel is introduced for how things work. It felt a little like a time travel brochure author info dump, but it didn’t last long. Once the story reached the lab, team, and the excitement of their first try at time-travel, I was hooked. The “science” was believable enough, and the relationship between Maxine and her son added another level of interest and emotional involvement. Something else I appreciate is that the story takes place in 2075, in a futuristic world that is not a dark dystopian mess like so many time travel scenarios depict. I appreciated this change-up.

@donnasundblad #BookHookup Book Review Invisible Footprints in Time #invisiblefootprintsintime#booktok #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookreviewer#bookblogger #wislesky #booktasters ♬ original sound Donna Sundblad

BookHookup awards Invisible Footprints in Time with a strong 4 stars. My favorite parts of the book include the visit to Puru’s ancient past where Wislesky provides a sense of culture and setting that captivated my senses. I was impressed by the amount of research he delivered within the story line itself. And without including spoilers I have to say I really enjoyed the plot discoveries in regards to their trips to the past and how even small things can make a difference in the future. I recommend this book to fans of time travel and think those who enjoyed the Marc McKnight Time Travel Adventure series will love this book. I also recommend it to readers with interest is ancient mysteries.

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As BookHookup, I am a longtime book reviewer. I received a free review copy of this book from BookTasters and have not received compensation for reviewing or recommending it. Some links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites.

Tangle of Choices - Perfect fantasy read for the beach, on a rainy day, or on a plane

This drama/fantasy centers around difficult choices and their consequences. The plot centers around a strong female protagonist, Tauria, and her husband, Prince Doron. For those who had the privilege of reading book one in this series, Neglected Merge, the story picks up in Tangle of Choices seven years later. At the start of this tale, Tauria’s marriage appears to fall into the happily-ever-after category until she makes a sacrificial offer in order to broker peace between the world she came from and the world she now calls home. The far-reaching consequences of that choice affect not just herself but everyone she cares about.

I won’t say more about the exact plot because I certainly don’t want to be a spoiler for this well-written fantasy. The worldbuilding is vivid and polished, and the characters are relatable. While Author Eve Koguce's cast of characters is extensive, they are individually distinct, motivated, and flawed behaviors that evolve from their backstory. It all works together to create a rich tapestry of fantasy culture that makes sense.

In this second book of the three-book NegligentMerge series, Tauria meets real adversity head-on as she strives to bring peace to her world. Her unselfish decision carries her into a foreboding scenario that threatens all she holds precious, including her marriage. The consequences affect her emotional, psychological, and social well-being as she gives up everything to be a responsible and thoughtful leader.

 

Review of Tangle of Choices

If I had to sum up this book in one word, I’d call it satisfying. It's a perfect read for the beach, on a rainy day, or on a plane. I enjoyed it on every level. Characters I cared about with clearly defined roles, a believable plot, plenty of drama, a well-crafted fantasy world, and a healthy dose of clean romance. Because I read book 1, it felt like I was reconnecting with friends. However, the book can stand alone without reading book one, although I highly recommend reading both. I’m happy to award this book 5 stars, and I look forward to book 3, Shifting Directions: A Fantasy Drama with Thriller Elements (Neglected Merge Book 3). I recommend this book to fans of epic fantasy adventures like The Entangled Princess: A Clean Medieval Romance (The Bitter Kingdoms series Book 1) by Shantal Sessions, or the Shadowlands King by Amy Horikami.

 

As BookHookup, I am a longtime book reviewer, and I received Tangle of Choices as a free review copy and have not been compensated for reviewing or recommending it. Some links in this post are affiliate links. We participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites.

 

About the Author Eve Koguce

Multi-award-winning author Eve Koguce has been in love with books for as long as she remembers herself. The typewriter her first attempts at writing had been made at still sits proudly on its shelf in the basement.

After fifteen years spent trying to fit into the office work pattern, Eve Koguce had decided to pursue her dreams and turned to writing.

Eve Koguce lives on the coast of the Baltic Sea with her husband, her son, and their two exceedingly charming ginger cats. She loves nature, history, and literature. Her hobby – and a childhood dream that came true – is horse riding.

Eve's debut novel “Neglected Merge” - book one in the Neglected Merge trilogy - has won three awards in the following book awards contests: (i) Silver Medal in the 2021 Global Book Awards in the Science Fiction / Fantasy category, (ii) Award Finalist in the 2021 Readers’ Favorite International Book Award Contest in the Fantasy General category, and (iii) Honorable Mention in the 2021 Royal Dragonfly Book Awards in the Science Fiction/Fantasy category.

You can find out more about the author on:

Blog: Eve's Book Diary: Literary journey of an office career escapee, www.evekoguce.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/eve_koguce

Twitter: @EveKoguce  

Instagram: @eve_koguce_books

Facebook: Eve Koguce Books https://www.facebook.com/evekoguce/

Traitors from the Inside Out - medical thriller that reads like current headlines

Traitors from the Inside out by M. M. Justine is a medical thriller that reads like current headline news. The story opens as Dr. Martina Strömstedt Edgren and her brother Sebastian lose their parents in a horrific car wreck. They carry on in their father’s footsteps continuing his research into the efficacy and possible adaptation of herbal therapies to treat and heal incurable illnesses.

 

Strong female protagonist

Martina is a strong female protagonist; a single mom and a successful businesswoman who finds herself navigating relationships with an ex-husband who still loves her and a doctor/co-worker who wants to marry her. Amid all the craziness of regular life, Martina experiences pressure and intimidation against her company’s herbal therapies, especially her father’s miracle cure, Rensblad. She is unsure who is behind the coercion, but learns of experiments done by her competitors on young people taken off the streets. It infuriates her. She ignores warnings to be cautious and takes risks to find answers and save lives. She uncovers a greed-driven plan by her big pharma competitor, shadowing elitists, and corrupt politicians who use subverted science to manipulate and exploit the general population into taking their harmful “Life Vaccine.” As she keeps digging, she uncovers a plot that threatens to wipe out humanity by replacing natural immunity with artificial immunity for financial gain. She faces danger straight on in order to do the right thing.

Justine’s descriptive narrative creates vivid backdrops as this suspenseful thriller unfolds. In today’s world of Covid vaccine controversy some might think this book was written after the Covid pandemic hit, but it was actually published in 2014. With that fact, it is a timely tale people can relate to. I recommend Traitors from the Inside Out to people who enjoy medical suspense with a touch of romance and sense of family. I did feel the story jumped forward in time at a few points that left a few gaps, but overall, I give this book 4 stars.

As Book Hookup, I am a long-time book reviewer. I received this book as a free review copy from the author, and have not been compensated for reviewing or recommending it. This review is posted in collaboration with #BookTasters. Some links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites.  

 

About the author

M. M. Justine, is a Swedish/Ugandan author. She was born in Uganda, the pearl of Africa, where she grew up on the shores of Lake Victoria, in Entebbe. She has traveled widely, lived, and worked on four continents. She writes fiction from facts to educate the unknowing, depicting the turbulent world we live in. She continues with her passion and vocation with the same fervor and excitement to travel the world. MM Justine is a Corporate Executive with long experience in both public and private sector.

 

 

Book review of The Wombanditos by Andrew Einspruch

 

The Wombanditos is a prequel to The Western Lands and All that Really Matters series by Andrew Einspruch. Written in his uniquely humorous style, this story centers around young Princess Eloise Hydra Gumball III and her lifelong friend Jerome de Chimpmunk as they decide to sneak away from the responsibilities that consume the princess's time. It should be no problem. Hitch a ride to an autumnal festival, enjoy a little fun, catch a ride home, and arrive before dinner. The queen will never miss her. Right? Wrong. Things don’t go according to plan.

 

 

 

For fans of The Purple Haze series, this book contains characters you’ve learned to love for their quirkiness and adventures. There’s the Princess, and Jerome, the guard Lorch Lacksneck, and as you may have guessed by the title of the book, the wombat gang known as the Wombanditos. This is the story of how the princess and the wombats came to know each other in the first place—when they kidnapped her for ransom. Not only does she not get home for dinner, but instead, she finds herself in a burrow underground along with her OCD habits screaming at her.

 

Can Jerome find and rescue her? Well, if you’ve read the first three books, The Purple Haze, The The Star of Whatever, and The Lightbearer, you already know the answer to that question. This is the story of how the clever chipmunk comes to the aid of his best friend and all the repercussions that follow. It’s an easy read filled with adventure that will make you smile.

 

I recommend this standalone prequel to the humorous fantasy series to people who enjoy clean fantasy, talking animals, plenty of humor, and loads of adventure and snappy dialogue. I recommend it to all the fans of the series, and above all, I recommend it for people who need a respite from the seriousness of real life, a little time to enjoy, laugh, and lose yourself. This book will do the trick. The only complaint I have is that it was too short, but that might be because I’m waiting for book four of the series to come out.

 

I received this book as a free review copy from either the publisher, a publicist, or the author and have not been compensated for reviewing or recommending it. I give it five stars.

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Some links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites.

 

The Nourished Brain - hope in the fight against Alzheimer’s - 5 stars

 

The Nourished Brain: The Latest Science on Food’s Power for Protecting the Brain from Alzheimer’s and Dementia by Cheryl Musatto offers hope in the fight against Alzheimer’s and dementia, even for those with familial genetic markers. Author Cheryl Mussatto is one of those people. She lost her Mom to Alzheimer’s and her Dad to dementia. In this book, she combines her own experience with her parents and the stories of others who have lost loved ones to the ravages of dementia in its different forms. In the first chapter, she offers an introduction to Alzheimer’s, what it is, statistics on the prevalence, incidence, mortality, cost, and caregiving. For instance, I learned that “two-thirds of Americans over age 65 with Alzheimer’s dementia (3.4 million) are women.”

 

 

The rest of the chapters offer steps to age-proof your brain based on specific findings related to neurodegenerative disorders from researchers from around the world. Mussatto taps into her 25 years of expertise as a registered and licensed dietitian to offer beneficial dietary changes and other valuable lifestyle modifications to help round-out ways to preserve and protect the brain from dementia. She introduces the MIND diet, a hybrid of the Mediterranean and DASH diets, which is based on studies that looked at using diet to delay or prevent dementia and is designed to protect the brain.

 

 

This book is a quick read. Its easy-to-understand language delivers helpful, useful nutritional and health information and guidance to implement it in everyday life. The final chapter even provides recipes to try. 

 

I give this book 5 stars and strongly recommend it to anyone who is health-conscious or interested in learning how to help fight the prospect of an Alzheimer's or dementia diagnosis in the future. I received this book as a free review, copy and this review is posted in collaboration with #BookTasters.

 

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Some links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites.