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.

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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.

Multicultural romance drama edged in suspense

Mrs. Varman reads like period drama with an Indian theme. The book opens with a whirlwind romance between American-born Julia (Mrs. Varman) and Indian-born Sachin. He falls madly in love with Julia, and they marry, but his family is unhappy about it. As the first two chapters unfold, they seem destined for each other until the loss of their first baby through miscarriage. That tragic incident changes the trajectory of their relationship. They become strangers living in the same house. By chapter 3,  stories of the ugly underbelly of the Indian culture, including dysfunctional families, child trafficking, poverty, abuse, and even murder, replace the struggles of Mrs. Varman's marriage. These stories introduce new, complex characters, including an orphaned boy named Vijay, who struggles to survive.

As the chapters progressed, I thought the book to be an anthology with a theme of life in India amid various castes, and I wondered what ever happened to Mrs. Varman. I was happy when her storyline returned in chapter 10 as Julia and Sachin plan for a trip to India. Julia learns how to wear a saree and cook Indian food to impress her husband’s family in India as she prepares for her first trip out of the United States. Traveling away from the familiar makes her feel more dependent on Sachin. The more dependent she feels, the more she wants her relationship to work.

Upon arriving in India, Sachin’s aunt and grandmother welcome them, but as soon as Sachin is alone with his grandmother, she tells him she’d much rather have a grandchild than the gifts he brought for her. He can’t bring himself to tell her that Julia can have no children since the miscarriage. His distant relationship with Julia is palpable, but they blame it on their long journey when the aunt asks if something is wrong. While Granny tells Sachin she had higher expectations for his life partner, she is secretly happy to have Julia visit, but Julia feels emptiness even while around all these relatives. At this point in the story, the boy, Vijay, has grown into a young man looking for love, and the story begins to take a new direction with suspense, danger, and temptations.

 

The cultural details Sanjeeta Behera weaves into the backdrop of this story, like Granny wiping red tobacco spit from the side of her mouth and the common practice of licking fingers when enjoying good food, carry the reader to new experiences. Scents from rich spicy curries to the filth and noises of the streets are enlightening and engaging.

This story takes some unexpected twists and turns, and had me hooked to find out what Julia decides to do regarding her marriage and the love for which she longs. I recommend this book to people who enjoy dramas filled with interesting characters with complicated relationships and plenty of secrets. On the downside, the sesquipedalian vocabulary is somewhat off-putting. For instance, after the young boy, Vijay, is cheated from earnings promised him, “He became a victim of pecuniary dishonesty and hesitantly accorded deference to their barbarity and injustice by accommodating it within a shelter of his fortitude.” The story of Mrs. Varman, itself, I would give 4 stars, but due to the verbose writing style, I give it 3 stars.

As Book Hookup, I am a longtime book reviewer, and I received this book as a free review copy 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. 

 

 

A scary story that teaches how to work together

 Izzy Miller and her twin brother, Noah, settle into their new creepy house, Glenbat Manor. Izzy isn’t happy about it. She left all her friends behind and it’s all her brother’s fault. He’s been accepted by St. Alberts Academy for the Gifted. Only thirty kids a year are accepted. Now she has to start seventh grade at a new school as his not-so-clever twin and her parents expect her to be supportive!

 

 

Izzy volunteers to sweep up the layers of dust in the living room and sticks her brother with the job of tackling the basement. He has no problem with it, as long as she promises to take part in the family’s Friday evening game night. Playing a game with Noah is the last thing she wants to do. Luckily the box with all the board games is nowhere to be found. What she doesn’t know is that sending Noah to the basement is something she will regret.

With Mom making dinner and Dad setting up his studio, Izzy sweeps dust from the spacious living room, texts with her friends, listens to music, and stews over the fact that she won’t be seeing her friends. A noise startles her. It’s a pale kid staring through the dirt-crusted window. He waves. She opens the window a crack and asks what he’s doing hanging around her house. He is surprised she actually would move into the Terror Shack and introduces himself as Walter Parkinson, a neighbor. 

She invites him in out of the cold and Izzy's mom is happy to see she’s making a new friend and invites him to stay for dinner. Then Noah walks into the living room announcing game night is saved. Izzy introduces Walter as the kid who came over to warn them that the previous family had disappeared without a trace a hundred years ago.

Walter asks what Noah is holding. He shows them a game he found in the basement. Izzy is not thrilled as her brother sets up the game carved with strange symbols and designs. Walter thinks it will be fun. With no other real options for something to do on a Friday night, Izzy agrees to play for half an hour.

The game has no instructions and no game pieces. Noah opens his hand to show two dice but without instructions, no one knows what to do. Noah tosses the dice on the table and starts to talk about something else. A tiny silver skull materializes on the board at “start” and it moves along the spaces! Izzy figures it’s some kind of parlor trick and takes her turn. Instead of another game piece appearing, the silver skull moves again. Time freezes. If they ever want to see their family again, they have no choice but to finish the game.

L. G. Cunningham’s Game with No Name is book 2 in the JITTERS series following Pretty Perilous Parakeet (Book 1). It’s a thrilling adventure that centers around a mysterious game with no name. Some turns whisk all players away from Glenbat Manor into dangerous life-threatening quests where they must work together to solve a riddle. If they don’t, they could die. When Izzy finds herself on a pirate battleship the first thing she does is blame her brother. But to solve the riddle they must get along and work together.

 This entertaining spooky adventure story is a perfect choice for young readers and tweens who like stories with danger, uncertainty, and magic. It’s scary but not too scary and it builds on how working together to solve the clues is important on the ship, in a jungle swamp, in a creepy castle, and more. I give this book 4 stars. In some ways I thought it predictable, but in others, it delivers unexpected twists. I recommend The Game with No Name to those who enjoy Zathura or Jumanji: Picture book of children's growth, or who like reading ghoulish stories with a happy ending.

As Book Hookup, I am a longtime book reviewer, and I received this book as a free review copy 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 Author L. G. Cunningham

LG Cunningham loves to write scary, spine-chilling, monster filled, ‘my-child-is-not-able-to-sleep’ stories. This term of endearment could be as a result of growing up in an Irish town filled with ghosts, being able to communicate with (and actually see) the dead or more than likely because his family used to rent him horror movies (pre-Netflix and pre-DVDs) when he was very little which had the affect of twisting his brain to the extent that he was - and still is - afraid of his own shadow.

Head on over to the author’s website (www.LGCunningham.com) or Twitter page (@LG_Cunningham) to keep updated on future releases in the series...or to simply have a chat!

 

The Ultimate MANual: Dr. Samadi's Guide to Men's Health and Wellness - 5 stars

Dr. David Samadi is a world-renowned urologist and front runner in prostate cancer treatment and Robotic Assisted Laparoscopic Prostatectomy. The general public became familiar with his empathetic personality on Sunday Housecall (FOX), where he shared medical expertise on prostate cancer awareness. Now, his passion guides people to better understand their health through his book The Ultimate MANual: Dr. Samadi's Guide to Men's Health and Wellness. It not only defines symptoms to watch for when things change but goes on to outline steps to take to be healthier.

 

Samadi offers insights from his decades of practice and specialized knowledge. The book covers the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer, bladder cancer, kidney cancer, and other urologic diseases in an easy-to-understand vernacular with scientific medical information expressed simply but clearly. Another benefit of the Ultimate MANual is that Samadi’s approach is comprehensive. After he discusses the top five threats to men’s lives, he goes on to offer hope and help. He not only explains the prostate, its function, location, possible symptoms to watch for, men’s fear of prostate cancer, erectile dysfunction (ED) but goes on to explain what to do when diagnosed with a problem and how to improve and maintain health with diet and exercise.

I give this book 5 stars. It is well written and offers valuable educational information for men (and their significant others) on how to take care of their health to reduce risks of cancer and other urological problems, including the management of sexual performance issues. I recommend this book to people who want to live longer, healthier lives as well as those who desire a deeper understanding of prostate health issues.

I received this book as a free review copy and have not been compensated for reviewing or recommending it. 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.