WWW.PUBLISHERSWEEKLY.COM53d
lord, risks death
to return to
19th-century
Japan after two
years in
America. He
hopes to
advance Japan
into a futuristic
age of steam to
protect it from
Western
empires. After introducing a cool premise,
debut novelist Sorensen struggles to make
it believable. Toru gains allies as the plot
requires, right down to the shogun’s top
advisor. No supplies are unavailable for his
projects. Death sentences are meaningless,
because Sorensen just won’t hurt her main
characters. The irony of ruining Japan’s
unique culture in order to keep it safe from
cultural imperialism is barely touched on.
It’s a shame, because the historical period
is meticulously researched and re-created,
and the characters are varied and
engaging, with Toru’s young friends Jiro
and Masuyo driving his revolution. But
when things rarely go wrong, there’s just
no real reason to keep reading.
Valentine Bride
Shanna Hatfield. Shanna Hatfield, $2.99
e-book (136p) ASIN B01BN0N28M
This contemporary romance novella
tied to Hatfield’s Holiday Brides series is a
sweetly unsophisticated love story that’s
long on details and sadly short on sub-
stance. Fynlee chose a career in medical
billing so that she could remain close to
her highly eccentric and mischievous
grandmother, Matilda, in the small
Oregon town of Holiday. Carson has
recently purchased his aunt and uncle’s
ranch from his widowed aunt, Ruth—who
just happens to
be Matilda’s
best friend.
Predictably, the
two senior citi-
zens decide to
do whatever it
takes to get the
young folks in
their lives
together, even
though Carson
has a girlfriend (albeit one who hates the
idea of ranching life). Unfortunately, the
antics of the geriatric duo don’t come close
to salvaging the substandard characteriza-
tion, an overreliance on narrative as
opposed to interaction, and a skewed time-
line that creates an artificial need for a
wedding to be held on a certain holiday.
There are some amusing moments, but the
poor storytelling drags them down.
With No Regrets
Julie N. Ford. White Star, $16.95 trade paper
(340p) ISBN 978-1-939203-65-6
Listing heavily toward the women’s fic-
tion side of the romance genre, Ford deftly
portrays 40-year-old Finley Harrison’s
gradual recovery from the shock of
divorce. After 20 years with her philan-
dering husband, Roy, Finnie’s venture
into solo life in present-day Nashville
forces this picture of Southern woman-
hood (ante-
bellum accent
mandatory) to
evolve into
21st-century
personhood, but
she’s fighting it
tooth and nail.
Married Finnie
was so obsessed
with appear-
ances that the
only thing worse than catching Roy in fla-
grante delicto with another woman was
finding them thus engaged on her expen-
sive sofa. Once the divorce is finalized,
Finnie is pushed by longtime friend
Cathyanne to leave her comfort zone—
which means going on dates. Cathyanne
sets her up with Josh, a 31-year-old
hottie; Finnie is also drawn to next-door
neighbor Quinton. Cathyanne doesn’t
care which one Finnie chooses, so long as
she sets aside her suffocating Southern-
belle decorum and vows to live with no
regrets. Readers who love stories of
women finding their truths will enjoy
Ford’s spot-on portrayal of midlife
change, friendship, and romance.
Wrong Side of Hell
Sonya Bateman. Sonya Bateman, $3.99
e-book (288p) ASIN B01B00Y741
Bateman (Realm of Mirrors) gives this
urban fantasy novel a
familiar setup: supernatural
creatures exist, and the pro-
tagonist has the singular power to stop an
evil group that’s bent on destroying them.
In this case, Gideon Black, a Manhattan
“body mover” who transports corpses for
criminals, is thrown into a war between
the Others (vampires, werewolves, fairies,
etc.) and the Milus Dei, a shadowy group
opposed to any-
thing supernat-
ural. He’s also
frequently
called on to
help NYPD
detective Abe
Strauss. Vicious
killings that
look a lot like
wild-animal
attacks have
both Abe and Gideon stumped until
Gideon uses his ability to commune with
the dead, leading Abe to dub him the
Corpse Whisperer. Soon, Gideon learns
that his talent has very unusual origins,
and he teams up with werewolf Sadie to
stop the Milus Dei before they take any
more lives. Unfortunately, Gideon’s con-
stant shock and disbelief over each subse-
quent supernatural event are grating, and
though the writing is competent, sea-
soned fans of urban fantasy looking for-
ward to something fresh and new won’t
find it here.
Nonfiction
The Art of Reading:
A Photo Essay
Lawrence Schwartzwald. Lawrence
Schwartzwald, $28 trade paper (78p)
ISBN 978-1-941969-81-6
Photojournalist Schwartzwald celebrates urban bibliophiles in this slim collection of 60 candid black-and-white
photos from recent years. Inspired by photographer André Kertész’s 1971 photo
essay “On Reading,” the collection
depicts readers—mainly New Yorkers—
in various stages of reflection. Except for a
lucky snap of the pop singer Amy
Winehouse staring down at a magazine in
New York City’s Meatpacking District in
REVIEWS
