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Guest Book Review: V.B’s Take on The Me Too Girl by Lance and James Morcan

5/29/2023

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Please welcome our guest reviewer today! Let’s see what she has to say. Take it away, Virginia…
 
Thank you! ♥
The Me Too Girl by Lance and James Morcan
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https://books2read.com/u/b5WWp6
This is an intense and short read that reflects the #MeToo moment. I recommend it to those who need to better understand those affected by sexual abuse or for those who are suffering or have suffered sexual abuse. It’s especially helpful to help those not abused to better understand some victims’ issues dealing with abusers who have almost omnipotent power over them. 
 
Too many victims have no hope or alternative of something else outside or beyond their abusive situation. It was awesome to experience how Suzie found some other way than giving in. There should always be a way out, an alternative, a “something better than this.” Unfortunately, this is not always possible. But Suzie found a way, even using new allies.
 
Though it would have been nice for this to be a true story, this book had to be fiction, because few victims achieve the freedom and peace that Suzie did. This story should remind us all to notice better those around us, to reach out and actually assist those who have no advocate, and to stop abusers whenever they are found. 
 
I’m fine with the story being short. Too long or more detail could traumatize readers, especially ones who have lived a life like Suzie’s. The only downside of this book for me was that I wondered whether the authors were trying to advocate for victims or were trying to capitalize on a hot topic at the time.
 
NOTE: I was provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 
 
I give this book 4 stars because the MC overcame abuses and addictions that destroy more humans than not.

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Ranking Vectors by Vecteezy.

Book Blurb:


Young Los Angeles public relations exec Suzie Fox is being blackmailed for sex by a bad cop, a senior officer of the LAPD no less. Suzie fights back the only way she knows how, and, in the process, unwittingly becomes a beacon, a shining light, for America's Me Too movement and for abused women everywhere. But will justice be served?

Universal Reader link: https://books2read.com/u/b5WWp6
 
Here’s an excerpt from the book…

The first I became aware he was waiting for me was when I crossed the street. I was about to enter the building when the patrol car’s passenger door opened and the passenger stepped out, blocking my path. I recognized him immediately despite the fact last time I saw him he wore the uniform of a police officer.
 
Holy shit!
 
Hector Williams, or Heck to his associates, was the LAPD’s Deputy Chief of Police. He was also kind of hard to forget. A hulking specimen, the forty-nine-year-old Williams stood six foot six and towered over all but a rare few of the passersby currently using the sidewalk outside my apartment.
 
That wasn’t the main reason I remembered Deputy Chief Williams, however. We had a history of sorts. A history I’d rather forget.
 
Williams smiled at me as he ran his eyes over my body and made no attempt to hide the fact he liked what he saw. His was a cruel smile and there was no affection in those cold, gray eyes. Glancing at the security camera above the building’s entrance, he smiled again as he flashed his ID card and, turning his face away from the camera, he said, “Hey little Suzie, remember me? I’m now Deputy Chief Hector Williams.”
 
I shuddered involuntarily. I remember you alright. “What the hell do you want?” “Now, is that any way to greet ol’ Heck?”
 
Williams took me gently but firmly by the arm and escorted me a little way along the sidewalk. Whether it was because of the presence of the security camera or the close proximity of his fellow officer in the nearby patrol car I wasn’t sure. Knowing him, it was probably because of both of those things.
 
As we walked, my mind was racing. When I’d last seen Williams I’d been using another name and residing elsewhere in this city – in Venice, to be precise. That was three or four years ago now. Since then, I’d adopted a complete change of lifestyle, reverted to using my real name and relocated to new premises at least three times. In doing so, I believed I’d never see the man again. At least I prayed I’d never see him again.
 
How in God’s name did you find me, Hector?


​
BOOK INFO:

AUTHOR: Lance and James Morcan
TITLE: The Me Too Girl
GENRE: Crime Drama
RELEASE DATE: November 5, 2019
PUBLISHER: Sterling Gate Books
ISBN/ASIN: ‎B08137BDGH
OUR RATING: 4 Stars
REVIEWED BY: V.B. “Can Do Indie Author”
 
Guest Blogger/Reviewer Bio: 
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VB is an indie author who writes romance and Sci Fi and voraciously reads anything (with some limits). When she’s not reading and writing, she’s working a day job to pay for her truck habit and puttering around her house.

Awesome. Thanks for this, V.B., and for stopping by the blog! :)
Check out our latest Writing in the Modern Age blog post here.
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Guest Book Review: Ginny’s Take on Raising Kane by Susan Lynn Solomon

5/9/2023

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Please welcome our guest reviewer today! Let’s see what she has to say. Take it away, Ginny…
 
Thank you! ♥
Raising Kane by Susan Lynn Solomon
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https://books2read.com/u/bPLJNz
We start our story with reporter Libby Bridgeman going to interview a one-time star Alicia Kane, who has been in seclusion for many years. Her boss wants her to fly out to do an interview in person. However, Libby does not want to go. She would rather do the interview over the phone and get it over with.
 
She gets ahold of a friend who does some digging into Alicia’s background and finds out that she was arrested during a student riot during the 60s. So, she thought that she had enough information, and she could just fill in the gaps with a phone call.
 
When she arrived at the house, she was greeted by a very happy to see her older woman whom she was not expecting, but she was ready to get the interview over with so she could be on her way.
 
Alicia wasn’t interested in talking about the one topic that Libby was ready to start with and it made her feel uneasy. She was there to do a job and Alicia was not making it easy on her. She got her interview back on track and they continued.
 
After she had returned home, she was sitting on her bed getting all her interview notes in order when she got a message to call the Niagara Falls Police Department. She was not prepared for what she was about to hear on the other end of the phone conversation. The detective that she spoke with gave the news of Mrs. Alicia Lawrence
’s death and how they did not expect foul play.
 
Though Libby was warned by several people – including her family – to let this investigation go, she kept researching it and was set back by what she had learned of this mysterious woman, whom she had met once.
 
I was able to finish this book in one day, it was a great, easy read that held my attention the entire time. I recommend this book without a doubt. 
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Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay.
​Book Blurb:
 
Libby Bridgeman, a stringer for the Village Voice, balks when Max Howard, her editor, insists she interview Alicia Kane. Though, campus rebel, a rock superstar and an icon in the 1970s, Kane hasn’t been heard of in forty years. A Brooklyn court case involving a Black Lives Matter protest seems far more relevant. But you don’t say no to Max Howard.

While writing the article about the interview after meeting Kane, Libby receives a call from a detective—Alicia Kane is dead. Accident or suicide, the detective tells her, but Libby believes she was murdered. When Max insists that she drop the story, she’s certain he knows more than he’ll tell her.

In Greenwich Village, Chicago, Niagara Falls, a Manhattan recording studio, Libby interviews people who’d known Kane. Like Max, each seems to hide something. A connection to her family? Then, one tumultuous night she learns Alicia Kane’s complete story, and this flips her world.


Universal Reader link: https://books2read.com/u/bPLJNz
 
Here’s an excerpt from the book…
 
“A lioness of the 60s and 70s,” I said with a sardonic laugh as I sat before my make-up mirror.
 
I have a habit of thinking out loud. In fact, some- times words fall from my mouth before I realize they’re in my brain. This can be embarrassing—not lady-like, my mother often told me. While in my mind, I listened to my mother chastise me for this untoward trait, I had another idea. “Ira!”
 
I picked up my phone and punched in the number of a friend who worked at a collection agency. Phone, gas, electric bills, charge accounts, speeding tickets, arrests, even most birth records—every bit of a person’s life seemed to be logged in some computer’s database. My friend had access to those. After a few minutes on hold, listening to Latin music, he came on the line.
 
“Ira?” I said.
 
“What do you want now?”
 
“Do I have to want something to call an old high school pal?”
 
“You always want something,” he said. “I give, you take, and I don’t hear from you again until you want something else.”
 
I sighed. This was definitely not one of my better days handling men. No surprise. I’ve never handled them very well. I tried again. “I just thought maybe you could find me a little background on―”
 
“Giving you a little background could get me fired.”
 
“Ira, don’t be this way,” I said in the most helpless voice I could muster. “I don’t need anything as deep as last time. No bank records. I’m really stuck for a place to start on my new assignment. You’re the only one I can turn to.”
 
BOOK INFO:

AUTHOR: Susan L Solomon  
TITLE: Raising Kane
GENRE: Mystery/Suspense
RELEASE DATE: January 18, 2022
PUBLISHER: Solstice Publishing
ISBN/ASIN: ‎ISBN: 979-8404780031/ AISN:  B09QQ9YCJK
OUR RATING: 5 Big Amazing Stars
REVIEWED BY: Virginia (Ginny) Frick
 
Guest Blogger/Reviewer Bio: 
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I am a military wife, a mom, and a Gigi. All of which I would never change. I have a deep love for reading, and if I was given the opportunity, I truly believe I could do it all day. I decided to start reviewing books one day while I was reading some posts and thought, I can do that. So I commented on a few posts and next thing I know, I am reading some pretty amazing books. My cousin and I started a review blog (www.cuzweread.wordpress.com) and a bookstagram (@cuz.weread.books). 

Awesome. Thanks for this, Ginny, and for stopping by the blog! :)
Check out our latest Writing in the Modern Age blog post here.
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    The fact is…our policy has changed considerably, at least for a while. Check out our 'Blog Policy' for more information about the types of features offered, how you can purchase a guest spot, my policy on review requests, and rules for guest writers. Starting from 2021, I was charging for some types of posts. Of course, there is never a fee for a guest article, as long as you adhere to the blog's theme. I also will not charge for big multi-author events which I host (these are giveaways or participation questions, and it's obvious what materials you're providing). If you'd like to submit a guest book review (no, I don't write book reviews, please don't ask me), I will always accept those and not charge you a fee at all. Starting in 2022, I WILL NO LONGER BE posting new release features, cover reveals, Author's Bookshelf features, author interviews, character interviews, and poetry spotlights. I am far too overwhelmed with other work to do constant blog posts. I'll still be writing my own articles sometimes and hosting multi-author special features. For companies that can afford a sponsored post, I'm willing to discuss a reasonable quote for a specialized article which fits within the blog's theme (No blatant promotions). Email me at

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