Michael Ward

An epic fantasy blending old and new

Revisado: 06-04-22 El oyente recibió este título gratis

This action-packed adventure begins when Raelle is sent away from her adopted home against her wishes on her 19th birthday to be traded in a peace treaty with the Northern kingdom. While Raelle struggles with her pull to get home and memories about her birth family, not to mention the distractions of a handsome king she's pretending to be engaged to, a cunning Queen makes her move and puts the entire Kingdom of Garth in jeopardy. Nineteen-year-old Raelle is coming of age while fighting emotional and literal battles which the complications of a love triangle aren't helping.

With a blend of old and new, Kingdomless, Book 1 in the Evamore Series, brings the harshness and restrictions of the 17th century to a group of young adults with a decidedly contemporary vernacular. Raelle has been trained to fight and is an expert with a bow and arrow, so although it's essential for the fate of the kingdom to stay alive, she often joins fights and finds herself in life-threatening situations. More adventures await as the cliffhanger ending leaves readers with unanswered questions about the fate of Raelle, the magical leader of the Evamores, and her rightful kingdom.

A sincere thank you to the author for an audio edition of the book.

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A web of intrigue, history and soul searching

Revisado: 02-26-21 El oyente recibió este título gratis

From the coast of California to the charm of Tuscany, Waking Isabella whisks readers into a web of intrigue, history and soul searching in a stunning setting. Nora is in a personal and professional crisis as her marriage ends and her career is at crossroads. So when an old friend pops up on social media, Nora takes a leap of faith and puts in motion a journey that ultimately connects her with a Medici princess. In a mix of old and new, past and present, Waking Isabella keeps a quick pace as it weaves together the history of the murder of a Isabella and the present day story of a modern woman searching for who she is and how she wants to spend her life. The story is layered with rich details about Renaissance Italy and gorgeous descriptions of the paintings, jewelry and traditions that capture the opulence of the time. While the contemporary scenes relay the pace, flavors and lifestyle of today's Italian villages. I enjoyed learning about this little-known piece of history and experiencing the dramatic story of Isabella through the eyes of a rebellious young woman. I also appreciated that the story was appropriately complex without easy answers to Nora's big questions. If you're lucky enough to find yourself in Tuscany in the near future, this is a great book to bring along.

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Absorbing family saga

Revisado: 01-29-18

What did you love best about Kiss Carlo?

The best part about Trigiani's writing, imho, is her ability to create a vast array of characters with such deep emotions and quirky characteristics that you are completely drawn into their lives. From a mayor to a jilted girlfriend to a conflicted middle-aged man, Trigiani provides them all with pitch perfect personalities. They aren't stereotypes and they aren't so extreme that you can't reach them. They are just like you and me and they'll stick with you long after the end of the book. I, for one, didn't want them to go on with their story without me when then book ended.

Which scene was your favorite?

I would have loved to have been in Valfortore, Italy, New York or even South Philly when I read Kiss Carlo. But since I couldn't be there, experiencing the trials of this wonderful Italian-American family, especially the charming but troubled Nicky, was a treat in itself.

If you could take any character from Kiss Carlo out to dinner, who would it be and why?

I'd like Hortense to make me her fabulous gravy.

Any additional comments?

Kiss Carlo is another absorbing story from Trigiani about life, love and family...Italian style.

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A few good points

Revisado: 07-05-16

What did you like best about Superforecasting? What did you like least?

This won't make you a super forecaster. There were a few good tips but nothing systematic. Take a statistics course on Coursera if you really want to start down the path. It's entirely based on one study, albeit an extensive one. But like most business books it could have been 10% of the length.

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Half going to war, half about coming home

Revisado: 06-28-16

This was a good read and it is a service to us all to take the time and courage to put this in writing. I did have a lot of takeaways but the expectation should be that this is as much of not more about dealing with the implications of war in soldiers and how society deals with it as much if not more than simply what the experience of combat is like.

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