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Sea Side Reads

By Gini Rainey

“BETWEEN WIND & WATER: 1898 GALVESTON” by Rosa Morgan

Set in late 19^th century Galveston, Ms. Morgan successfully brings together Abigail Bauer and Captain Sebastian Lyons and weaves an engaging romantic tale filled with Galveston’s elite all the way down to the lowest of the lows in the city that inhabit Tin Can Alley and the docks.

Both unhappily married, sheer luck brought Abigail and her perverted husband Otto from their sod house on the Texas prairie to live in a lovely Galveston home in a decent neighborhood. While across the same street, Sebastian, having given up his life at sea, nursed his dying wife.

Written by one of Galveston’s own, this book is filled with the flavor of turn of the century Galveston and recalls names and places that are an integral part of the past of this historical town. Definitely an intriguing story, I was hard-pressed to put it down and found myself wrapped up in the lives and adventures of the characters.

With a skill for character development, Ms. Morgan has created a book that is well worth the read. In my opinion, however, the only flaw was her use of script for the letters exchanged between Abigail and Sebastian. I understand her reasoning, but should this book go to reprint, I would suggest selecting a more readable font. It really slowed down my page-turning and I struggled to read the text.

“SOUL REMAINS: TERRIBLY SERIOUS DARKNESS, BOOK TWO” by Sam Hooker

This book came to me from the publisher for review, and while not necessarily a book I would personally choose to read, I know there would be a huge following for this type of literature. If you are interested in witches, goblins, ghosts, demons, and the walking dead, you will totally love this book.

Sam Hooker has quite a way with words and puts a whole new twist on the meaning of life after death. A lot of the time, his tongue-in-cheek humor kept me reading, but I had a difficult time with the whole premise. His characters are interestingly engaging and, prior to their meeting up in the afterlife, interacted with one another before the fall of the fictional Salzstadt.

This book is a must-read for people who enjoy fantasy to the extreme and would like to enjoy some very clever turns of phrases.

“LOOK FOR ME” by Lisa Gardener

True to form, Lisa Gardener does not disappoint in this book filled with psychological mystery. Another in her series of D. D. Warren and Flora Dane novels, the story surrounds the mass murder of a family of five – but one member survived and is missing.

Taking a look, not only at the murder investigation, but also the foster care system, alcohol/drug abuse and recovery, and family dynamics, Gardener did a good job of building an excellent storyline that kept me turning pages until the surprising end.

A master of character-building, Gardener created believable folks who were able to bring to life the plot in a realistic manner. Typical of her books, Lisa kept me guessing till the end who the perpetrator was and with all the twists and turns, I was not disappointed in this book. It is defeinitely worth the read.