Picture-Perfect Boyfriend

by

Becky Dean

Fun and flirty with an inspirational message to be yourself and pursue your dream, not the one someone else plans for you.

Picture-Perfect Boyfriend is the latest contemporary young adult novel by author Becky Dean, and it is as fun as it is supportive of its theme to be true to oneself. I enjoyed this story, with its fine mix of romance, comedy, mystery, and inspiration, so much that I was smiling the entire time I turned its pages. 

High school senior Mackenzie "Kenzie" Reed is an engaging and relatable main character on spring break with her family on the beautiful island of Maui. She's spent the entire final school year conforming to her parents' ideal vision of how she should live her life. Kenzie wants to pursue photography, but her mother and father don't believe it is a viable career goal and want her to join them in their family optometry business. Worn down by their years of criticism of her differences and the trivialization of her aspirations and talent, she had decided to do things their way. Happily, the story heads elsewhere. 

The premise of the made-up boyfriend materializing in person hooked me the moment I read the blurb, and the story did not disappoint. Jacob/Jake, himself presenting two faces, was fun, flirty, and an enigma for much of the book. I laughed over the Eddie Haskell vibes I got from his interaction with Kenzie's family members and was relieved to discover he wasn't the "Stepford" boyfriend. The mystery of his identity and how he came to be on the island was brilliant. 

The Maui setting was the perfect place to release Kenzie's repressed desires and personality. The descriptions of the lush surroundings and the inclusion of so many interesting places to visit on the island will have readers wanting to book their own visit. 

With its engaging characters and fun and brilliantly executed premise, I recommend PICTURE-PERFECT BOYFRIEND to readers of contemporary young adult fiction, especially those who like an island setting, family drama, and romance. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author or publisher through TBR and Beyond Book Tours.

Feels Like the First Time

by

Kimberly Packard

An emotionally devastating breakup sends an aimless college junior 30 years into her future.

Feels Like the First Time is a warm and witty women’s fiction novel by veteran author Kimberly Packard in which an emotionally immature young woman is suddenly thrust into her own life 30 years in the future. It’s the Spring semester of 1996, and after a heated public argument with her father about her aimless college performance, Emily Murray runs to her musician boyfriend’s place to discover he and his band are packing up and heading for L.A., where a possible recording contract awaits. However, while she thought she would be part of that move, he did not and planned to slip away without an explanation. Devastated, she returns to her shared apartment, and in an emotionally impulsive act, shaves off all of her hair and blacks out. But rather than awakening to follicular mayhem, Emily comes to in a strange bed, with a gorgeous older man singing in the shower. She’s 30 years older, and it’s 2026. 

Emily Murray is such a great character; I was in her corner from start to finish. She’s a fun, free-spirited girl with a sassy wit and a love for live music and her lead-singer boyfriend, Wick. Unfortunately, Wick is all about Wick, seeing Emily as only an accouterment to his current self-image as a struggling Austin, Texas, musician on his way to the top. He has no problem leaving her behind to pursue his big break in L.A. Emily, however, has had an emotionally undernourished childhood, the result of her suddenly single mother being thrust unprepared into the role of breadwinner when her marriage to Emily’s emotionally and physically distant father breaks up. But when she awakens in 2026, she finds herself engaged to Dr. Craig Harrison, the complete opposite of the men in her earlier life. He’s understanding, supportive, and only has eyes for her and her wellbeing. Their chemistry is palpable, even as she initially thinks he’s the product of her dreaming. But once she realizes she’s living in her own future, she begins to back away from this warm-hearted man, who in reality is a total stranger. As she falls for him, she worries she’s an imposter in her own life, living a lie, and she can’t do that to this good man. 

There are several pivotal supporting characters in Emily’s life, in both timelines. There is the mysterious Astrid, the psychic Emily consults on a whim after her blow-up with her father, and who is still in business in her future. While Emily repeatedly returns to Astrid to beg for help getting back to her life in 1996, Astrid is actually a source of wisdom and good advice when Emily is considering her options and contemplating some suspect choices. There are also Emily’s lifelong friends, Josie and Sofia, and her loyal and wise assistant in her therapy practice, Monique. The story really celebrates the power and value of strong, supportive female friendships. In the end, Emily, who has grown into a gifted therapist, must learn some personal lessons of her own before she can live the life she was meant to live. 

I recommend FEELS LIKE THE FIRST TIME to readers of women’s fiction. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy from the author through Lone Star Literary Life Book Campaigns.

Rip the Sky

by

Mark Packard

A deeply evocative story of choices made and unforgiven acts.

Rip the Sky by Mark Packard, a recently released work of speculative fiction, tells the life story of Billy Don Worster, a simple boy from a hardscrabble farm in the Texas Panhandle. Addressing tough subjects such as battlefield experiences, PTSD, alcoholism, and drug addiction, Billy's story is, at once, emotional, fantastical, and riveting. 

The story is complex, as are the emotions drawn as Billy's struggles unfold. His generation of veterans had a very different service experience than those of previous wars or those that came after for several reasons: the absence of a deeply patriotic cause to enlist and serve, divided leadership, lack of support for the war by the general public, at least as depicted by the media, are a few. They were often reviled upon their return, not receiving the recognition and appreciation they deserved. Nor was the recognition and treatment for PTSD very advanced. Billy self-medicates with booze and weed rather than prescription drugs under his doctor's care. His fight with addiction will be lifelong and is a vivid and visceral storyline. His 30-day coin presentation just about gutted me. 

Billy's war experiences and subsequent hallucinations and nightmares were frighteningly real; the action and descriptions of the settings were easy to visualize to the point of feeling like I was there. His life is tragically altered forever by what he went through and how he reacted, never forgiving himself for what he perceived as his failures. Billy's experiences also led to his ability to leave his body and fly to doors in the sky, opening to other worlds or versions of his life had he made different choices. The truth of this ability to fly is left ambiguous. Is it a manifestation of his psychological problems or a tumor? Or is it a special gift or curse? However, since he shares the ability with Judge Madeline Johnston, I am leaning toward it being an actual gift. Common threads link him and the judge: how they reacted to the adversity in their lives, the choices they made, the paths they took or avoided, and their capacity to forgive. 

The story covers a lifetime and a full spectrum of human interactions: the horror of war; the goodness of people such as Butch Crowley and Rachel Wheeler; their capacity for meanness as shown by Judge Johnston's courtroom management, demeanor, and judgments; and greed as depicted by Delbert Reynold's and Stewart Thompson's despicable actions. It is a story readers won't soon forget. 

I recommend RIP THE SKY to readers of speculative fiction who enjoy stories with science fiction and fantasy elements.

For this and other book reviews, visit my blog, Boys' Mom Reads!

Enceladus Station: Fountains

by

Douglas Alexander

A twisty tale of murder and corporate cover-up on a 22^nd-century lunar outpost of Saturn.

Enceladus Station: Fountains by Douglas Alexander is a twisty tale of murder and corporate cover-up at a frozen research outpost on one of Saturn’s moons. The combination of science fiction, mystery, and a near-future setting created an intriguing story that kept me reading until the satisfying, clever conclusion. 

By the 22^nd century, space travel is routine, with humanity living, working, and visiting remote parts of the galaxy in only hours rather than years. Lt. Mark Grant is sent to the corporate research outpost on one of Saturn’s moons, Enceladus, to investigate the murder of one of the medical doctors stationed there. But on his arrival, he’s greeted by the disturbing scene of yet another attack; this time in the Research Center, where scientists have been studying the moon’s precious water resources. The amount of blood pooled on the floor and smeared on monitors, keyboards, and access keypads of the locked facility indicates someone has been gravely wounded, yet the body has somehow vanished without a trace, and Dobson  Pharmaceuticals, the corporate partner of the outpost, has suspiciously sent their own team of deadly clones to locate and eliminate the victim. 

Part sci-fi, part action/adventure, and part riveting mystery and corporate cover-up, I was grabbed by the story from the start. The setting, an underground research facility on the outermost edge of our settled galaxy, is atmospheric with the seeping condensation on its walls and floors, constant cold infiltrating one’s very bones, the dim to suddenly clinically bright lighting, decrepit behind the scenes maintenance passageways, and the ubiquitous presence of the Pricklies, small alien insect-like creatures labeled pest, yet clearly displaying signs of awareness and intelligence. 

The story is told from multiple points of view, not just that of the investigating officer, Lt. Grant, which gives the reader insight into the many working parts of the plot. However, the shared perspective also seemed to prevent me from really connecting with Grant himself or his investigation. There is some emphasis on a couple of minor characters, perhaps as possible red herrings, but their presence is not followed up on, so the opportunity is not taken. Characters with critical involvement early in the book disappear and a secret meeting with shadowy operatives goes nowhere. A couple of characters change names from introduction to reappearance, such as Dr. Eric Harris, who is later called Jonas, and there are more typos and errors than I was comfortable with in a finished book. However, the resolution is excellent and serves up a well-done Agatha Christie drawing room-style reveal, with Grant gathering together all the players and presenting his conclusions. 

I recommend ENCELADUS STATION: FOUNTAINS to readers of science fiction mysteries. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy from Reedsy Discovery.

The Last Orbit

by

Lance Jepsen

In a far-future universe where corporations control everything, including history, going along is the only way to stay alive.

The Lost Orbit is a new science fiction thriller by Lance Jepsen, set in a distant future where corporations control everything. Nicole Gordon is the pilot of the Tethys, a salvage ship held together by little more than hopes and prayers. With few resources, she’s barely scraping by as she plies the Graveyard Orbit on the fringes of known space, looking for salvageable wreckage that others have overlooked or passed on, when she encounters an arkship, a huge, mythical spacecraft with its cargo still aboard and viable. But even the outer edges of space have corporate eyes and ears, and she soon finds herself fleeing for her life with one of the greatest secrets of her time by her side. 

Nicole Gordon is a solitary soul, cynical, and suffering the aftereffects of a corporate memory wipe she underwent after a mission gone wrong three years earlier. Things that shouldn’t be familiar to her are, and the mental manipulations done to her seem to be slowly reversing. Why this is allowed, other than the corporations are in charge, we do not know. Did she agree to having some technician physically drill into her head? Still, I enjoyed the action as critical memories continued to reestablish themselves and the mystery of her past was revealed. 

Nicole is supported by interesting secondary characters such as her friend, Riya Bass, who arrives on the scene after miraculously capturing part of a distress signal. She is a talented communications expert, using available space junk and cobbled-together pieces of obsolete tech to make broken things work. Alton Virek becomes Nicole’s companion as she flees the security forces of the corporation after she discovers their dirty secret hidden in the Graveyard Orbit. Dr. Imani Abut, not to be confused with another character, Jora Imanin, is a medical doctor who’s seen it all while hiding on a derelict space station on the fringes of space for the previous 20 years. The characters are chased through off-limits space and treacherous debris fields by the corporate hunters, as they desperately attempt to get the word out about the corporation’s biggest lie of all. 

While the plot grabs attention and the settings are atmospheric, the story’s pace is hindered by constant description of every move, thought, and scene in a noir style. This treatment initially entertained me, but it quickly grew stale and disrupted the flow of the action. I really needed the author just to move it along. The author repeatedly used the same descriptions over and over again. All machinery and ship features groaned and moved as if they suffered from arthritis. The constant blaring of klaxons was accompanied by flashing red lights, always described as the color of a slaughterhouse or abattoir. Pilot Gordon experienced everything in her environment through her molars or the soles of her boots, and there was entirely too much hand-smacking of buttons, scraped knuckles, and bleeding on keyboards. I began to wonder if the basic story idea had been fleshed out using AI. Still, I wanted to know how the story resolved, so that is what ultimately determined my rating of 3 stars. 

I recommend THE LAST ORBIT to casual science fiction adventure readers.

For this and other reviews, visit my blog, Boys' Mom Reads!