Sassy Reviews

April 30, 2023

Spid the Spider Has a Day Off

𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸: Spid the Spider Has A Day Off 📚
𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿: John Eaton ✍️
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🚀 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰:
“Spid the Spider Has a Day off” is an interesting children’s book penned by John Eaton and illustrated by Melissa Shephard.

Spid the Spider lives in a village called Spider Webdon. The village has its own steam train station. Spid works very hard for very little pay. One day he wants to marry his girlfriend if he has enough money to get married. When he woke up on Spunday morning, he realized it’s a day off. Spid doesn’t know how to spend his day off. Give a quick read to this book to know what Spid will do on his day off.

The story is fast paced and exciting. Beautiful artwork, fun and easy to read. A wonderful story that I will surely share with my friends. This book is a great addition to any children’s bookshelf. The cover photo of the book is attractive. It’s a fun read and kids would have a great time reading this book. I am definitely interested in reading more books by the author.

𝗠𝘆 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 5/5

★ Book Is Available On Amazon

April 30, 2023

To Travel is to Live

𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸: To Travel is to Live 📚
𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿: Grace Ruto ✍️
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🚀 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰:
“To Travel is to Live” written by the author Grace Ruto is a kinda book that fits perfectly to my reading taste. In this book, the author has mentioned about her different travel experiences and how she felt alive and gained confidence, courage, etc.

“Adventure in Bedfordshire and Woburn Abbey” is my favorite from the book. The author has mentioned her experiences and she has also included beautiful pictures of different places. Grace took her first foreign trip to Santa Ponsa, Balearic Islands in Spain. She seems so happy in the pictures as it was her dream country. This book is an eye opener. It inspired me to travel to my dream places.

This book inspires the readers to take adventures and become the best version of themselves. Readers would get to know about the amazing places in the world. The writing style of the author is nice and she has used lucid language in this book. I enjoyed reading this book on the weekend. Looking forward to reading more books by the author.

𝗠𝘆 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 5/5

★ Book Is Available On Amazon

April 28, 2023

I Am a Nice Kid

𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸: I Am a Nice Kid 📚
𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿: Mirvaldy J ✍️
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🚀 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰:
“I Am a Nice Kid” written by the author Mirvaldy J is a guide to being a kind, disciplined, respectful and friendly child. By reading the different chapters of this book, readers would learn about kindness, discipline, self-confidence, organizing, etc.

Kids would be delighted to read this insightful book. The cover photo of the book is nice and the title couldn’t have been better than this. Adults would also have a great time reading this book. They would realize how important it is for them to be kind, organized, self-confident, etc in their everyday life. “Listen to your Parents – It Pays Off!” is my favorite chapter from the book.

I strongly recommend this book for kids of ages between 5 to 15 years. This book is perfect to be read aloud in the classroom. The language used in the book is lucid and the kids would be able to follow it easily. I am definitely interested in reading more books by the author in the near future.

𝗠𝘆 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 5/5

★ Book Is Available On Amazon

April 27, 2023

Many More School Days, Holidays, and All Days That Lie Between

𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸: Many More School Days, Holidays, and All Days That Lie Between 📚
𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿: Nicole S. Brown ✍️
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🚀 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰:
“Many More School Days, Holidays, and All Days That Lie Between” written by the author Nicole Brown is a collection of poetry about education and holidays. This book took me down the memory lane to my school days.

We celebrate living in America every day.
R.O.C.K. with us today in the USA. From sea to shining sea, Americans, we are,
And Americans we will be.
With love we dearly say,
That we’re American and proud. This is our country, from the east coast,
To the west coast,
And specifically, the state of Mississippi.
Living in America is a joy daily.

The above is a poem “Living in America” that makes the Americans realize how happy and proud they are to be American. Another poem “Noble Character is Always in Style” is a reminder for all of us to be kind at work, home and school.

These poems are written well. One could relate to them easily. Readers would learn a few lessons from this book. The language used is easy to follow and I am glad to get my hands on this latest book by Nicole. I strongly recommend it to all school and college students. They would have a great time reading it.

𝗠𝘆 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 5/5

★ Book Is Available On Amazon

April 27, 2023

The PIDDLEDEE Mill Mystery

𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸: The PIDDLEDEE Mill Mystery 📚
𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿: Fielding Walsh ✍️
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🚀 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰:
“The Piddledee Mill Mystery” is a children’s mystery book written by the author Fielding Walsh.

The story features Frank De Furter and Simon De Sausage, two dachshunds as the private detectives who dream of eating bones and chasing rabbits. Give a quick read to the story to know what all is happening in the small up-and-coming Victorian ‘Piddledee’ town.

The river has dried up and all dogs and mice have been disappearing. Readers will love to read how the detectives’ friends: Alfie, a Jack Russell terrier and Greg, a greyhound, help them to solve the case.

The story is fast paced and exciting. The language used is medium and kids could learn new words from this story. I recommend this book strongly for little readers. Children can read this book along with their parents. The story plot is interesting and I appreciate the storytelling skills of the author. I am interested in reading more books by the author in the future.

𝗠𝘆 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 4.5/5

★ Book Is Available On Amazon

April 27, 2023

BEACHDAZE

𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸: BEACHDAZE 📚
𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿: T W Lawless ✍️
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🚀 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰:
Beachdaze written by the author TW Lawless is the sixth installment in the Peter Clancy book series. The protagonist of the story is Peter Clancy, an investigative journalist in London. After surviving a mild heart attack, the doctor gave him an ultimatum to change his lifestyle and get away from the bad influences. Peter was advised to find some serenity in life and live a healthy life.

He moved to a peaceful town of Serenity Bay, Melbourne, Australia. Peter bought a beach house and found out a week later that his neighbours are both nosy and noisy. Soon, Serenity Bay started to feel like Hicksville by the sea. Peter wants to stay low key but the situations and people of Serenity Bay are pulling him in.

This is a gripping story and it kept me on the edge until the last page. The cover photo of the book is nice and the title couldn’t have been better than this. The character of Peter is really interesting. Even though this book is sixth in the series, one could read it as standalone also. Add this book to your tbr. You would have a great time reading it.

𝗠𝘆 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 4.5/5

★ Book Is Available On Amazon

April 27, 2023

Interview with author Hugh Murphy

Q1. Hello, can you please introduce yourself? Readers would love to know more about you.

My name is Hugh Murphy and I’m 75 years young. Because of a terrible childhood in which myself and two of my brothers were badly beaten by our father. This resulted in a tragedy – in which my brother stabbed another brother to death. Because of this I have been anti violence and injustice all my life. I started work at Belfast Docks aged 16 and from the start saw corruption in action – which I objected to. In 1972, 50 years ago my Union the ITGWU betrayed every trade union principle ever devised for the protection of workers – and joined with the employers in a Decasualisation Scheme. This was supposed to give the Dockers jobs for life. However, the Employers invented new rules as and when it suited them. One of which was – that by agreeing to the Scheme the Dockers must discharge Asbestos without protection. I got the Dockers to refute this. However, the union and employers had established a diabolical Union and Employers Court named BELFAST AND NORTHERN IRELAND FEDERATION OF EMPLOYERS AND IRISH TRANSPORT & GENERAL WORKERS UNION JOINT DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE.

This committee rail-roaded me with a series of silly charges and I was sacked. Since then I have been trying to get justice for this abomination. Details of the corrupt actions of the Court are on the web and also on linkedin. Several Solicitors refused to take action on my sacking so I contacted the NI Law Society. They replied that if I was refused by six solicitors they’d give a list of three to choose from. However, as I’d already passed that number they gave me the list. The first was a G McCann and I sent him my papers and he took my case – and appointed Norman Shannon, a Junior solicitor to my case. Everything proceeded well until Shannon left Mr McCann and took my case with him. [See papers] Shannon then set on my case until it Became Statute Barred. This corruption is covered up by both Law Societies in Ireland. See my recent open letters to them on linkedin – and also to the Police Commissioner in Dublin.

Q2. What were the key challenges you faced while writing your book “Memories And Observations”?

My main challenge in writing the book was to suppress the anger that was spurred by every word. The saying ‘Violence creates Violence’ in my childhood was proved very true. My gentle brother who normally wouldn’t hurt a fly – was sent into a life-end rage – because of loud music. Also, I felt terrible anger and the injustice that my Trade Union which – one hundred years ago had fought as ‘The Citizens Army’ to free Ireland from British Rule – had been corrupted at Belfast Docks. Besides the above, I also felt anger at the ‘powers that be’ in Ireland and in the European Parliament who allow this corruption to be covered up.

Q3. What books or authors have most influenced your own writing?

To be honest there’s no writer that I’ve come across who portrays the working class in a genuine fashion. My first play ‘Justice’ toured NI and was in the Dublin and Theatre Festivals in 1992, but then I wrote ‘The Judas Goat’ which showed the corruption of the Docks Chairman as he ordered the Dockers to discharge Asbestos without protection. He then left the Union and took the position of Labour Controller with the Employers. I wanted the Scheme thrown out – because an Employer had drawn it up, but to no avail. This play is censored – and this has led to all my plays being censored. However, I did set up a small company and stage two plays. ‘Daddy’, which is about the after effects of child abuse on two adult sisters – and ‘The Grandeur of Delusions’ which is about an alcoholic drug user trying to make sense of his life.

Q4. What’s your favourite spot to visit in your own country? And what makes it so special to you?

My favourite spot is on the ‘Cave Hill’ which overlooks Belfast and Belfast Lough. From there on a clear day you can see Scotland and the old cranes for the now defunct ship building yards. It also saddens me to look down on the old Dockside district of ‘Sailortown’ – where I come from. Number 42 New Dock Street, with the old houses long gone- to be replaced by warehouses.

Q5. Is there lots to do before you dive in and start writing a book?

No, I don’t make any special preparations before I start writing, as stated I mostly write stage-plays and writing every day. At the moment I’m on the last read- through of a trilogy entitled ‘Why The Poor Are Poor’.

Q6. How long did it take you to write your book ‘Memories And Observations’?

It took about 18 months to complete Memories and Observations. I would usually fit in a few hours after I finished my play-writing.

Q7. On what platforms can readers buy your books?

Memories and Observations can be obtained on Barnes and Noble and Amazon

Q8. Tell us about the process of coming up with the book cover and the title ‘Memories And Observations’?

My publisher Carol Staff found the photo for me. I described what I wanted, ie a photo of the type of bags that the Dockers handled on a daily basis.

Q9. When writing a book how do you keep things fresh, for both your readers and also yourself?

I kept things fresh by thinking back to the time of the things I was describing.

Q10. What is the most valuable piece of advice you’ve been given about writing?

The most valuable thing I can say to anyone who is going to write – is don’t think about – just sit down and do it.

Buy Memories and Observations on Amazon

April 27, 2023

A Girl’s Guide to Military Service

𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸: A Girl’s Guide to Military Service 📚
𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿: Amanda Huffman ✍️
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🚀 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰:
“A Girl’s Guide to Military Service” written by the author Amanda Huffman guides the young women to thrive in military life. In this book, Amanda has shared her real life experiences from her military career. I appreciate the advice that the author and other women who have served in the military share with the readers in this book.

This book has the tools that you need to join the military and then thrive in it. By getting to know the pros and cons of serving in the military, readers can make an informed decision whether to join or not.

A young woman who is considering a job or a career in the military should get her hands on this book. The author has shared great information in this book that will help the women to decide if military service is the right choice for them. It’s an insightful practical read that I strongly recommend to my fellow readers. A must read by everyone to know more about military life. I am glad to get my hands on this well written book. The insights from those who have served in the military helped me to know a lot about military life, its pros, challenges, etc.

𝗠𝘆 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 5/5

★ Book Is Available On Amazon

April 27, 2023

Interview with author Amanda Huffman

Q1. Hello, can you please introduce yourself? Readers would love to know more about you.

I’m Amanda Huffman, I served in the Air Force for six years as a Civil Engineer. I left the military when my first son was born to follow my husband’s military career. When I left the military I struggled to find my identity and began blogging. That blog turned into a podcast, Women of the Military, publishing two books, Women of the Military and A Girl’s Guide to Military Service, and a number of different opportunities. Today, I am a mom of two boys and my husband continues to serve in the military. I love a good book, a day at Disneyland and anything Star Wars related.

Q2. What were the key challenges you faced while writing your book “A Girl’s Guide to Military Service”?

There was so much about the military I didn’t know. Even though I served in the military I only served in one branch and a lot of things had changed since I left the service. In the process of interviewing women for Women of the Military I gained a lot of knowledge about different branches and ways to serve. But there was still a lot to learn.

Another challenge I faced when I started was going too detailed in my description. This made the book boring and it could quickly be obsolete as the military changed and adapted. My publisher helped push me to focus on providing information from a higher level point of view with broad information and rely on military recruiters to give detailed specifics to future recruits.

Q3. What books or authors have most influenced your own writing?

I have always wanted to write books and primarily I grew up reading fiction. So jumping into non-fiction was an interesting transition. But I also found that all the time I spent reading various fiction books helped me as I wove in parts of my own story. I think the real influence for writing this book is the other women veterans who have shared their story or written leadership books. Reading their stories and seeing how they impacted me really pushed me to write this story. I also wanted to reach a generation that wasn’t being focused on, the next generation of military women,

Q4. What’s your favourite spot to visit in your own country? And what makes it so special to you?

Disneyland has so many happy memories for me and my family. I just love spending time in the parks. We have a lot of fun together.

Q5. Is there lots to do before you dive in and start writing a book?

For this book a lot of the prep work was done through my podcast. I interviewed over 50 women when I started writing the book and that number has grown to over 200 today. Hearing the stories of women helped me to get a good feel on what challenges women faced and what each branch was like. It gave me a strong foundation to start doing the research. It also took a number of draft versions to get the book to the place it needed to be as a starting point and then a lot of additional revisions to get the book where it is today.

Q6. How long did it take you to write your book ‘A Girl’s Guide to Military Service’?

The book first was a guide that I created in January 2019. I had an idea to help girls as they entered the military but had no idea how to reach them. I was surprised how many young women were interested in joining the military and the response from the guide pushed me to write a book. I think I started working on the first draft in mid-2019. I did a complete overhaul of the book in early 2021, completing that draft in June 2021. Then it took another year of edits with my publisher before it was published in September 2022.

Q7. On what platforms can readers buy your books?

It is available on my publisher’s website, elvaresa.com, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and I also created an option for people to buy my book directly from me and receive a signed copy by filling out this form. It is available in paperback and digital.

Q8. Tell us about the process of coming up with the book cover and the title ‘A Girl’s Guide to Military Service’?

There was a lot of process and thought of coming up with the title. We struggled with what the right word to use was. Do we use woman? Do we use female? Do we use girl? My original title was A Girl’s Guide to the Military. But there were a number of filler titles that we went through trying to make sure the right person knew the book was for them. We did a few test runs to get feedback and A Girl’s Guide to Military Service ended up being the most popular and met the needs we were looking for. Since our target was high school girls and they related to that name it was the one that won out. It was really hard to narrow in on the title.

For the cover I worked directly through my publisher. We had a brainstorming session with a number of ideas. In the end, the one we picked was my favorite. I just love how it looked and hoped that it would draw girls considering military service in.

Q9. When writing a book how do you keep things fresh, for both your readers and also yourself?

To help keep me on track I created a detailed outline. It helped me stay focused when writing and also helped me to quickly dive back in after taking a break from writing each day. Spending detailed time up front to build the outline was critical in helping me to stay focused on not getting distracted or off topic. I also have to thank my publisher and editor for the input and feedback they gave. They really pushed me in different directions and helped me make a number of changes that helped make the book better and stronger. It is a team effort in writing and I couldn’t have done it without their help and direction.

Q10. What is the most valuable piece of advice you’ve been given about writing?

To be open to feedback from others. I have learned to open myself to constructive criticism when it comes to writing. Sometimes the changes suggested frustrated me but they were things I was holding onto that actually didn’t need to be there. The push to make changes, listen to feedback and work to continually improve the book and my writing helped me grow as a writer. I can’t believe the transformation that took place from when I first started writing to where the book is today.

Buy A Girl’s Guide to Military Service on Amazon

April 23, 2023

The Darkest Side of the Moon

𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸: The Darkest Side of the Moon 📚
𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿: M.C. Ryder ✍️
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🚀 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰:
The Darkest Side of the Moon written by the author M.C. Ryder is the first installment in The Dark Book Series. Nadine Drexel is an interesting character. She wants the high school to be over but she doesn’t have any plans for the future. Nadine’s best friend is Camille. When a new student Vinson Weber joined their class, all the girls were after him including Camille.

Camille found Vinson quite attractive. She thinks that she won’t get a chance with Vinson as so many girls are trying to get his attention. Nadine didn’t give a chance to Vinson at first and thinks that he is rude and arrogant. Nadine has been having bruises on her arms without bumping into anyone.

Nadine’s parents got into an argument. Her father asked for divorce. At work, someone has been stealing blood and Nadine’s father doesn’t have an idea who is behind it and why. Read this story to know what happens next.

Those who enjoy reading Young Adult fantasy stories should get their hands on this one. The plot of the story is interesting and the characters are written well. The story is well paced and you would enjoy it till the last page. Go ahead with this book without any second thoughts.

𝗠𝘆 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 5/5

★ Book Is Available On Amazon