Reading and Reviews (Culiner, Bennett, Kelly)

I'm an author, but I'm also a reader. From time to time, I'll share my reviews of present and past reads. My available time to read is limited because I write, but I love to curl up with a paperback or an eBook at night for the last hour of my day. 

Here are some of the books I've read recently. Maybe you'll discover a new book or author. 

Words for Patty Jo by Jill Arlene Culiner 

A passion for books creates a lasting bond between teenage Patty Jo and David, but small-town prejudice and social differences doom their romance.

After a summer of reading and falling in love, David heads for university, foreign adventure, and a dazzling career; Patty Jo marries slick, over-confident Don Ried.

Yet plans can go horribly wrong. The victim of her violent husband, Patty Jo abandons her home and children to live on the streets of Toronto. David, a high-ranking executive in Paris, is dismayed by the superficiality of corporate success.

Forty years later, Patty Jo and David meet again. Both have defied society; both have fulfilled their dreams. And what if first love was the right one after all, and destiny has the last word? 

My Review

Ms. Culiner has succeeded in writing another story that will draw you in and keep you reading. Only this time, she had me so involved, I could swear I was reading a memoir. That doesn’t even quite say it. The depth of the two characters’ points of view came through emotionally real. Patty Jo is a complicated young woman. David is a man we’d all love to know. How their lives intersect, diverge, and come back together is such a smooth transition of storytelling, the reader feels as if they are reading two books at the same time. Class differences, spousal abuse, dreams won and lost…are all woven with an expertise of wordsmithing. 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GCV4D86P/

 

 

Widowhood: The Next Chapter: I'm Still Here - Now What? by Bobbie Bennett 

The personal narrative begins in the dark world of organized crime, where the author’s first husband brings a sense of danger into their lives. Dinner guests are asked to check their firearms at the door. She then stepped into an unexpected relationship with a younger man whose charm proved timeless, even if his ID was still getting doublechecked.

Through three marriages, two funerals, and one divorce, she discovers that love comes in the most unexpected forms, including a methodical engineer who fell head-over-heels for a free-spirited former go-go dancer.

This raw, candid memoir transforms heartbreak into hope, offering both laughter and practical wisdom for anyone rebuilding after loss. But make no mistake, these aren’t your typical fresh starts. Bobbie has rebooted her life from places most people wouldn’t dare enter, making her perspective not just credible, but hard-earned. More than a love story, it’s a survival guide for life’s most unpredictable chapters. She believes if you can’t be a good example, you might as well be a colorful one. Her stories offer humor, heart, and the kind of wisdom you only earn the hard way. 

My Review

On one level, this is the extraordinary memoir of a woman who has led and is living an adventurous, full life. On another level, this is a “how to” book with advice on dealing with heartbreak, surprises you’d rather not face, and rebuilding a life. 

https://www.amazon.com/Widowhood-Next-Chapter-Still-Here/dp/B0FLVTB7FM 

 

 

JIMI: Journey of a Wounded Warrior as told to Kathleen Kelly 

Jimi’s story invites you to join him on a healing journey of hope and courage. The Cherokee tribe, as seen through his youthful eyes, celebrates the People's coexistence with creation in traditional ceremonies and vibrant rituals, sharing wisdom passed down from generation to generation. He brings to light the challenges of living with polio in the 1950s and takes you with him through the formative years after his mother died tragically. He is thrown into the white man’s world, where he spends the rest of his childhood in Ohio orphanages. From there, he will take you along the road of a musician, magician, Vietnam veteran, and one man’s inspirational search for meaning. 

My Review

What an extraordinary life Jimi has led. I found it particularly interesting because of his Cherokee upbringing early on. My grandmother was Choctaw. Racism, abandonment, war, and so many other challenges faced him. But there are triumphs and adventures to keep you turning the pages. Ms. Kelly has done an excellent job of bringing this man’s story to life. 

https://us.amazon.com/JIMI-Journey-Wounded-Warrior-Kathleen/dp/B0GNZ8X1L1

 

Life's Adventures: Remembering Me at Age 10

A conversation with a sweet neice who is in fifth grade sent me down memory lane. My fifth grade year is vivid in my mind. 

We'd moved after the start of the school year, and so when Mom took me to Sunland Elementary School, they put me in the only room that had an open slot. Sunland formed the classes by the prior year's academic standing. Mine was high, but the class I entered was a mixture of average and below average students. I should've been able to blend in, but the teacher chose to use my schoolwork as an example of what the other students could achieve. At first, the kids shunned me. Thanks, Teach! But within days, I became the kid to tease. One day at lunch recess, I'd had enough. I went home. I declared to my mom I was never going back. Nah...that didn't happen. She drove me there the next day with strict instructions to find a way. I honestly can't remember how I managed it, but I soon had friends.

That was also the year I decided I wanted to be daring and different. I adopted the motto, "I'll try anything once." It could've been that devil may care attitude that gained me the friends. I don't remember. I do know I didn't actually try anything so daring. I just liked saying it.

Being in a relatively easy academic situation, I came up with straight A's every report card except for
one B in history. I was devastated as only a ten-year-old drama queen can be. My dad told me to get over it. He also told me to tell the teacher I was too busy making history to study history. I wisely kept his advice to myself. But he did make me laugh.

Reading and Reviews (Gallant and Henderson)

I'm an author, but I'm also a reader. From time to time, I'll share my reviews of present and past reads. My available time to read is limited because I write, but I love to curl up with a paperback or an eBook at night for the last hour of my day. 

Here are some of the books I've read recently. Maybe you'll discover a new book or author.

On Thin Ice (Edge of Survival Book 1) by Jannine Gallant 

After a shattering loss, Fiona put the pieces of her life back together, but can she escape the psychopath hellbent on revenge? 

One horrifying night, Fiona Ward lost her parents and her home in a blazing inferno and barely escaped with her life. Devastated, she testifies against the animal who murdered her family, but his incarceration comes with a steep price—sworn retribution. Standing between her and certain death is the U.S. deputy marshal who relocates her to Alaska, where she’ll face an unknown future with a grandfather who’s a complete stranger. 

Years later, Fiona Jones has found her purpose as an Alaskan bush pilot in the tiny wilderness town she calls home. But her peaceful world is upended when her parents’ killer escapes from prison, seeking vengeance. Now a deputy marshal like his father, Caleb Moss will risk his life to apprehend the fugitive and protect the woman whose courage he’s never forgotten. Together, they must outwit her devious nemesis—and the hidden menace neither anticipated. But for Fiona, her greatest challenge may be surviving the threat to her heart… 

My Review

I’m so glad Jannine Gallant has started a new series. I don’t know if the entire series will be set in Alaska, but I’m pleased this one is. I love a setting that is so real, it’s a character of the book. We are treated to a breathtaking opening for young Fiona. When it all starts to unravel years later, the action is nonstop and romance seeps in. This is an entertaining read for sure. 

https://www.amazon.com/Thin-Ice-Edge-Survival-Book-ebook/dp/B0FRT273RC/

The Body in the Belfry: An Izzy Munro Cozy Mystery (Izzy Munro Mysteries Book 3) 

by Alison Henderson 

When insurance investigator-turned-photographer Izzy Munro finds a vintage brooch tucked behind the sofa cushions in the cottage she inherited from her great-aunt in picturesque Carmel-by-the-Sea, she never suspects the little pin will precipitate a cascade of events that culminate in the discovery of the body of a prominent local jeweler, hanging from the bell tower of the historic Carmel Mission.

Suspects abound, from the victim’s widow and stepdaughter, to a trio of shady jewelers known informally as the Cartel. The police are stumped, so Izzy’s boyfriend, an investigator with the DA’s office, enlists her aid as a volunteer consultant. With the help of trusty friends and three cheerful garden gnomes, Izzy uncovers secrets no one could have imagined. But when confronted by the killer, she must rely on quick thinking and her indomitable Burmese cat, Bogart, to survive.

 My Review

Ms. Henderson plunks us down in Carmel-by-the-Sea and aren’t we glad. Izzy is loving the town, although not so much murder. But she’s up for following the clues with a great cast of characters. You’ll be entertained with this whodunit. 

https://www.amazon.com/Body-Belfry-Munro-Mystery-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B0FPDLS6XR/ 

A New Year, A New Outlook

2026. Three weeks in, and I'm taking care of business the way I promised myself. I didn't make any New Year's resolutions. But as 2025 wound down, I knew it was time for some changes. My personal life as been a rollercoaster, so I decided my author life needed some adjusting. At least, this I can control...and I'm a bit of a control freak.

I've decided to stop doing the newsletter I've been putting out for ten years. The process has become increasingly more expensive and complicated. I'm looking for simplification. My efforts to keep in touch with readers will be through this blog and my Facebook pages. So, if you're reading this, I hope you will hop on over to Facebook and like and follow all of my pages there.

My author page was taken down by Facebook several months back. I lost the 1700+ followers I had. Facebook didn't like one of my posts. They misunderstood, and I fought it several ways. But since there are no real people to talk to, I had to give it up and create a new page. It is slow going. I hope to grow it and offer readers some fun news, giveaways, and conversation as the year progresses. Join in here:

CLICK HERE TO LIKE AND FOLLOW MY AUTHOR PAGE

I also have a page for my children's books written under the name of Brenda Sue along with my granddaughter, Sadi Belle. Not as much activity there, but you can keep up with Sadi Belle and me:

CLICK HERE TO LIKE AND FOLLOW BRENDA SUE AND SADI BELLE

Meanwhile, I plan to work on a prequel to The MacKenzie Chronicles, my award-winning series. Book one, Secrets of The Ravine is an Amazon best-seller. 

CLICK HERE TO FIND ALL THE BOOKS IN THE SERIES

I am also updating the front and back matter in all of my books. That's tedious, but will be a better experience for readers.

That's it gang! I hope your 2026 is fruitful!