Tasha Schiedel - Editing and BETA, ARC Reviewing

  They Mostly Come At Night by Wesley Southard Releases November 8, 2022 Wesley Southard’s newest book is 11 short stories of frightful fun! I have read a couple of Southard’s novellas and I absolutely liked those stories! Southard has a smooth writing style. The stories start out strong, they stay strong, and they end with a bang. You really can’t go wrong with any of Southard’s books. Here is a breakdown of the stories.  The first short story, My Body, is about a culinary news reporter who decides to review the newest Italian food restaurant in town. That ending…ick!  Next is, The Length I’d Go. At what length would you go to not give into peer pressure? Turns out, someone out there goes to a lot of trouble to get what he wants.   The third story, Stuck, a very short and sweet story about being….stuck. Loved this one! Separated Self is a very neat story. It’s about second chances when you are an evil person or an all around jerk. The ending is perfect..  ...

  Malfi has such a pleasant way of writing stories. He goes into great detail about the characters and setting the scene. To me, that is a special gift. To be able to pull a reader in and send them into a dream land while they read the story. Everything I have read by Malfi, has done this for me. But, alas, this book of short stories fell flat for me. What I think happened is that for Malfi, he is a novelist. He can write long stories that are beautiful because he pays attention to the details. With novellas, you can’t really do that too much. And so I feel that is his downfall, his kryptonite, so to speak. Don’t get me wrong, these are awesome stories! They are just not enough to pull me in and keep me in the moment. I found myself bored, more often than not. I think each of these stories could have been a book within itself.   All four of these stories happen in the same universe. There are crossover characters in each story linking all of these characters into the same...

A dark and disturbing graphic novel about a book causing people to become vicious attackers. Author Olivia Kade wrote a book about the basic instincts of humanity. Such as routines, sex, anger, and violence. There is quite a bit of nudity and sex, which I was not expecting, but it isn’t over the top. I felt the story was lacking in sustenance, but the artwork makes up for that. I would continue this story and read the next in the series and possibly read the rest of them. This isn’t a bad graphic novel, I just wanted a bit more story to the art.  Thank you #NetGalley and Independent Publishers Group for the ebook. #TheLastBookYoullEverRead

  Joel McKay is a new author for me. Every once in a while I come across a new author and I am surprised how much I enjoy their stories. Joel McKay is a fabulous writer. I enjoyed this story! The Deerborn family are hosting Thanksgiving at their home and there will be 12 people at their party, including the family. Char and Doug, the husband and wife who are hosting the party with their two children, Tommy and Charlotte, are an awkward bunch. And the awkwardness leads to a few unhinged moments in the story. And then a wolf comes knocking and barging in on their party.  This was a fun story. It works well being a short story. I liked all the characters and the banter. This is a good spooky season book to put on the “to be read” list. Thank you #NetGalley and IBPA for sending me the ebook to read and review. #WolfattheDoor

  Using evidence-based strategies, Micere Keels has formed an engaging plan to help anyone who works with children, with de-escalating trauma based dysregulation. Using an “Acting-Out Cycle” model, Keels has formed a workbook with step-by-step guidance to learn techniques on how to notice and prevent the escalation of student misbehaviors stemming from traumatic events. While this workbook is mainly focusing on students, it can easily be applied to our children at home.  Within this workbook, Keels points out that many children do not always have the learned skills of how to deal with stressors or triggers. As caregivers, it is up to us to learn how to identify, try to prevent an escalating event, and work continuously with children to help them learn these skills.  This workbook is a step-by-step process with tips and exercises to learn, or relearn, necessary skills to help children. There are 15 lessons that go through the Acting-Out Cycle. While the lessons are short, ...

  Realm of the Exiled , the prequel to the Exiled Elementals series, by T. L. Price, releases on September 27th, 2022! If you have read the first book of the series, this little novelette will give you some extra history about Nhari, Kasha and Tiago. If you have not read the first book in this series, this is a great place to start! Nhari, Kasha, and Tiago are close friends and elementals, each having different powers. All three have a reason why they live on the Realm of the Exiled, a harsh and unforgiving island.  When Nhari meets demigod Vigot, the ruler of the Realm of the Exiled, Tiago and Kasha become suspicious and worried.  While this novelette is short, it draws you in quickly and keeps your attention the entire time.     T. L. Price spends time in this story with character building. We learn a little bit of the history of these three and the growth of their friendships.There are a few loose ends in this novelette, that I am hoping will be cleared up in...

 This is an awesome horror novella. I was able to read this within a couple of hours. I could not put this down until I finished it. 15 year old Julian got a new summer job working for Mr. V, an eccentric recluse living in a mansion. Julian is hoping to save enough money to buy a car for himself, and hopefully impress a girl he likes.  This story is immersive and strange. I enjoyed every bit of it. It almost reads like poetry. The prose was smooth and elegant.