No One Crosses the Wolf by Lisa Nikolidakis

This is a memoir about a troubled childhood full of abuse and neglect. It’s not an easy read and I wasn’t looking for one. It follows her growing up years with her brother and parents and all the trauma you can imagine.

Her father is a piece of crap, to put it lightly. He is an alcoholic that spends most of his at-home hours terrorizing his family. When he isn’t home, they dread his coming home so they are never truly free of him. After reading her recollections of him, I can understand that fear.

And her mother isn’t much better in comparison. She doesn’t abuse the kids but she doesn’t stop the abuse either. She puts her head in the clouds and pretends that everything is just fine. Domestic violence doesn’t go away because you want it to, you have to stop it! Her mother failed them all.

When her father finally snaps, I expected more somehow. More untangling the emotional threads of her life. More in-depth onion peeling. I wanted to see her do the hard work to undo all the lessons that her upbringing taught at such high prices. But she did none of it. She drank, slept around, and went to Greece. I’m healed!!! The end. What?? Yeah, I’m confused too.

My first inclination was to give this a 2-star review. I mulled it over though, for several days I might add. Three is as high as I can go. She writes well. She knows how to create an atmosphere and add texture and shade to a story but in the end, there’s no story. There’s no healing final chapter. There’s no Oprah “Aha!” moment. And that is a true letdown.

⭐⭐⭐ /⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Brothers Best Friend by Natasha L. Black

ARC REVIEW

Cole left behind his family money and became a self made man. He worked hard and established his own good name. He started two businesses and rehabbed a old Victorian. He has a loyal best friend and life is good good for him until…

His sister Susie chose a different path and it took her down some dark corridors. Her decisions didn’t just affect her though. She had a darling little girl named Millie. Unfortunately she dragged her along in her more perilous pursuits. When Cole is forced to stand in as a parent, life changes fast for everyone involved.

Millie might be a little girl but she’s seen more than most and bears the scars. She bursts on the scene and wraps everyone around her little finger in record time. She’s a big personality stuffed into a tiny body and makes her presence felt on nearly every page.

Layla has a cozy life with her students and her dog. She’s close to her family and has good friends. Her life is a perfect except that she hasn’t moved on from a personal tragedy. She’s moving forward but not really. Her best friend thinks she knows why, but does Layla?

Lance is Layla’s older brother and best friends with Cole. They are as close as he is with Layla. They have always been there for each other through everything. As adults, that hasn’t changed. He steps up to the plate when Cole needs him but is shocked when Lance reveals something that will change the dynamics of their relationship to each other and to Layla.

This is an ARC so even though I found some minor errors I won’t be detracting points or detailing them here. It will be further polished before publishing I’m sure. I did find some other issues however and will be discussing them below.

The story starts off a bit slow but rolls along in a pleasurable enough way to keep reading. There isn’t a ton of angst and drama so you really shouldn’t read it for that. It’s a lighthearted read despite some of the heavier stuff in the book.

It has broad appeal. I mean, a sexy man, a cute little girl, an overprotective brother, a somewhat clueless woman, a meddling family and two Dachshunds. What more can you ask for in a book?

My major complaint is simple. I haven’t verified this by going back to the book but I would say up to about 60% of the book Layla comes off almost prudish. (You’d expect that from a schoolteacher of small children so cool, right?) After that point she becomes some sort of a femme fatale and is like a foul mouthed bombshell. (She’s had two chaste kisses and suddenly she’s asking for shower sex as a first time between them?) It felt rushed, and very uncharacteristic and threw me out of the story.

I never really bought this new side of her character so I enjoyed the last part of the book less than the beginning. The whole thing with Holly and all that follows just made me read it to get done, not because I was actually rooting for them anymore. That honestly breaks my heart. (Yes, I have one!)

As for the sex. it wasn’t unnecessarily acrobatic and it didn’t make me giggle but it definitely didn’t make my Kindle catch on fire either. More’s the pity.

Can I recommend this book? My first inclination was three stars. However, after some thought as to the subject matter and careful consideration of the whole story, I had to give it four.

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Torture Mom: A Chilling True Story of Confinement, Mutilation, and Murder (True Crime) by Ryan Green

story surrounds the supposed War on Drugs, gun running and drug addiction and how the government might have manipulated us all, and the assassination of a man named Barry Seal. He was an informant and pilot that allegedly delivered both drugs and money all over the world, including inside the USA. His name was leaked by the Reagan/Bush administration leading ultimately to a bounty of $500K being leveled against him. Pablo Escobar would be openly blamed but this books shows you why that might not be the whole truth.

It paints a picture that perhaps others inside our own government wanted him dead. It was reported by Brian Ross, an NBC reporter, that he was set to testify again. What would have been covered in that testimony? Who would have been named? Barry Seal was reported to have videotape of people that would pay any price to conceal their involvement. The world will sadly never know what might have been revealed.

This book is told in incredible detail and divided into sections. He covers a huge period of history with such notable headlines such as JFK’S assassination, the Bay of Pigs, both World Wars, and more. The sections are mostly devoted to the people in the title but with heavy splashes of Clinton, Oliver North, Reagan, and cartels from far flung countries.

It’s not exactly linear in the telling but the sections make it somewhat clearer about timing and the motivation behind each principal player. You get a thorough history of each but it doesn’t make any of them sympathetic characters. It’s just the opposite as a matter of fact. You find that each of them had plans that could’ve included blackmail or worse at any opportunity.

In the end, if you’re interested in discovering more about the supposed War on Drugs, gun running and drug addiction and how the government might have manipulated us all, I think you’ll find this book engrossing.

Can I recommend this book? Yes. Was it perfect? No. It was a bit confusing in layout and content. I was forced to take notes to help me keep track so I can’t say it’s a five star read but it’s very close.

Can I recommend this book? Are you a true crime fan? Can you handle it when books are beyond disgustingly dark? Then yes, I can. It’s currently available in the Kindle Unlimited program. You can snag your copy here.

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Half a Heart by Karen McQuestion

⚠Warning! Child Abuse⚠

Logan is a young boy being raised by an abusive father after the tragic death of his mother. He also happens to be mute. It makes his father angry that he doesn’t speak, angrier still after drinking. He views it as a weakness, not the strength that it truly is.

Logan is a ‘crack kid’, meaning that he keeps falling through the cracks of a broken system. He goes to school after school because his father moves him around alot. Not one teacher gets in touch with authorities though. He is obviously being neglected, and possibly abused, and still no one steps up for the mute kid with sad eyes.

The only person that cared for him after his mother’s death was his grandmother. He was told she died, so he suffers alone. He tries hard to be the kind of person she would want him to be while being almost invisible at home. It makes his father less aware of him, so less likely to abuse him. Invisibility isn’t always the answer and he feels not only pain from punishment but also pain from hunger, shame and embarrassment.

After an incident that Sparks his father’s rage again, Logan is on his own. He is smarter than most nine year olds and very resourceful. He has freedom for the very first time and makes great use of it. His adventures are a bit atypical for a boy his age but nothing about Logan’s story is typical.

It’s premise is too familiar to anyone with eyes or ears. The prevalence of child abuse is truly horrifying. Child abductions/ disappearances are so disgustingly common that we rarely go more than a few days without one being reported.

The pace and continuity were steady and flowing aided along by correct punctuation and grammar. The style of writing is very conversational and easy to read. Logan especially comes off as an authentic voice. Each character plays an inportant role and the author weaves them together like a basket maker.

His fear and treatment make this book hard to read. Harder for me, was the sponge like way that he absorbed all of the emotions flung his way, regardless of whether it was love and kindness, or fear and rage. He was so utterly desperate for any kind of connection that he took it all in and shouldered the load. It broke me. It really did. And then the storm…

I would have liked a bit more a finished ending. What became of Tia and her mom? Will Joanne move? Will Robert give up so easily?

I still recommend this book. I really think books like this should be required reading for those that touch the lives of children, ie teachers, social workers, etc. We need to fill in the cracks so no kids fall through them. We need to fight for the voiceless among us.

My star rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟

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