Tag / Ireland

by Erik McManus | Breakeven Books

Book Review: Hinterland

I read another book by Lorna. M. Brown! This one was called Hinterland and it was definitely different from her others books.

Synopsis: Nicholas Giovanni’s life revolves around his five-year old daughter Kate. When he isn’t driving his taxi, he is taking care of her and her mother Kathleen, whose last involuntary admission to hospital was before Kate was born. When his childhood best friend, Ina, returns next door, tensions rise in the house. Already unstable, Kathleen suspicions of Ina and Nicholas grow until a day of violence ensues and Kathleen disappears.

Kate’s life is shattered by her mother’s disappearance. No-one will tell her where Kathleen is. Although Ina helps to take care of Kate, Nicholas keeps her at arm’s length. He cannot bring himself to tell the truth about Kathleen’s last day, until Kate runs away, and he realizes his silence has torn everyone apart. To find Kate and to keep Ina in his life, there are truths he must face, if it’s not too late.

The other books I have read by Lorna have been anthologies and so they were collections of short stories. A lot of them tied together to form one big story. This was the first time that the novel was one complete book instead of it being split into a bunch of little stores that connected. It was the journey of a father trying to protect his daughter while struggling with his own demons.

I think the overall book was good as a whole but there definitely some parts that could have been cut out to make it a little shorter. I liked that it switched perspectives randomly to show how everyone was dealing with the different trauma’s that they have experienced over their lifetime.

The ending was…interesting. I still am unsure how I feel about it.

The one thing I really enjoy about Lorna’s books is that the characters feel such raw emotions and she does a great job of conveying the struggles and hardships here characters face. I think its hard to capture raw emotion in books and she just pulls it off.

Overall, I think the characters were very well done but the book lacked a bit in plot so I will give it a middle rating! I would still look forward to reading anything by this author though!

Book Rating: 3/5

You can buy this book on Amazon and find it on Goodreads.

Disclaimer: I was given an ebook copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review.


Thank you to our Patreon Supporters:

Get your name/blog added to our blog posts and Youtube videos by supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/breakevenbooks

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Welcome back bookworms! Since you enjoyed the first time I let my boyfriend choose my TBR, I decided to let him do it again. Find out which books he chooses for me to read during the month of November and let me know in the comments which ones are the best a.k.a which ones I should pick up first! Check out the video below:

by Erik McManus | Breakeven Books

Book Review: Were we Awake

How is everyone? It has been a while since I have written a book review post but today I have one for you! I had the privilege of reviewing another one of Lorna Brown’s books and I am so glad that I did. This one was called Were We Awake by Lorna Brown.

48582491._SY475_

Synopsis: In each story of this collection, events make the characters understand that their world is not as it seemed.

In Hidden, the discovery of an affair between her father and aunt is only the start of finding hidden secrets for Hazel.

What it Means to Be Empty-Handed is narrated by a fourteen–year-old daughter of an alcoholic. Her denial and elaborate imagination starts to disintegrate when she lies to the wrong person.

In Crashing, a middle-aged woman lives a life of servitude until she hits teenage boy with her car.

A thirty-year-old murder takes its toll on the victim’s family in Walking A Country Road.
The stories are set in Boston and Ireland.

This was another book full of compelling short stories that draw you right in and keep you engrossed until the conclusion that sometimes will be happy and sometimes be chilling. You never really know which one you are going to get (which I loved).

There were definitely some stories that I liked more than others. For example, there is one story about a mother that cooks and cleans and takes care of her husband and son and they don’t treat her very well which made me feel so much for this woman. She deserved to be shown some love and respect for all the hard work she does for her family and I kept wanting to smack the son and father for not treating her better.

The best part about this collection is that as you read through them, you realize that they are all about different people in the same community so it is kind of like learning about all these family secrets that they try and keep behind closed doors. And of course, they are set in the author’s native country of Ireland which is a beautiful place and I love reading it.

I would recommend this book for anyone that wants a descriptive, family-driven fiction split into multiple perspectives.

Book Rating: 4/5

You can buy this book on Amazon and find it on Goodreads.

Disclaimer: This book was sent to me in an ebook format by the author to read and give an honest review.

December is fast approaching and I wanted to make it an extra special month by creating a readathon and have all you bookworms participate! It’s called the Reindeer Readathon and it will be taking place from December 1st to the 31st! It is a team-based readathon and all the prompts you complete will count as points towards your team! The winning team will have one random person win a prize! Full details in the video below!

T3 Micro

by Erik McManus | Breakeven Books

Book Review: Rise And Run

I have started my NEWTS for the Magical Readathon and this book was one that I read for the prompt of the first book that came to mind on my TBR. This one was called Rise And Run by RJ Plant.

20190804_2314126353740283295533199.jpg

Synopsis: Felix and Conor Quinn are brothers at odds. After starting life as a less-than-ethical government experiment, the brothers now share the same body. When their adoptive father, illegal trades mogul Rian Connell, receives a tip that his niece is in danger, he sends Felix to track her down. The assignment brings up bad memories for Felix. It also threatens to bring Conor’s dark secrets to light—secrets that necessitate the manufacture of a drug to suppress his genome.

More pressing problems arise once Felix finds Kaitlyn. He soon realizes that Government Directive International (GDI)—one of the last governments of post-War 2042—has disturbing plans for him. By the time Felix realizes that Kaitlyn was only bait to lure him in, it’s already too late. GDI’s Agent-in-Charge doses Felix with a lethal, fast-acting virus, bringing Conor to the surface.

Immune to Felix’s virus thanks to his genomic difference, Conor must take up the mantle of uncovering the secrets of his past … before they get everyone around him killed. Every instinct tells Conor to run like hell, but in the end, his only choice may be to outsmart GDI. Or bring the organization crashing down.

This book was a new twist on SciFi/dystopian that I was not expecting. I found it to be a little choppy in that it jumped from scene to scene very quickly but it was interesting none the less with the two brothers fighting each other for control of the one body they shared.

The backstory was slowly revealed as time went on and I kept switching my feelings on which brother I was rooting for. I believe that it could have used a little bit more development for the cast of side characters so that they had more depth to them.

There was a decent amount of action that pushed the plot forward and kept it fun. I will say that there was a lot of Irish slang in it since a lot of it was based in Ireland (which is a cool point since I find it rare that books are set here) so be prepared to learn some fun terminology if you pick up the book.

This was a good starting novel for a series and I would continue the series based on what this book had to offer.

Book Rating: 3.5/5

You can buy this book on Amazon and find it on Goodreads.

Disclaimer: This book was sent to me in physical format by the author to read and give an honest review.

August has arrived and with it the Magical Readathon!! It is time to take my N.E.W.T.S! Watch this video to see which books I will be reading for my exams!

Blooms Today 25% Sitewide Savings

by Erik McManus | Breakeven Books

Life Update: I’m going to Ireland/Scotland

Hey bookworms! Guess what?!?! Well, you probably already know from reading the title of this post but I am going to Ireland and Scotland! I am so excited about this trip and it is so hard to contain that excitement.

The planning stage has begun and I am looking into all the best things to do in both places. *Also trying to travel on a budget but I feel like that might be tough*. If you have been to either of these places and have suggestions on what to do then please leave them down in the comments!

I may be away from the blog during those two weeks as I will be exploring a new place and sipping beers (Guinness) and kissing stones (oh Blarney). So I just thought I would let you know. But this isn’t happening until mid-April so I will still be posting regularly until then.

We ended our giveaway that we were hosting from the author interview we had with Shelby. The winner will receive pdf versions of her poetry books. The winner of this prize is…

Aayushi!!

You can find her on Twitter and Youtube. We will be in touch to let you know you have won and will send you your prizes.

I also released my second video onto book tube yesterday so feel free to watch it here and make sure to like and subscribe if you like it!


Recommended Items on on findings, jewelry beads, gemstone beads, pearls, glass beads, tools ect, .

by Erik McManus | Breakeven Books

Book Review​: Treading The Uneven Road

Bookworms! I have the pleasure of sharing another review with you. This one was called Treading The Uneven Road by L.M. Brown and was published by Fomite Press.

Cover of Threading The Uneven Road

Synopsis: The stories in this linked collection are set in a small village in the Northwest of Ireland in the early 1980’s and 90’s. A bypass around the village has rid them of their once busy traffic. The residents feel forgotten by the world. The need to reach out and be heard is explored in every story, from the young woman who starts to have phone conversations with her husband’s gay lover, to the dyslexic man who confronts his cruel teacher years later.

The collection is not only about the characters need for salvation but it is about a society that is unraveling. In Amends, we hear about the Bishop who has fathered a child. A priest is beckoned by a dying man to be mocked. The world inside and outside the village is changing. In every story, the characters need to make a choice on how they might carry on.

This book was a breath of fresh air. Not only did it satisfy my craving of travel with its beautiful descriptions of Northwest Ireland and the surrounding landscapes, but it also brought on this feeling of “lust” (not sure if this is the right word) to go there and see it for myself.

A lot of times, I won’t read a synopsis and jump right into a book so that I am completely unprepared and surprised by everything. An example would be to watch a movie without seeing the trailer for the non-readers out there. So I was very excited when I realized that all of these short stories were connected to the next and previous stories and the characters were the same in most of them. It was like revealing a little bit more of the townsfolk piece by piece from different viewpoints.

The story about Patrick was my favorite. He had a rough encounter that left his relationship with his father very tense (I won’t say what it is, no spoilers here). It made me feel for Patrick and just want him to succeed and be happy. The only downfall to this story is that I wanted more of it. It left me wondering if he would be ok and I just wasn’t ready to leave it at that.

All of these stories were just people being themselves and trying to fit into society or be what society wanted them to be. The feelings were raw and powerful and it came through in the way the author wrote about her characters.

I would recommend this book to anyone that wants intricate storytelling of an Irish village and all the components that make up its inner workings. It wasn’t a “WOW this is amazing” book but more of a subtle “wow I quite enjoyed that”.

Book Rating: 4/5

About the Author
L.M Brown is the author of the novel Debris. Her stories have appeared in numerous literary magazines. She grew up in Sligo, Ireland, but now resides in Massachusetts with her husband, three daughters, a dog and a bearded dragon.

You can buy this book on Amazon and find it on Goodreads.

Disclaimer: This book was sent to us in ebook format by the author to read and give an honest review.

Make your special day sparkle with elegant sophistication.Send your guests home with favors that are tasteful and practical. They will forever remember your wedding thanks to these beautifully designed styles.