Book Reviews

Welcome to Fictionista Workshop’s Book Review Series

By their very nature, reviews are subjective. We all have different tastes, interests, and attention spans. When it comes to books—especially fiction— those differences come to the forefront. The best works of fiction allow a reader to go on a journey with the provided characters, seeing the material through the lens of their own personal experience.

Simply put, a review is a reflection of the way the reviewer experienced a book and what influenced their opinion. Reviewers will provide their fellow community members with clear, concise, and coherent arguments as to why they should or shouldn’t choose to read the book themselves.

Why do we review?

The literary world is changing! With the transition to online reading and writing, the symbiosis between writer, reader and editor is more important than ever before. Through our online community, Fictionista Workshop seeks introduce new works of fiction by talented writers to avid readers through high-quality reviews.

What do we review?

With this review series, we aim to honestly explore those differences of opinion with a variety of voices, perspectives, and genres—such as mystery, crime, horror, fantasy, romance, historical fiction, and science fiction. Whether we’re examining a new author’s book or a seasoned author’s much-anticipated novel, nothing will be off-limits for our reviewers. Our volunteer reviewers go beyond mere book reports, using the review platform as a springboard for their own creative expression—telling reader and author alike how a given story made them think, feel, and react! We encourage our reviewers to be thoughtful and uncensored, yet colorful, fun and descriptive—to find their own voice and their own writing style.

How do we review?

Every month, our book reviewers will either be assigned or select a book to review. Using classic standards (such as the presence of tension, development, proper grammar and a unique plot or perspective) with a modern twist to determine the quality of a story, Fictionista Workshop volunteers will share their objective and honest reviews to Fictionista Workshop with the entire community.

Interested in reviewing fiction?

We would love your help! Send your book recommendation(s) to fictionistawksp@gmail.com, with a brief explanation of why it deserves to be reviewed. If you’d like to write a review yourself, complete an application.

Want to submit your novel?

Fictionista Workshop is currently accepting books for review. Fictionista Workshop abides by all Federal Trade Commission requirements, so all books reviewed have been provided to Fictionista Workshop for free and specifically for critical purposes. Direct your questions about our book review series to fictionistawksp@gmail.com.

To explore the debut novel critique, check out our review of Shadow of the Sun by Laura Kreitzer.

Book Review: Shadow of the Sun by Laura Kreitzer

Shadow of the Sun by Laura Kreitzer

Reviewed by Beth Sabatino

With Shadow of the Sun, first-time author, Laura Kreitzer, illuminates us with the first book in her Timeless series. The story starts off as her heroine, Dr. Gabriella Moretti, receives three bodies from an archeological dig in Italy. Dr. Moretti is a supernatural specialist for the Zelko Corporation, and the bodies have been sent to her for investigation. She walks into her lab and looks into the crates to find the supposed two-thousand-year-old bodies to have no decomposition whatsoever. She immediately contacts the dig to make sure she was sent the correct bodies, for these seem minutes dead and not centuries. She is soon emailed pictures of the bodies that were taken just four days prior, and images of three leathery, decayed corpses appear on her screen. Eager to find some answers, Dr. Moretti takes a tissue sample from the arm of one of the bodies, and in the time it takes her to turn around, the flesh has regenerated. For the first time in her tenure with Zelko, her skepticism is rocked to its foundation.

Dr. Moretti sells her lab and rushes to contact her supervisor, both anxious and eager to return to her lab once he arrives to see what they will find there. While waiting in her office, her assistant delivers her dry cleaning and a mysterious box. Wanting to make herself presentable after practically living at her lab as of late, Gabriella puts all thoughts of the box aside. While in the ensuite bathro

om of her office, she begins to hear noises in her office. Peeking out into the room, she sees nothing, until she realizes that the box appears to be punched open. Soon a dark creature overcomes her, a Shadow, and warns her not to wake the mysterious bodies below: angels.

Soon her boss arrives, along with the FBI who wants to take this whole operation under their jurisdiction. Due to her expertise, and Gabriella’s sudden feeling of protectiveness over the angels, she is included in the detail to move the bodies to a government facility. Hidden in the ranks of the FBI agents are a Shadow, Jeff, and an angel, Karen. Gabriella finds herself back in her office with Karen, who reveals herself. She tells Gabriella that she is her guardian angel, sent to keep her and the bodies safe. More importantly, Kreitzer uses Karen’s explanation to convey that angels are immortals who protect humanity, and their depiction in religious texts was written by her self-righteous angel brothers. With this, Kreitzer has given herself creative liberty for her world of angels to not follow the archetype that angels are the messengers of God, and in turn frees the reader to accept Kreitzer’s world as she unfolds it to us.

Karen accompanies Gabriella as she goes home to pack for the trip, and in the process is presented with the angel elders. Gabriella then is told she is the “Darkness Illuminator”. A prophesy was made stating that the Darkness Illuminator would come and be the key to end the war between the angels and the Shadows. Because Gabriella survived her visit from the Shadow, which no human and few angels have survived, they believe she is the one who will save them and bring them peace.

Gabriella finds herself on the run, not knowing who to trust as she discovers more of the lore of this hidden world of guardian immortals. Not only does their history unfold, but her own hidden past is revealed to her as well. Gabriella hides, runs, and fights with the help of a human FBI agent, Joseph, and the three crated angels come-to-life; Andrew, Ehno, and Lucia. Other angels and shadows cross their paths, but as Gabriella learns, people are not always who they seem to be. Kreitzer’s mix of narrative, flashbacks, borrowed memories, and even stored messages in inanimate objects presents the unfolding of this world, and Gabriella’s past and future, in digestible pieces. As complex as this world is, you are able to keep track of who everyone is, and the various layers of lies that mask and complicate the situation Gabriella finds herself in. You can feel her emotion coming off the page, her anxiety in your nerves, and her weariness in your bones.

Along with the larger picture of ending a supernatural war is the slow unfolding of a love story between Gabriella and Andrew. Beginning with him coming to life in time to save her from a plane crash, they find themselves on the run together. They reveal each other’s worlds to each other, and gradually, pieces of themselves. They have an actually physical connection that they ignore at first, but soon there is an emotional connection as well.

Laura Kreitzer has created a world rich with history and intrigue. Just when you think you have it figured out, she throws you for another loop and you are no longer operating in the same reality you thought existed for the story. This is an intriguing start to what promises to be a captivating book series.

Beth Sabatino is a part-time computer programmer and avid reader. She is an active blogger about what she reads and is always looking to turn people on to something new. She is also a veteran characterization participant for the Fictionista Workshop.

To follow Laura Kreitzer’s work, visit her website.

Critique: Pushed by Lithium of Mercy

Pushed by Lithium of Mercy

Reviewed by Karla

Summary: After a disappearance that left Vinnie panicked, Emily tells him a story to explain her phobia. It’s a story about a kind, loving angel and cruel, self-centered boyfriend, neither of whom are around to confirm the story. Well, not anymore…

This author has a way with words.

But I can’t say the same for her main character, Vinnie.

In her short story Pushed, Lithium of Mercy once again has trapped us in her rich prose and mysterious plot. Pushed is a story about a shy young man, Vinnie, who never utters a word in the whole story, but the reader understands what he is trying to say. Emily, an insecure, but tough girl has stumbled upon his door, where his family welcomes her into their house.

Vinnie falls in love with her, because she understands everything he has to say. He proposes, but she is hesitant to say yes, because of her fears about her past.

“‘W-well,’ she said. ‘It’s a really nice ring, Vinnie, but you shouldn’t give it to me. If you give rings to a girl, well, people think you want to marry her.’
A little color sprang into her cheeks with those words.”

But what really caught my eye is that there is a story within the story. Although Vinnie and Emily are the characters that concern us, we also take a look inside the lives of Justin and Kara. They are a very unhealthy couple, and at times the author takes an unrealistic stance on their relationship, showing her young age when writing dialogue between the couple. It is not necessarily a bad thing, because what she lacks in this department, she makes it up when describing the disturbing and common problem that a girl like Kara possesses. It is something that I didn’t see coming as I was reading, but it was very realistic.

The wealthy descriptions of Kara’s emotions as she is struggling with surviving through her conflict and the unhealthy relationship she has with Justin, is what keeps the reader on edge.

“Slowly, her brain was numbing down. Her eyes came out of focus, and the screen in front of her blurred into a giant mass. It didn’t make any difference to her; her eyelids were like lead. She needed sleep so badly…”

Lithium of Mercy has a talent with words, emotions, horror stories, and psychological themes. Although I was expecting a horror story out of this, she surprised me with the outcome. It touches a subject that it is very common nowadays, and although there are many stories out there that deal with this issue, she does it in a very original way.

I didn’t see it coming, and yet, at the end I had a smile on my face.

If you are intrigued, check out the story and read and review at her home link. All authors that contribute to online literature want feedback! Pay it forward!

Karla is the author of ten online stories, hails from the city of Monterrey, Mexico and is currently attending law school. She is obsessed with fashion, Hello Kitty, Pad Thai, and Entourage.

Interested in reviewing stories or scouting online fiction? Apply today as a volunteer with Fictionista Workshop’s Critique Series!

Critique: The Longest Road by Ohxrosie

By Charmaine on behalf of Fictionista Workshop

Summary: Nicole loved Jacob more than anything, but when everyone else wants her to be healthy again, will she give him up? An old cliche with more than warring families between them. Warning; Deals with mental illness, indulgent.

When I first began the process of searching the online writing venue for psychiatric terms I felt overwhelmed at the large number of results. Upon further investigation I found very few completed, multiple chapter stories. Many of the results were essays, school projects, and abandoned ideas. The more daunting task became finding a well-rounded tale.

One of the first stories I read that fit my criteria was The Longest Road written by Ohxrosie. The first three sentences in the six-sentence prologue captured my curiosity: a gruesome car accident described with beautiful imagery. I wanted to know what happened, how the character arrived to such a circumstance.

The hood of the car was wrapped around the tree, crinkled like an ice-cream wrapper around the end of a popsicle stick. Blue paint had chipped off the bonnet, and clung to the bark of the tree leaving the vehicle with oddly coloured, scratch-like scars. The windscreen was a spiderweb of broken glass, an omnipresent red stain threading it’s way along each thread-like crack.

We move into the first chapter and read about a woman, Nicole, describing a car trip during an unusually hot day without air conditioning. She doesn’t complain, instead she’s happy because of the man sleeping in the passenger seat. Immediately I like her and care about her story.

The author, ohxrosie, clearly did her research and wrote a young woman who has schizophrenia. Many times we read about people who are afflicted with the disease and their violent, murderous behavior. I suppose it is sexier and far more glamorous to write about the extremes of the illness. With a quick Google search leading me to schizophrenia.com, I learned that violence is not a symptom of schizophrenia and that people with it tend to be withdrawn, preferring to be left alone–far more likely to hurt themselves than the public. I appreciated reading a more realistic chronicle.

Through these five chapters we read a third person account that follows Nicole’s journey. We witness her diagnosis, how frightened she is and her attempts at dealing with everyday life as a college student all the while trying to adapt to her medication and please her family. The reader feels her confusion and your heart breaks for her when she recalls her moments with Jacob and how happy they were. She only saw beauty in their love.

Nicole is naturally conflicted and denies that she is ill, but pretends to accept the diagnosis to please others. I would have liked to see her therapy expanded a bit, as I believe when a person experiences a psychotic break they are subject to regular therapy sessions along with their medication. Her denial leading to acceptance was a bit confusing; I’m not quite sure she ever believed she was truly ill, only that she wanted to make everyone around her happy. She sacrificed her own joy to do so and was still unable to accomplish her goal.

The story weaves itself with her everyday dealings to flashbacks seamlessly. These glimpses into her past and blissful moments are full of anguish for the reader. It’s hard to read such happiness and also be aware of how toxic it was.

“That tickles!” She giggled, but he didn’t look up from his position at her stomach. He was moving the pen across her flesh, black ink being left behind after each stroke.

“Stay still,” He scolded, but she kept fidgeting under his soft touch.

“What does it say?”

“It’s a secret, here, I’m done.” He signed his writing with a kiss, just above her belly button. “Come here.” He helped her up off the bed and towards the full length mirror against her wall.

She admired his beautiful letterform. The words were like a painting against her pale skin. She couldn’t read what it said, as the letters were flipped over by the mirror and made to look like hieroglyphics. He kissed her shoulder, then behind her ear as she stood stark naked and revealed before them both. “It’s beautiful.”

He looked at her with adoration, whispering in her ear, “Now you’re my poem.”

She could have died.

The banter between her and Jacob is lovely and sweet. The dialogue is realistic and plays out well, Nicole has a distinctive voice with each person she interacts with, furthering my belief that she is focused on everyone else’s well being.

There isn’t a moment I would condense; the descriptive words flowed throughout and made me want to read more by the author. As I relayed in the beginning, the imagery is beautiful. I could picture the wind whipping through Nicole’s hair as she drove her car with the windows down. Her anguish was palpable, when reality was setting in, then once again slipping away. I wanted her to recover, succeed and have a healthy future. We never find out the circumstances that directly led to the car accident, but the characterization is so well-drawn and the relapses and recoveries she experienced through her life lead the reader to easily deduce the whys.

This hauntingly beautiful account was a thrill to find and read.

If you are intrigued, check out the story and read and review at her home link. All authors that contribute to online literature want feedback! Pay it forward!

Charmaine is an avid volunteer, organizer with the Courting the Classics program and a workshop veteran. She loves to read, lives in Los Angeles and is always planning a new road trip.

Critique: Sheol by Lithium of Mercy

By Karla on behalf of Fictionista Workshop

Summary: Mina is a kind, loving person. So why does her own husband believe that she’s really the devil in human form? Paranoia escalates into ideas, and from ideas come a murder. Who’s the villain, really? Open for interpretation.

When my fellow Fictionista scout, Charmaine, and I started scouting for psychological fiction, we imagined that endless possibilities would be displayed before us.

But we were wrong.

Keyword, after keyword, after keyword was inserted into the search engine for days, but to no avail. Stories, journals, biographies, plays, school projects, and what-not appeared, but I couldn’t find the right story. The one that gave me the feeling of, “this is it, I must review NOW!”

That is… until I accidentally stumbled upon a special one.

The word sheol (she’ol) in Hebrew means “grave”, or “abyss”. But it is also a horror short story written by author Sophie, who lives in West Virginia, US and writes under the penname Lithium of Mercy.

Her story Sheol is about Mina and Jacob Kingston, a married couple. And I didn’t refer to them as “Jacob and Mina Kingston” merely because I am a fanatic of the 1990’s famous term of empowerment (Girl Power). No, I referred to them that way because Mina is the one that carries the power in the household. She’s the generous and charitable trophy wife; Jacob is just “Mister Cellophane” to the public eye. Behind closed doors, he is full of paranoia, fear, and that escalates into ideas of murder.

“The alarm rang into the stillness of the bedroom. Jacob’s eyes flew open in panic. His arm immediately left the blanket… Jacob pulled the covers back over his face and let out a relieved breath. He’d got it before she’d come.”

In real life, we’ve come to fear the crazy, mentally-ill villains that Hollywood has thrown our way. Characters such as Hannibal Lector, Norman Bates, and even The Tooth Fairy that haunt our dreams at night. However, in this story, Jacob fears his wife as the victim would fear those serial killers. As I was reading through the story, the sensations, the anxiety, the paranoia, and mental illusions that Jacob was experiencing, I could feel them, too. The author nails those emotions, making us feel as if the wife is waiting for us behind the door, ready to strike and kill.

The funny thing is: the author never mentions the wrong-goings of Mina. Is it unfounded fear or valid dread that holds the mind of Jacob?

“Dinner’s ready,” Mina said cheerfully…“I thought we’d eat in the kitchen tonight.” Eating in the kitchen. Having her sitting right across from him, eying his every move, watching every bite he took.”

The story is written in third person; however, it is through the eyes of Jacob that we see everything that is going on. Mina, to the eyes of society, never seems harmful or unstable, but Jacob begs to differ. But… is he right?

What piqued my curiosity to continue reading this story- aside from the rich detail on feelings and surroundings- was that the female character, as harmless as she seems, portrays the characteristics of a sociopath. Throughout the entire journey, we really don’t know if she is mentally unstable, but the signs are there; lack of interest in bonding with a mate, excessive boasting, exaggerated sexuality, and risk taking, among others.

“The look on Mina’s face was predatory. Jacob’s mind immediately conjured up the image of a black widow spider, a female spider that consumed her own mate when she was done reproducing with him.”

The male character often refers to her as this spider. The metaphor could be an equivalent of arachnophobia to his Mina-phobia. She is sophisticated, elegant, but evil; in his crazy, paranoiac mind, she is ready to destroy him for no apparent reason. She plays with his mind, and it has a sadistic taint to it, moving his things around and anticipating his every move. It drives him to the brink of insanity.

At the end, he gets rid of her, or does he?

Although the story starts off in a great fashion, with accurate feelings and descriptions of them, I felt that the ending lacked the elements of surprise and realism. Granted, it is fiction and a horror story, but still, I feel that the author could have done a much better job if the ending would have been a more credible situation (I don’t want to spoil). It has a twist and a sense of liberation, but I wanted more. It isn’t a bad ending, but perhaps it is a little bit predictable for the genre.

All in all, this is worth the read! Her characters are well-developed (whether she did it on purpose or not, I clap and bow), and her description of events drags the reader inside the imagery, colors, and tone of her prose. The employ of the element Sheol, isn’t used literally, but the grave and abyss play a big role in the climax and conclusion of the story. She has a very promising talent… and she’s only 15.

If you are intrigued, check out the story and read and review at her home link. All authors that contribute to online literature want feedback! Pay it forward!

Karla is author to ten online stories, hails from the city of Monterrey, Mexico and is currently attending Law School. She is obsessed with fashion, Hello Kitty, Pad Thai, and Entourage.

Interested in reading more? Check out the full story of Sheol by Lithium of Mercy.