Jan Brown

Smashwords book reviews by Jan Brown

  • The Legend of Sasquatch on March 07, 2011

    Wow, let me try to put it in a few words. A young man coming to age in the 1970s,security job, cops, bikers, biker gang, romance, sex, Texas, death and dying,fights and gun fights, and God...what a page turner this book is. Don't let the title fool you, its a great book. Can't wait to read the next in the series!!!
  • Tornado Siren on April 23, 2011

    The love story is very strange and different so much so that I had a little bit of a hard time wrapping my head around it. The tornado parts were well written even for some strange acting ones. If you are looking for something a little "different" to read...this is it.
  • Watering the Tree, Thoughts on Liberty and Tyranny on May 11, 2011

    What a delightful little read this mix of essays and modern day limerick poems. I usually won't pick up a book that has poems but this had sarcastic humor and some food for thought. I found myself wanting to read a little faster so I could get to Kender's next poem for another chuckle. This book make you want to get off your butt and go vote after reading his views on current American affairs.
  • Circle City Blues on May 17, 2011

    This was different for a love story and well paced. Not predictable at all and the interesting relationships with Mac the long haul truck driver kept me wanting to see what happened next. A pleasant mix of romance and this trucker's life style without over emphasising either one! Enjoyed this book! The length of it was nice, not too short yet not too terribly long.
  • Text Order Bride on May 18, 2011

    A modern day short story version of a mail order bride made for a cute and different romance story. It was a fun read and I related to being tall and having to learn how to sew to make my own clothes so I wouldn't have to wear men's clothing all the time. Do be aware the wedding night sex makes this an adult book for reading.
  • Next of Kin on May 18, 2011

    Next Of Kin by Caitlin Hicks Review by Jan Brown 5/18/11 This is a very moving powerful short story and it had me crying 1/3rd of the way through it and all the way to the end. It reminded me of the many military funerals I have attended in the past few years not knowing the person or their families yet had tears to share and shed. Very well written with a few little twist and turns and life's regrets and sorrows brought to mind. Better have a whole box of tissues handy...
  • Repatriation on May 20, 2011

    Cute little "cozy" and romantic story. This would be great if you were looking for a little something to read while waiting at the doctor's office. Ending makes you go "awwww", a feel good read!
  • 7th Inning Death on May 26, 2011

    If you "liked" the first book you will love this second one! It takes you more in depth into the charactor's lives and relationships and as you get to know them a mystery subtletly is forming with murders to follow. Baseball is more in the background in this book. I liked how you were gentley reminded of what happened in the other book and the way its done it could be a stand alone book too. The scenes with the shrink were very well done, it made me think of Tony Soprano on tv and the tense relationship he had with his lady shrink. Written like a pro and a enjoyable read!
  • The Man from Shenandoah on June 03, 2011

    The southern men return from the civil war only to find their homes and land destroyed and learn who will never return. The Owen family decides to go find a relative in Colorado and bring along some other families for a new start. This was a different style of writing of a western story and it was a delightful read. It ends nicely enough not leaving you with major questions but leaves you wanting to read more about their lives and an excerpt is included leading you into the next book of the series.
  • Ride to Raton on June 05, 2011

    This was book 2 of the Owen Family saga. A brother leaves the family homestead in Colorado in anger over a problem with one of his brother's. You can feel his pain and suffering and joys in this story. Another well written story that makes you feel like you are there.
  • Trail of Storms on June 05, 2011

    Book 3 of the Owen Family saga goes back to where they came from and brings in some more families that end up going west to start over. One of the Owen's brother's who was featured in book 2 runs into a gal he loved within one of those families that came west. The story was well written but by the time I got 3/4's the way through the book it started to feel drawn out and the Owen's brother a bit whiney over his loss. The Mormon's part started to feel a little "preachy" to me.
  • Mementoes of Mai on June 18, 2011

    If you're looking for a slow paced story of love and life, you might enjoy this. The story basically showed how making plans for your life don't always work out the way you want them to. It was apparent that the author's english is a second language as a few words felt like the wrong version used and there were a few misspellings thus the 3 stars.
  • Eddie's Shorts - Volume 1 on Aug. 12, 2011

    A couple of interesting short stories that this author wrote years ago. I did enjoy reading them. One about a young man and his father and the other a clever story about tv shows. I haven't read this author's other genre book as I'm not into that kind of story so it was a treat to read these by him. Looking forward to reading more like this by McNalley!
  • Eddie's Shorts - Volume 2 on Aug. 12, 2011

    Another interesting 2 short storied book by McNally. First story starts out normal and ends up in insanity. The second one was scary and humorous. Little twisty delightful reads. A good "sitting in the doc's office waiting room" read.
  • A Death In Calgary on Aug. 19, 2011

    A well written short story dealing with life and death. A stranger comes to town and death seems to be following him but nobody suspects he might have a hand in it. Interesting twist near the end of the story dealing with a dilemma. The author describes the small town so fittingly I could see it being in Oklahoma or Texas with those very people she described. A thought provoking story.
  • Riders of the Wind on Aug. 26, 2011

    A historical fictional story about the early years of aviation. Charlie and Doretta take us through the years and different airplanes in the years before WWII. The author does a good job of explaining the differences the pilots were dealing with as each new plane came along without getting too technical, yet leaving you feeling like you might be able to fly one with the knowledge shared and how the commercial airlines came about, the pilots clothing and the different types of pilots/planes by weaving the story of Charlie and Doretta into it all. Do be aware this is nearly 700 pages long so you won't be able to read it all in one sitting!
  • Winds of Fate on Aug. 29, 2011

    This is the second book of a series on historical fiction about aviation. I actually liked this one better than the first one, I don't know if its because the writing style improved a bit or if the fact I was familiar with the people in the story and the author did a nice job of reminding you of each one or certain things from the first book without overdoing it. There were things I had never heard about when it came to the era of WWII and the other pilots who were not in the military but what they had contributed to help with the wars going on including women pilots. At the very middle of the story I cried and had no idea about some things brought up at that point which made me cry when I saw another view of how women pilots were treated even by the military. There's a sad twist near the end of the story.
  • How Do You Say Goodbye on Sep. 08, 2011

    After reading Kim's review of this book I just knew I had to read it as "biker" and "cancer" perked my interest. I had to smile, laugh and cry and loved spunky Sam in the end for her spirit. Sam has brain cancer and wants to die on the beach rather than in the hospital so she gets with an old friend to hop on their motorcycles and make that one last trip to get to the beach. She finds she wants one last thing done before she dies and though I had a good idea of the answer, there is some real surprises thrown in that I never expected to go with it. I love stories that give you a surprise ending! I would love to see more by this author!
  • Justiceman on Sep. 16, 2011

    Meet Aspen Dove, part time freelance journalist and part time truck driver who gets herself tangle up with the mob, the FBI and a killer who's supposedly out for justice with the murders thus the name "Justiceman". There was a lot of hilarious things that happened or were spoken making this a delightful read. I'd love to see more of Aspen in another book as a sequel. I never had an idea who the killer was until Aspen herself knew it so was a great mystery story with tons of twist and turns and lots of action. I would have loved to seen this as a movie it was so different and funny for a murder mystery.
  • The Perfect Solution-A Suspense of Choices on Oct. 17, 2011

    I found this story to be very interesting as I was a daycare teacher for a few years myself for 2-3 year olds! Three and a half year old Brhin gets stolen from a daycare that seemed to be a fantastic place to be at on its looks but it really depends on the staffing if a daycare is any good. A lady who was abused as a child steals him away from the new substitute teacher and the police call in his father as a possible suspect who never even knew he had a son! The story goes from there with dealing with the complications this all creates! I enjoyed reading this story even though there were just a few misspellings that might have been done by the formatting. Looking forward to reading more of Ey Wade's books!
  • All For Aaron on Oct. 18, 2011

    Aaron has autism and his mother is trying to do her best for him by enrolling him in a special class and she falls for his teacher but can't do a thing about it thanks to her ex and his threats! The story has lots of twist and turns as she deals with them all including her job as a reporter while the ex is trying to become a candidate for the senate. I had the feeling the author has dealt with autism in her own life as she had given us a real view of what a child with autism is like in this story along with his Mom dealing with a pretty wicked ex husband!
  • The Education of Clint Buchanan on March 09, 2012

    Having read the first book in this series, I ended up comparing the two thus the 4 stars on this one. I think I liked the first book much better as in this book Clint has "found Jesus" and prays a lot. This isn't your typical Christian book as its for adults with its sex scenes which are not graphicly erotic but more like a real man's thoughts and feelings before and during sex without being erotic was my feeling. Clint has a lot of things happen to him during this story that will probably lead him into his adult life trying to be a good man but realizing he still a sinner and his hot temper still gets him in trouble. Thus the "education" not only college but life once again. The story was a little hard to get into at first with all the praying and Clint is constantly thinking things out but halfway through and on into the ending it seemed to pick up the pace and you want to find out what happened next as tragedy strikes him in a couple of ways that will change his life and test his feelings for God.
  • Foundations: Dave Rossiter's Horse Sensible Horsemanship on March 23, 2012

    As a horse lover and owner of 6 horses over the years plus learning from my Dad and Uncles about horses (one being a trainer) I found this to be a very interesting book to read. Now I understand why maybe I didn't get to see my Uncle's methods as he too probably did the "full attention on the horse getting the horses full attention" so didn't want any of us kids nearby as he did his training. He could get a horse to do things on his voice commands without touching anything. You will definatly come away learning something from this book. I did learn the alpha mare/herd things Dave mentions when I had 3 horses together instead of just one like my early years and the one I rode the most was definatly the alpha mare. It was very interesting to read about the trainers that Dave had learned from too. I didn't know anything about the confirmation things that could relate to the way a horse might act! I highly recommend any horse owner to read this book, you will surely come away learning something new and useable.
  • Wilderness Heart on Sep. 14, 2012

    Interesting storyline which I would have given 5 stars for something a little different. But I felt it needed some proofreading so gave it 3 stars instead as mistakes or things that don't seem right to me make my reading experience a little jerky as I go back and re-read what I thought needed changing and that doesn't make my reading experience go smoothly.
  • Whisper a Prayer on Sep. 29, 2012

    Interesting and different christian story. I felt the gal worried a little too much over things and the ending was a little abrupt thus the 4 stars. Otherwise an enjoyable read about an adopted gal who goes searching for her real mother.