I'm an author, but I'm also a reader. From time to time, I'llshare my reviews of present and past reads. My available time to read islimited because I write, but I love to curl up with a paperback or an eBook atnight for the last hour of my day. 

Here are some of the books I've read recently. Maybe you'lldiscover a new book or author.

At a quiet Brooklyn café watchedover by painted dogs and warmed by just the right cup of coffee, two teenagersarrive—lost, hurting, and unsure where to turn next.

In this deeply compassionate third entry in the Smiling Dog Café series—fullyenjoyable as a standalone—author Neil S. Plakcy shares two powerful novellasabout grief, resilience, and the unexpected ways we find our way home.

In Grounds for Hope, Miguel is alone on the streetsafter his father is deported back to their violence-plagued homeland. Cold,hungry, and nearly out of hope, he’s led to the café by a mysterious pit bullnamed Baxter—and taken in by Betty, the wise café owner whose coffee andcompassion help restore his sense of safety and purpose.

In Finding Grace, Tanya is reeling after her mother’sdecision to walk away from their life to “find herself.” Angry and unmoored,Tanya is gently nudged toward the café by Kiyomi, a calm, three-leggedSamoyed—and slowly begins to rediscover her strength, her voice, and her pathforward.

This tender volume celebrates how healing begins—in community, throughritual and memory, and with the quiet guidance of a dog who always knowsexactly who needs help next.

Come in from the cold. The coffee’s brewing, and the dogs are waiting. 

My Review

I’m a dog lover, and I wasimmediately drawn to this book by the premise: dogs possess an innate sense tohelp and heal. The book relies on well-defined characters who are caring and haveissues that immerse the reader in the story. A boy who is illegal in thecountry and how he finds a path to find his way is ripe for our times. Mr. Plakcytells his story as if he’s lived it. Tanya might be a girl of privilege, but thepain of her mother’s action is deep. The café offers both of these young peoplehope.

A family’s secret, a ruthlessfanatic, and a covert arm of the American government—all are linked by a singlepuzzling possibility:

What if everything we know about the discovery of America was a lie? Whatif that lie was designed to hide the secret of why Columbus sailed in 1492? Andwhat if that 500-year-old secret could violently reshape the modern politicalworld?
 
Pulitzer Prize–winning investigative journalist Tom Sagan has writtenhard-hitting articles from hot spots around the world. But when one of hisstories from the Middle East is exposed as a fraud, his professional reputationcrashes and burns. Now he lives in virtual exile—haunted by bad decisions and ashocking truth he can never prove: that his downfall was a deliberate act ofsabotage by an unknown enemy. But before Sagan can end his torment with thesqueeze of a trigger, fate intervenes in the form of an enigmatic stranger.This stranger forces Sagan to act—and his actions attract the attention of theMagellan Billet, a top-secret corps of the United States Justice Departmentthat deals with America’s most sensitive investigations. Sagan suddenly findshimself caught in an international incident, the repercussions of which willshudder not only Washington, D.C., but also Jerusalem. Coaxed into a deadlycat-and-mouse game, unsure who’s friend and who’s foe, Sagan is forced toVienna, Prague, then finally into the Blue Mountains of Jamaica—where hissurvival hinges on his rewriting everything we know about Christopher Columbus. 

My Review

This story held my interest and keptme turning pages because of the “what if” factor. Plus, in the recent years offactoids and fabrications you can find on the Internet, so much has been speculatedabout Columbus. It was a fun read of fiction and fact.  

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005OCYQJU/