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Europa Journal
Guaranteed to confoundyour expectations!(200+ REVIEWS on AMAZON)If you love sci-fi, demigods and the mysteries of mankind, this is a story for you."Castle's debut couples an ambitious premise with deliberately humorous prose." - Publishers Weekly"Definitely worth the read for classic sci-fi fans!" - Coeur D'Alene Press"With an action-packed opening, page-turning twists, a well-built world, and characters worth caring about, Europa Journal is like a bulldog - it grabbed me and wouldn't let go!" -- Elisa Brinton, StuntwomanOn 5 December 1945, five TBM Avenger bombers embarked on a training mission off the coast of Florida and mysteriously vanished without a trace in the Bermuda Triangle.
A PBY search and rescue plane with thirteen crewmen aboard set out to find the Avengers . . . and never returned.
...and thus the history of humanity changed forever…
2168 A mysterious five-sided pyramid is discovered on the ocean floor of Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa.
Commander Mac O’Bryant and her team are among the first to enter the pyramid’s central chamber. Inside, they find the body of a missing World War II pilot, whose hands clutch a journal detailing what happened to him and his crew after being abducted by aliens.
As the pyramid walls begin to collapse around Mac and her team, their names mysteriously appear within the journal and they find themselves lost on an alien world.
Stranded with no way home, Mac decides to retrace the pilot’s steps. She never expects to find the man alive... but if the man is not yet dead, what would that mean for Mac and the rest of her crew?
About the Castle loves adventure. He has traveled the globe as a professional stuntman for stage, film, and television. While working for Universal Studios, he met Cinderella at Walt Disney World and they were soon married. After moving to Alaska, he worked as a tour guide, police officer, Criminal Justice professor, and certified weapons instructor. He has been stationed on a remote island in the Aleutians as a Response Team Commander and his last job in the Arctic Circle was protecting engineers from ravenous polar bears. He has had several Alaska adventure stories published along with articles in international security periodicals. Europa Journal is his first science fiction novel.
EDGE BOOKS BY JACK JournalBedlam LostWhite "Castle's debut couples an ambitious premise with deliberately humorous prose." - Publishers Weekly
"Author Jack Castle has an amazingly vivid imagination, and the skill to share it with others through his writing.
A PBY search and rescue plane with thirteen crewmen aboard set out to find the Avengers . . . and never returned.
...and thus the history of humanity changed forever…
2168 A mysterious five-sided pyramid is discovered on the ocean floor of Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa.
Commander Mac O’Bryant and her team are among the first to enter the pyramid’s central chamber. Inside, they find the body of a missing World War II pilot, whose hands clutch a journal detailing what happened to him and his crew after being abducted by aliens.
As the pyramid walls begin to collapse around Mac and her team, their names mysteriously appear within the journal and they find themselves lost on an alien world.
Stranded with no way home, Mac decides to retrace the pilot’s steps. She never expects to find the man alive... but if the man is not yet dead, what would that mean for Mac and the rest of her crew?
About the Castle loves adventure. He has traveled the globe as a professional stuntman for stage, film, and television. While working for Universal Studios, he met Cinderella at Walt Disney World and they were soon married. After moving to Alaska, he worked as a tour guide, police officer, Criminal Justice professor, and certified weapons instructor. He has been stationed on a remote island in the Aleutians as a Response Team Commander and his last job in the Arctic Circle was protecting engineers from ravenous polar bears. He has had several Alaska adventure stories published along with articles in international security periodicals. Europa Journal is his first science fiction novel.
EDGE BOOKS BY JACK JournalBedlam LostWhite "Castle's debut couples an ambitious premise with deliberately humorous prose." - Publishers Weekly
"Author Jack Castle has an amazingly vivid imagination, and the skill to share it with others through his writing.
282 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 23, 2016
314 people are currently reading
399 people want to read
About the author
Jack Castle
25 books58 followersABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jack Castle’s novels have been consistently ranked in the Top 100 Bestselling books on Amazon and are available worldwide in e-book, print, iTunes, Kobo, and Barnes and Noble.
He has been labeled by the Coeur D’Alene Press as the “Man of Adventures!” and traveled the globe as a professional stuntman for stage, film, and television. While working in Orlando (the theme park capital of the world) he met Cinderella at Walt Disney World, and they were soon married.
After moving to Alaska, he worked as a tour guide, police officer, and Criminal Justice professor. He has been stationed on a remote island in the Aleutians as a Response Team Commander, and his last job in the Arctic Circle was protecting engineers from ravenous polar bears.
After spending a decade in Idaho crafting award-winning adventures for Silverwood Theme Park and guiding millions of guests through them, Jack Castle moved back home to his native Central Florida.
These days he splits his time between writing books, going on adventures with his family to fuel them, and helping others get published by teaching classes at local libraries and universities.
www.JackCastlebooks.com
Jack Castle’s novels have been consistently ranked in the Top 100 Bestselling books on Amazon and are available worldwide in e-book, print, iTunes, Kobo, and Barnes and Noble.
He has been labeled by the Coeur D’Alene Press as the “Man of Adventures!” and traveled the globe as a professional stuntman for stage, film, and television. While working in Orlando (the theme park capital of the world) he met Cinderella at Walt Disney World, and they were soon married.
After moving to Alaska, he worked as a tour guide, police officer, and Criminal Justice professor. He has been stationed on a remote island in the Aleutians as a Response Team Commander, and his last job in the Arctic Circle was protecting engineers from ravenous polar bears.
After spending a decade in Idaho crafting award-winning adventures for Silverwood Theme Park and guiding millions of guests through them, Jack Castle moved back home to his native Central Florida.
These days he splits his time between writing books, going on adventures with his family to fuel them, and helping others get published by teaching classes at local libraries and universities.
www.JackCastlebooks.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 95 reviews
February 19, 2017
This author should stay away from sci-fi. This book is a string of collected cliches taken straight from conspiracy theories you hear from tinfoil heads and History Channel. Grey Martians with big heads abducting plane pilots in the Bermuda triangle, ruins on Mars, secret chambers under the Sphinx, and ancient aliens building the Egyptian pyramids are topped with a profound lack of scientific understanding necessary to make the sci part coherent.
The part where he's describing a canonical-form alien abduction (like you hear from people who actually claim they were abducted) with all the nonsensical details is just embarrassing; the abductee is shooting the aliens with a gun whereas they just come closer to touch him with their long fingers. Here they were on the alien ship capable of interstellar travel and I assume the aliens weren't imbeciles without a self-preservation instinct. They just didn't have weapons?
The book description is promising and the start is as well but both are most misleading. Not to mention adding artificial romance (characters are suddenly in love for no apparent reason) and artificial conflict. The leading female character seemingly falls in love at first sight with the pilot because he had a 5 o'clock beard shade. Wtf! The artificial conflict can be described as tension by stupidity, i.e. where a character or antagonist does something stupid to prolong suspense at all cost, especially at the cost of annoying readers. For example after they find the all-important journal in the pyramid in the beginning and the researcher dies to protect it, the leadingidiot character cannot bring herself to reading any more than 2 pages and then loses it completely. Oops. And the book just goes downhill in the second half. I cringed and rolled my eyes so hard that I almost needed medical attention.
The part where he's describing a canonical-form alien abduction (like you hear from people who actually claim they were abducted) with all the nonsensical details is just embarrassing; the abductee is shooting the aliens with a gun whereas they just come closer to touch him with their long fingers. Here they were on the alien ship capable of interstellar travel and I assume the aliens weren't imbeciles without a self-preservation instinct. They just didn't have weapons?
The book description is promising and the start is as well but both are most misleading. Not to mention adding artificial romance (characters are suddenly in love for no apparent reason) and artificial conflict. The leading female character seemingly falls in love at first sight with the pilot because he had a 5 o'clock beard shade. Wtf! The artificial conflict can be described as tension by stupidity, i.e. where a character or antagonist does something stupid to prolong suspense at all cost, especially at the cost of annoying readers. For example after they find the all-important journal in the pyramid in the beginning and the researcher dies to protect it, the leading
January 3, 2017
Wow! What a great adventure to start off the new year. Great job, Jack Castle, in blending historical mystery with scientific possibility and some good old-fashioned faith that courage and the ability to look at the 'big' picture dwells in all good men and women.
April 14, 2016
This book had so much potential. I loved the premise and was very excited to embark on this adventure. Oh, how disappointed I was. The writing was horrible. If there's one thing that will destroy a book, regardless of how fantastic its plot is, it's bad writing. Author Jack Castle clearly did not use an editor. There were ridiculous mistakes like "full-emersion" instead of "full-immersion" and "full-star general" instead of "four-star general."
Also, this is supposed to be a great mystery adventure. There was no sense of mystery at all. The author uses excessive repeated hyperboles that completely take the mystery out of the story. For example, Castle uses this description: "The moment she did, the lives of everyone in the pyramid were bound together and fated to alter the history of humanity forever." to end chapter 3. Yet at the start of chapter 4 nothing immediately happens. Um, hello, if you're going to be that melodramatic, you need to deliver on that. In addition, in the midst of chapter 2 Castle already uses this description: "Mac soon realized that the history of humanity was about to be changed forever." Puh-leeze. One chapter later you're going to use those exact same words again? Ugh.
There is also absolutely no character development. All characters - major and minor - are wooden and stereotypical. Military commandos have square jaws and ripped muscles, etc. Ugh again. Castle doesn't let us into the heads of his characters. There is no insight into what makes each character tick. It's all superficial.
The combination of Hollywood-ish action stereotype and poor writing drove me to give up reading at 24%. I just couldn't take any more. A good writer can do Hollywood-ish action and make it fast-paced and exciting with characters that draw the reader in. Think Clive Cussler, Matthew Reilly, James Rollins. Jack Castle doesn't cut it, and "Europa Journal" suffers mightily because of it.
Also, this is supposed to be a great mystery adventure. There was no sense of mystery at all. The author uses excessive repeated hyperboles that completely take the mystery out of the story. For example, Castle uses this description: "The moment she did, the lives of everyone in the pyramid were bound together and fated to alter the history of humanity forever." to end chapter 3. Yet at the start of chapter 4 nothing immediately happens. Um, hello, if you're going to be that melodramatic, you need to deliver on that. In addition, in the midst of chapter 2 Castle already uses this description: "Mac soon realized that the history of humanity was about to be changed forever." Puh-leeze. One chapter later you're going to use those exact same words again? Ugh.
There is also absolutely no character development. All characters - major and minor - are wooden and stereotypical. Military commandos have square jaws and ripped muscles, etc. Ugh again. Castle doesn't let us into the heads of his characters. There is no insight into what makes each character tick. It's all superficial.
The combination of Hollywood-ish action stereotype and poor writing drove me to give up reading at 24%. I just couldn't take any more. A good writer can do Hollywood-ish action and make it fast-paced and exciting with characters that draw the reader in. Think Clive Cussler, Matthew Reilly, James Rollins. Jack Castle doesn't cut it, and "Europa Journal" suffers mightily because of it.
July 28, 2015
If you are looking for an exciting romp through time and space, you came to the right book. Written by Jack Castle, a globe spanning adventurer in his own right, this tale ties the biblical, the historical, and the not so distant future into a neat package of far flung adventure on a distant world.
The characters are rich and engaging. Captain Harry Reid, the quintessential, tough as nails, World War 2 search and rescue pilot. Mac O’Bryant, the plucky deep space transport commander who misses her daughter and will do anything to keep her safe. Leo Dalton, the bright and cocky starship pilot who just might be a bit too smart for his own good. Sergeant Brett Harper, space marine. Who doesn’t love space marines!
The book weaves multiple stories together, with twists and turns, until they collide in a satisfying climax that pits the champions of light and good against the ultimate ancient evil.
I’m keen to see what Jack comes up with next.
The characters are rich and engaging. Captain Harry Reid, the quintessential, tough as nails, World War 2 search and rescue pilot. Mac O’Bryant, the plucky deep space transport commander who misses her daughter and will do anything to keep her safe. Leo Dalton, the bright and cocky starship pilot who just might be a bit too smart for his own good. Sergeant Brett Harper, space marine. Who doesn’t love space marines!
The book weaves multiple stories together, with twists and turns, until they collide in a satisfying climax that pits the champions of light and good against the ultimate ancient evil.
I’m keen to see what Jack comes up with next.
January 10, 2016
I didn't finish this book. From the first page I got the impression of a middle aged star trek fan sitting down and telling me what he thinks is a cool story, but not really showing me what was going on with his words.
"Oh well," I thought, "it's only the first page. Maybe it gets better." It didn't. The pacing was slow, there were extraneous character descriptions that I could have learned through dialogue or actions that bored me. And I really just couldn't get into the actual story enough to want to keep pushing through with it.
Maybe middle aged star trek fans will like this book. But I'd pass on it and pick up something better.
I got this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
"Oh well," I thought, "it's only the first page. Maybe it gets better." It didn't. The pacing was slow, there were extraneous character descriptions that I could have learned through dialogue or actions that bored me. And I really just couldn't get into the actual story enough to want to keep pushing through with it.
Maybe middle aged star trek fans will like this book. But I'd pass on it and pick up something better.
I got this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
February 6, 2016
I really enjoyed this book. The characters were very likeable. The premise was very interesting. I was totally engrossed in the book by chapter 3 and that is when everything started happening! There was edge-of-your-seat action through out the book. There was history, space travel, alien worlds, time travel and some funny moments mixed in. All of the different elements came together for a very satisfying conclusion. I recommend this book.
August 27, 2015
I enjoyed Europa Journal. It is a fun mix of sci-fi, history and fantasy. It cleverly brings in the disappearance of Flight 19 as a hook and it works well as the story progresses.
March 14, 2018
I can’t do it. I’ve turned my brain off. I’ve set it to oatmeal, and I still can’t do it. DNF. Life’s too short.
June 17, 2017
This was an entertaining read. It got a little preachy for my taste towards the end but I still enjoyed it. It was an interesting take on the ancient alien theory with some good old adventure thrown in.
Read
July 8, 2017I'm sure it's good, but the back and forth between Harry's and Mac's stories annoy me too much. DNF.
October 12, 2015
EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing gifted me with this ebook and I'm so happy they did- Europa Journal is the an amazing read! If you're a fan of science fiction and fantasy, this book has them both wrapped up in a wormhole of an adventure.
Set in the future, where Mars and other planets have been colonized, Captain Mackenzie O'Bryant "Mac" and Leo, her soon-to-be son-in-law are pilots on a supply run that ends with them below on Europa, below its sea-level to visit a renowned scientist and friend who's made a discovery that changes everything for mankind. Now since I don't give spoilers, I won't say what happens next, but... To read the rest of the review: http://tinyurl.com/ol3s5bd
Set in the future, where Mars and other planets have been colonized, Captain Mackenzie O'Bryant "Mac" and Leo, her soon-to-be son-in-law are pilots on a supply run that ends with them below on Europa, below its sea-level to visit a renowned scientist and friend who's made a discovery that changes everything for mankind. Now since I don't give spoilers, I won't say what happens next, but... To read the rest of the review: http://tinyurl.com/ol3s5bd
January 30, 2016
I had some preconceived notions about this story going in (mostly from the novel’s description), and almost all of them were wrong. This story had intriguing visualizations, characters, and action. There are times when the narrative jumped a bit, with action quickly shifting instead of being fleshed out. There were elements of the story that were very reminiscent of Stargate. Some of the characters were well developed, while other felt flat and stereotypical. The settings were creative, as were the variety of aliens. The book was a page turner, and I feel this author has a lot of potential. I look forward to reading more from Castle in the future. Note: I received a free copy of this book from the LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.
August 9, 2016
A fun book that had an an interesting premise and entertaining story line. Plenty of action and good characters through out the book made this a quick read. I will state that some of the scenes and additional characters were a little over the top and it had an underlying religious feel to the story that is not usually my cup of tea. In this case, they were not enough to over ride the fun parts of the book and I can recommend this to fans of near future science fiction with a smattering of fantasy thrown in for good measure.
3.5 stars for a fun read.
3.5 stars for a fun read.
September 29, 2015
This book kept me guessing! It has an exciting start and keeps that same pace throughout the book. The building of the character personalities keeps a depth to the storyline and makes the reader feel connected to each character. The background information given through Europa Journal gives a great balance between the history, future and everything in-between! I love the mix of fact and fiction to create the story and inspire imagination. I'm excited to see what Castle comes up with next!
December 6, 2015
I received this book in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this novel. It was an easy read but well worth it. The writer takes you on a split journey, one by journal and one physically, which just so happens to line up and it just works. You are invested in the characters while enjoying the journey. Well done.
December 7, 2015
Pyramids, worm holes, time warps, aliens, gods, good vs. bad. Such an interesting assortment of things in one book. The story moves quickly, but it seemed to me that there were too many situations that were really far-fetched. And some of the ties to Biblical stories were rather questionable to me. And it also seemed that Mr. Castle wrapped up the tale too fast and too unbelievably.
July 9, 2017
Am I the only one who really didn't enjoy this book? Interesting premise with a lot of promise, but failed to deliver on the sci-fi spectrum. Not that it wasn't imaginative and well written. I just felt it would've been better received if advertised as "faith fiction" with all that preachy nonsense toward the end. What a let down..
September 9, 2015
Wow
I am generally not a fan too much of science fiction, but, this book was great....Mr. castle did a wonderful job on bringing all characters to life , even the ones who look like bigfoot
....loved the storyline....cannot wait to.read his next book
I am generally not a fan too much of science fiction, but, this book was great....Mr. castle did a wonderful job on bringing all characters to life , even the ones who look like bigfoot
....loved the storyline....cannot wait to.read his next book
October 13, 2015
Love this book!! I'm not really a fan of sci-fi, but this book has so much more to offer. Fascinating, well developed characters and a plot that pulls you in and won't let go. I highly recommend this book to everyone.
April 24, 2016
Suspense filled right from the word go. Jack spins an amazing tale of action, adventure and wonderment wrapped in the exciting backdrop of space travel. Wish I could exist in his world.
Thanks for writing it :)
Thanks for writing it :)
March 7, 2017
Meh...
Messy, sanctimonious. Characters too shallow, with poor story archs. Weak climax in a narrative that verges on the absurdity to try - and fail - to be surprising. Could have been great, but fell incredibly short of it.
Messy, sanctimonious. Characters too shallow, with poor story archs. Weak climax in a narrative that verges on the absurdity to try - and fail - to be surprising. Could have been great, but fell incredibly short of it.
June 9, 2018
I got a third through this and did not like it at all....so I stopped. The characters were trite and the story was not exciting. The "aliens" were presented as playful stuffed animals. Maybe I would have been better if centered on Europa itself, especially the underwater pyramid.
February 5, 2017
This book reminded me a lot of the John Carter of Mars series, only more modern!
July 12, 2017
Studying history, during World War11, five bombers disappeared near the Bermuda Triangle. Other similar unexplained occurrences happened in earth's history.
Could the discovery on Europa in 2168 be somehow linked with these disappearances?
Mac felt this was an opportunity to "walk in her father's footsteps" and maybe even find him, or at least learn of him? What appeared to be an unique, yet exciting opportunity may not be as it appeared. Was this mission designed for discovery or failure?
The action never stops, the next adventure never ceases, and the surprises steadily come. Along with a large amount of graphic violence is a touch of romance. This is quite well written, The only problems I had with it was the graphic violence and it lacked the "smoothness" in the flow of the story formulating in the beginning chapters. I felt somewhat confused at first as to what time period I was reading and how it pertained to the story. It needed to be slightly clearer.
*This book was a gift. There was no suggestion of a positive review. This is my honest review.
Could the discovery on Europa in 2168 be somehow linked with these disappearances?
Mac felt this was an opportunity to "walk in her father's footsteps" and maybe even find him, or at least learn of him? What appeared to be an unique, yet exciting opportunity may not be as it appeared. Was this mission designed for discovery or failure?
The action never stops, the next adventure never ceases, and the surprises steadily come. Along with a large amount of graphic violence is a touch of romance. This is quite well written, The only problems I had with it was the graphic violence and it lacked the "smoothness" in the flow of the story formulating in the beginning chapters. I felt somewhat confused at first as to what time period I was reading and how it pertained to the story. It needed to be slightly clearer.
*This book was a gift. There was no suggestion of a positive review. This is my honest review.
March 23, 2021
This book started out great, and then fell into a plodding confusing mess. There are two stories that start out in different time periods. One is the disappearance of planes in the Bermuda Triangle in 1945, and the other is set in the future when a team that has made a delivery to a station on Europa is pulled into a wormhole. A pilot from 1945 and several people from the future end up in a strange world just months apart. There are a lot of strange creatures, some more humanoid than others, and there is also a man from the Bible. I got tired of the bouncing between stories because things didn't seem to move forward. Half of the chapters ended with lines like "if only she'd done x, then y would still be alive" but in the next several chapters you never found out how y died because the story wandered off in another direction. I did not finish the book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 21, 2017
This science fiction title has a mix of sci-fi as well as fantasy, with some religious undertones that will get you thinking. The author has an engaging writing style that quickly gets you into the story and was hard to put down. The technology in the future wasn’t too over the top (you could get your hands around it), and the author wound it up nicely and it could either be a standalone novel or possibly continue on with a sequel – if there is a sequel, I’d probably buy it just to see where the author’s imagination takes us next.
I originally picked this up for free during a Kindle promotion vs. the normal Kindle price of $5.99 – I certainly received more than $5.99 worth of entertainment value. If you like a sci-fi book with a mix of fantasy, I would recommend this one.
I originally picked this up for free during a Kindle promotion vs. the normal Kindle price of $5.99 – I certainly received more than $5.99 worth of entertainment value. If you like a sci-fi book with a mix of fantasy, I would recommend this one.
December 13, 2019
Exceptional sci-fi read!!!
Ok. This is one of those rare books that I really could not put down. It has it all - tough female lead, characters that u grow to love, goddesses, gods, archaeology, mystery, wormholes & the best part - lots of aliens!! There are parts when I heard myself ask "how they gonna get out of this mess?" BuT Jack has a very creative streak. Never would I have thought of that. Excellent outer space novel! I highly recommend it! PS...Mr Castle. Please write more sci-fi like this!!!!!
Ok. This is one of those rare books that I really could not put down. It has it all - tough female lead, characters that u grow to love, goddesses, gods, archaeology, mystery, wormholes & the best part - lots of aliens!! There are parts when I heard myself ask "how they gonna get out of this mess?" BuT Jack has a very creative streak. Never would I have thought of that. Excellent outer space novel! I highly recommend it! PS...Mr Castle. Please write more sci-fi like this!!!!!
May 21, 2020
I was enjoying the first half of the story, as it was good old Sci Fi. The time on the ship, the interactions between the crew were all well written. I didn't especially like the plentiful back and forth between past and present. The alien/gods portion reminded me a lot of Stargate, as others have mentioned. The ending battle was quite choppy... sort of like a bad internet video that won't stream properly. Overall, this could have been a quite good story... and then the Faith/God viewpoints wedged in at the end... ruined it for me. Could have done without that!
February 23, 2018
Science fiction or Fantasy
What I thought would be a sci-fi book turned out to be more fantasy, or an awkward mashup of the two genres. Not being a fantasy fan, I was not pleased with the book. Lots of action which read like a typical Hollywood script, didn’t really keep me engaged either. But the plot was easy to follow, the writing was accomplished, and fantasy fans may enjoy what I didn’t.
What I thought would be a sci-fi book turned out to be more fantasy, or an awkward mashup of the two genres. Not being a fantasy fan, I was not pleased with the book. Lots of action which read like a typical Hollywood script, didn’t really keep me engaged either. But the plot was easy to follow, the writing was accomplished, and fantasy fans may enjoy what I didn’t.
July 11, 2018
Unexpected good read!
I love sci-fi, so the premise of the book caught my attention. I have to say, I wasn't expecting to staying up past my bedtime because I couldn't put it down!
It was a mix of the bible, an out of this world Wizard of Oz, and Stargate all blended into a very good story with very good character development throughout.
Final word: don't put it off any longer. Go ahead and buy this book - you won't regret it!
I love sci-fi, so the premise of the book caught my attention. I have to say, I wasn't expecting to staying up past my bedtime because I couldn't put it down!
It was a mix of the bible, an out of this world Wizard of Oz, and Stargate all blended into a very good story with very good character development throughout.
Final word: don't put it off any longer. Go ahead and buy this book - you won't regret it!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 95 reviews