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South Texas Lore #1
Espejos
After his mom passes away from a terrible accident, Carlos heads home to Tres Reynas for the funeral—and to reunite with his brother. Given he left after his parents abandoned him for coming out, it's not a homecoming he's looking forward to.
Once home, he learns a neighbor wants to steal his family's ranch, and his brother is considering selling it. Determined not to let the ranch be lost, Carlos works to save it—with unexpected help from the handsome, rugged Eugenio.
But Carlos can't seem to focus, especially with his mother's image seeming to haunt the ranch mirrors, like she's trying to tell him something—or maybe like he's just losing his mind.
Once home, he learns a neighbor wants to steal his family's ranch, and his brother is considering selling it. Determined not to let the ranch be lost, Carlos works to save it—with unexpected help from the handsome, rugged Eugenio.
But Carlos can't seem to focus, especially with his mother's image seeming to haunt the ranch mirrors, like she's trying to tell him something—or maybe like he's just losing his mind.
- GenresParanormal
ebook
Published July 3, 2019
41 people want to read
About the author
Michael War
10 books31 followersMichael War is a Freelance Writer from Texas whose imagination knows no bounds. He has been writing all his life, but has only written professionally for a short time. Aside from gay themed stories, Michael also enjoys writing poetry and screenplays. For any questions or comments, you can email him at michaelwar77@gmail.com
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 7, 2020
I was really surprised by this story. I had read another by the author and didn’t care for it, but I tried one again and am happy I read this. It really is a good story. And not at all how I expected it to turn out.
Carlos hasn’t spoken to anyone back home for like ten years. Ever since coming out, his father wouldn’t speak to him and his mother seemed cold. So he bided his time until he hit 18 and then ran as far as he could to make a new life. But now, all these years later, and he has to return home to be there for his mother’s funeral. And he finds out, to try to figure out how to save the ranch their parents built up for them. But old hurts and angers, along with a slimy neighbor, are conspiring against them and it’s causing everything to fall apart. And even more so, when Carlos claims he’s seeing his mother’s ghost around the place. With more secrets coming out, and more bad things happening, Carlos’s brother is determined to just sell and Carlos is fighting hard against everyone. But who will come out on top? And will it save what their parents worked so hard for or will everything just fall away, destroyed?
I grew up around ‘Christian’ people. Having strong church people in the family, including a pastor, I saw more than my fair share of bigotry and prejudiceness. I hated it. I was always the black sheep of the family, because I never believed in any of that mess. We are all human, period. Who deserve love, no matter who. So when I read about Carlos, it broke my heart. It broke even more when I saw what his mother wanted to do, in finally making it right. But sometimes that saying rings true….too little, too late. So many ‘what ifs’ and ‘if onlys’ and nothing can change what could have been. And feeling like he was hated the minute he walked back into his childhood home, from the only family he had left, I would have just packed up and left, if I were him. Thankfully, Carlos is not me and he stayed to fight. And I have to say, that’s what I love so much about him. Yeah, he may get his butt kicked, but he’s not going down without some kind of fight. He doesn’t care who it is, he’s going to do what is right. Yeah, he has a bit of a temper, but it’s passionate. It’s fighting for those who can’t fight. Standing up to bullies. And I admire the heck out of him for it. But even in his hurt and anger, I admire his willingness to forgive as well. To start over, and make things right, the way they should have been all along. And seeing him stand proud and strong against those who do wrong, makes me feel like a proud mama.
It really is a good story. I don’t know if the second book of this series is out or not, but if it is, I think I may know who it may be about and I’m curious to see how it would work out. And to see him finally get what he’s been looking for and needing for a very long time. It’s a good start to this series.
http://lovebytesreviews.com/
Carlos hasn’t spoken to anyone back home for like ten years. Ever since coming out, his father wouldn’t speak to him and his mother seemed cold. So he bided his time until he hit 18 and then ran as far as he could to make a new life. But now, all these years later, and he has to return home to be there for his mother’s funeral. And he finds out, to try to figure out how to save the ranch their parents built up for them. But old hurts and angers, along with a slimy neighbor, are conspiring against them and it’s causing everything to fall apart. And even more so, when Carlos claims he’s seeing his mother’s ghost around the place. With more secrets coming out, and more bad things happening, Carlos’s brother is determined to just sell and Carlos is fighting hard against everyone. But who will come out on top? And will it save what their parents worked so hard for or will everything just fall away, destroyed?
I grew up around ‘Christian’ people. Having strong church people in the family, including a pastor, I saw more than my fair share of bigotry and prejudiceness. I hated it. I was always the black sheep of the family, because I never believed in any of that mess. We are all human, period. Who deserve love, no matter who. So when I read about Carlos, it broke my heart. It broke even more when I saw what his mother wanted to do, in finally making it right. But sometimes that saying rings true….too little, too late. So many ‘what ifs’ and ‘if onlys’ and nothing can change what could have been. And feeling like he was hated the minute he walked back into his childhood home, from the only family he had left, I would have just packed up and left, if I were him. Thankfully, Carlos is not me and he stayed to fight. And I have to say, that’s what I love so much about him. Yeah, he may get his butt kicked, but he’s not going down without some kind of fight. He doesn’t care who it is, he’s going to do what is right. Yeah, he has a bit of a temper, but it’s passionate. It’s fighting for those who can’t fight. Standing up to bullies. And I admire the heck out of him for it. But even in his hurt and anger, I admire his willingness to forgive as well. To start over, and make things right, the way they should have been all along. And seeing him stand proud and strong against those who do wrong, makes me feel like a proud mama.
It really is a good story. I don’t know if the second book of this series is out or not, but if it is, I think I may know who it may be about and I’m curious to see how it would work out. And to see him finally get what he’s been looking for and needing for a very long time. It’s a good start to this series.
http://lovebytesreviews.com/
July 6, 2019
*3.5 stars*
After many years spent away from his family, who pushed him away when Carlos confessed he's gay, the young man returns home to help his brother after their mother's death. Being back home evokes memories of both good and bad times, and consequently, fuels bitterness and grief after his loved ones. Carlos never ceased to love his family, so now he wants to do his best to help his brother keep their parents' ranch. However, this is not the easiest thing to do, because the brothers can't find any documents left by their mother, while the wealthy rancher, with whom they have had some problems for years, does what he can to take over their ranch. To make matters worse, Carlos begins to see his dead mother's silhouette in the mirrors.
"Espejos" is the first volume of the new series by Michael War entitled "South Texas Lore". As the name of the series indicates, it is related to the paranormal side of human beliefs. For starters, let's focus on this topic. The supernatural world occupies in the novel a very important and, in a sense, vast place. And yet, in fact, when reading "Espejos", we don't feel it particularly strongly. That is why it is very difficult for me to decide whether it was well or not so well presented. We don't find here a typical clash of two worlds – the real and the paranormal one – which affects emotions, action, characters. To tell the truth, I have the impression that the way our protagonists' approach this subject is mostly quite calm, or maybe I should say, it's too calm. That's why it's a bit hard for us to really feel this paranormal side of the novel. Imagine that you are walking through the city center with a friend and suddenly something amazing happens in front of you. You are thrilled, while your friend just looks at it, then shrugs and walks away. Sometimes this is how I felt while reading "Espejos".
The story the author presents in the novel is quite interesting because it combines romance, some really suspenseful events and deeper, more serious content. Well, yeah, sometimes we can predict some things that happen here, but there are cases when "Espejos" really surprises us. I consider this combination a great advantage because thanks to all this we can easily imagine the presented story and really appreciate the way in which Michael War builds it. I think it is also a good thing that the novel reminds me of all those Latin American series that my dad had been watching with great enthusiasm a few years ago. Thanks to this, it was easier for me to "feel" the story shown in "Espejos", as South Texas presented here differs from the Polish reality in which I grew up, and sometimes in my opinion it seems closer to a fantastic world than reality. I admit that thanks to this reading this book was even more fascinating.
The great advantage of "Espejos" is undoubtedly the fact that the novel raises, among others, the problem of acceptance, which has a big impact on the events presented here, as well as on the characters themselves. I think that Michael War really approached this topic in a fantastic way, because he showed it from many angles in a way that affects the readers' emotions. In a nutshell, the book presents the impact of the lack of acceptance on some individuals and on the whole family, the subsequent difficulties in building a bridge between two sides of the conflict, the lost time which can't be restored. This is undoubtedly the strongest and most emotional side of the novel. What is equally important, this subject was in some way connected with all the threads we see in "Espejos", including the paranormal one, which also makes the problem of acceptance the most important.
Another topic I would like to write about are the characters. To be honest, after reading "Espejos", I feel that I don't really know them very well, and that's because they seem to be surrounded by a high wall, which is really difficult to overcome. There's no doubt that they are really strong, but maybe they are a bit too strong, because sometimes we wonder where are all those emotions that they undoubtedly feel, and that certainly don't let them sleep at night. The consequence of these hidden from the readers feelings is the fact that in the end we don't know the protagonists well enough to open ourselves to them. We don't have a full insight into their psyche and feelings, as if they were showing us only what they wanted us to see. Thus, they don't cross this magical line when a literary character seems to be a real, living man.
To sum up, "Espejos" is a good novel, with its advantages and disadvantages, which is worth reading even if only to see this complex and fantastic way in which the subject of acceptance has been shown in this book. This is just the beginning of the series, and after reading this volume we want to explore it further, so I think it is a good start and now it will only get better. Personally, I'm waiting for the next installment of "South Texas Lore".
After many years spent away from his family, who pushed him away when Carlos confessed he's gay, the young man returns home to help his brother after their mother's death. Being back home evokes memories of both good and bad times, and consequently, fuels bitterness and grief after his loved ones. Carlos never ceased to love his family, so now he wants to do his best to help his brother keep their parents' ranch. However, this is not the easiest thing to do, because the brothers can't find any documents left by their mother, while the wealthy rancher, with whom they have had some problems for years, does what he can to take over their ranch. To make matters worse, Carlos begins to see his dead mother's silhouette in the mirrors.
"Espejos" is the first volume of the new series by Michael War entitled "South Texas Lore". As the name of the series indicates, it is related to the paranormal side of human beliefs. For starters, let's focus on this topic. The supernatural world occupies in the novel a very important and, in a sense, vast place. And yet, in fact, when reading "Espejos", we don't feel it particularly strongly. That is why it is very difficult for me to decide whether it was well or not so well presented. We don't find here a typical clash of two worlds – the real and the paranormal one – which affects emotions, action, characters. To tell the truth, I have the impression that the way our protagonists' approach this subject is mostly quite calm, or maybe I should say, it's too calm. That's why it's a bit hard for us to really feel this paranormal side of the novel. Imagine that you are walking through the city center with a friend and suddenly something amazing happens in front of you. You are thrilled, while your friend just looks at it, then shrugs and walks away. Sometimes this is how I felt while reading "Espejos".
The story the author presents in the novel is quite interesting because it combines romance, some really suspenseful events and deeper, more serious content. Well, yeah, sometimes we can predict some things that happen here, but there are cases when "Espejos" really surprises us. I consider this combination a great advantage because thanks to all this we can easily imagine the presented story and really appreciate the way in which Michael War builds it. I think it is also a good thing that the novel reminds me of all those Latin American series that my dad had been watching with great enthusiasm a few years ago. Thanks to this, it was easier for me to "feel" the story shown in "Espejos", as South Texas presented here differs from the Polish reality in which I grew up, and sometimes in my opinion it seems closer to a fantastic world than reality. I admit that thanks to this reading this book was even more fascinating.
The great advantage of "Espejos" is undoubtedly the fact that the novel raises, among others, the problem of acceptance, which has a big impact on the events presented here, as well as on the characters themselves. I think that Michael War really approached this topic in a fantastic way, because he showed it from many angles in a way that affects the readers' emotions. In a nutshell, the book presents the impact of the lack of acceptance on some individuals and on the whole family, the subsequent difficulties in building a bridge between two sides of the conflict, the lost time which can't be restored. This is undoubtedly the strongest and most emotional side of the novel. What is equally important, this subject was in some way connected with all the threads we see in "Espejos", including the paranormal one, which also makes the problem of acceptance the most important.
Another topic I would like to write about are the characters. To be honest, after reading "Espejos", I feel that I don't really know them very well, and that's because they seem to be surrounded by a high wall, which is really difficult to overcome. There's no doubt that they are really strong, but maybe they are a bit too strong, because sometimes we wonder where are all those emotions that they undoubtedly feel, and that certainly don't let them sleep at night. The consequence of these hidden from the readers feelings is the fact that in the end we don't know the protagonists well enough to open ourselves to them. We don't have a full insight into their psyche and feelings, as if they were showing us only what they wanted us to see. Thus, they don't cross this magical line when a literary character seems to be a real, living man.
To sum up, "Espejos" is a good novel, with its advantages and disadvantages, which is worth reading even if only to see this complex and fantastic way in which the subject of acceptance has been shown in this book. This is just the beginning of the series, and after reading this volume we want to explore it further, so I think it is a good start and now it will only get better. Personally, I'm waiting for the next installment of "South Texas Lore".
July 7, 2019
🌟🌟🌟🌟 4 stars
🔥🔥🔥 Heat Level: 3
Interesting with a surprising thrill.
This book was not what I expected. I love paranormal at the moment and I loved that this wasn’t like anything else I’ve read recently. It’s fast-paced and a short read that draws you in and keeps your suspicions on red alert for almost the whole book lol. I kept expecting one thing and getting another, or was suspicious of one character and it turns out to be another. Good twists and a little thrill.
Carlos and Eugenio had great sparks from the start and I enjoyed their lust and connection grow. Definitely keeping with the real world instead of a romanticized relationship, they had their problems that they were able to work out. My only comment would be that there are a few character “tense” problems in the writing. One moment it's from Carlos’ POV then Eugenio slips in there…but it didn’t really affect the overall story. A good short read with a little paranormal thrill thrown in.
Thanks for reading! For great stories, reviews and more please visit https://bookstattoosandtea.wordpress.com 📚
🔥🔥🔥 Heat Level: 3
Interesting with a surprising thrill.
This book was not what I expected. I love paranormal at the moment and I loved that this wasn’t like anything else I’ve read recently. It’s fast-paced and a short read that draws you in and keeps your suspicions on red alert for almost the whole book lol. I kept expecting one thing and getting another, or was suspicious of one character and it turns out to be another. Good twists and a little thrill.
Carlos and Eugenio had great sparks from the start and I enjoyed their lust and connection grow. Definitely keeping with the real world instead of a romanticized relationship, they had their problems that they were able to work out. My only comment would be that there are a few character “tense” problems in the writing. One moment it's from Carlos’ POV then Eugenio slips in there…but it didn’t really affect the overall story. A good short read with a little paranormal thrill thrown in.
Thanks for reading! For great stories, reviews and more please visit https://bookstattoosandtea.wordpress.com 📚
June 30, 2019
Carlos reluctantly returns home for his mother’s funeral. His antagonist brother doesn’t want him there. Carlos had left the ranch years ago because his family just wasn’t accepting of his being gay. Now his brother wants to sell the family ranch which Carlos is completely against.
Carlos meets Eugenio, the handsome, sexy ranch hand and is immediately smitten. Works out really well when Eugenio feels the same way.
Carlos thinks he’s seeing things and going crazy when his mother starts appearing to him. He see her in mirrors. Unfortunately everyone else thinks he’s crazy too.
This was a simple quick read. A little bit of mystery. I just felt like it was missing something. Not a lots of character development but just enough to move the story along.
Review Copy requested and reviewed on behalf of OMGReads.
Carlos meets Eugenio, the handsome, sexy ranch hand and is immediately smitten. Works out really well when Eugenio feels the same way.
Carlos thinks he’s seeing things and going crazy when his mother starts appearing to him. He see her in mirrors. Unfortunately everyone else thinks he’s crazy too.
This was a simple quick read. A little bit of mystery. I just felt like it was missing something. Not a lots of character development but just enough to move the story along.
Review Copy requested and reviewed on behalf of OMGReads.
July 2, 2019
Carlos has to return home after 10 years,for his mother's funeral. He's devastated by the loss,especially when he finds out that he and his brother risk to loose the family ranch. And then he starts to see strange things, shadows in the mirrors, maybe messages he can't make a sense of.
In theory, Eapejos should be very interesting. Despite how original the idea,sadly the book doesn't deliver. Not enough plot buildout, not enough character development...just not engaging enough.
3 stars from me.
In theory, Eapejos should be very interesting. Despite how original the idea,sadly the book doesn't deliver. Not enough plot buildout, not enough character development...just not engaging enough.
3 stars from me.
July 4, 2019
Rating: 2.75 stars
Review at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words.
ARC provided by Less Than Three Press in exchange for an honest review.
Review at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words.
ARC provided by Less Than Three Press in exchange for an honest review.
July 13, 2019
The story was quite interesting but, for a ghost story, it wasn't as engaging as I'd have expected. In any case, I enjoyed id.
July 28, 2019
To be honest it took me a while to warm up to this one because of POV execution. The writing is rough at points but the heart is there. I'd be interested to see where the series leads.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews