$15 GC & Review – The Tundra Passage by K A Jarvis #kajarvis #goddessfish #thetundrapassage

Posted on July 30, 2026 by fundinmental

THE TUNDRA PASSAGE by K.A. Jarvis

GENRE: Post-Apocalyptic

MY REVIEW

The Tundra Passage by K A Jarvis is a standalone novel in The After Collection series. I love novels that take place, at least for the beginning, in a familiar place, Florida. Then we travel to the opposite extreme, Alaska. Secrets will be uncovered and I love the consequences that arise because of it.

Grace is a veterinarian living in Florida. When she finds her father’s secret, she’s on a plane to Alaska to hunt him down and get the answers for herself. She gets more than she bargained for.

We have Grace, an eleven year old girl, a climatologist and a wolf dog. They will be stranded in the Alaskan Tundra, after surviving an airplane crash that is caused by a ccyber attack. I love when there are animals included in the story. It adds something extra to the story, and I love it.

Mystery. Intrigue. Hope. Family. Survival. I have a feeling that cyber attacks will become a bigger part in the real world, so I’m always curious to see how authors will handle it in the fictional world. K A Jarvis did not let me down. I was quickly drawn in by the characters and storyline.

BLURB

A birth certificate hidden in a dead woman’s closet. A father Grace Campbell was never supposed to find.

Grace is a veterinarian and a survivor of a Florida trailer park childhood. She has made self-reliance her religion. When a shoebox reveals the father she was told never existed, a climatologist in the Alaskan wilderness, she boards a bush plane to find the truth.

The journey doesn’t just change her life. It nearly ends it.

As coordinated cyberattacks bring the nation to its knees, Grace’s plane is shot from the sky over the Alaskan tundra. Suddenly, she is a thousand miles from home and responsible for the survivors: an eleven-year-old girl with a fierce heart, a researcher with dangerous secrets, a hiker whose smile feels like a warning, and a wolfdog who has lost everything.

A hundred miles of Arctic wilderness stand between them and safety. Between glacial river surges, a stalking grizzly, and starvation, Grace realizes the greatest threat isn’t the environment.

It is the person standing next to her, someone whose mission has nothing to do with survival and everything to do with the crisis tearing the country apart.

To protect the people she never expected to love, Grace will have to do the one thing she swore she’d never do again: trust someone enough to let them stay.

Perfect for fans of: The Dog Stars by Peter Heller, The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah, and Where the River Ends by Charles Martin.

EXCERPT

Return fire erupted from the rest of the formation. The concussive slam of automatic weapons hammered the antenna array, rounds sparking off rusted metal, punching into concrete, whining off in ricochets that filled the air with a sound like tearing fabric.

Grace pressed herself flat behind a foundation pad, her cheek against the cold concrete, her heart hammering so hard she could feel it in her teeth. A round struck the pad six inches above her head and blew a chunk of concrete across her back. A fragment sliced her forearm. A hot, bright line of pain she registered and ignored. There was no time for pain.

She was afraid. The fear was total, physical, a liquid heat in her limbs that made her want to curl into the ground and stay there until the noise stopped. She had never been shot at before. The sound alone was an assault; each crack a detonation that left her eardrums ringing, each ricochet a reminder that the distance between living and dying was measured in inches.

Her hands were still. The terror lived in her chest and her legs and her gut, but her hands, the hands that had sutured a wolfdog on a creek bank and delivered a foal at three in the morning. Those hands were still.

She moved.

ABOUT K A JARVIS

When the world falls apart, the characters hold on. To each other, to hope, and usually to a very good dog.

K.A. Jarvis writes survival stories with women at the center. Flawed, ordinary women who don’t have all the answers but figure it out anyway. These books blend edge-of-your-seat tension with warmth, found family bonds, and the quiet stubborn refusal to give up.

If you like your survival fiction with heart, where the relationships matter as much as the danger, pull up a chair.

Website: https://kajarvisauthor.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KAJarvisAuthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kajarvisauthor

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kajarvisauthor

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/57254342.K_A_Jarvis

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/k-a-jarvis

The Tundra Passage: After the Dark: https://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B0GRX18Z7W

Universal Link for The After Collection: https://mybook.to/TheAfterCollection

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MINDBENDING – Daggermouth by H M Wolfe #hmwolfe #daggermouth

Posted on July 28, 2026 by fundinmental

dystopia; enemies to lovers romance; forced arranged political marriage; presidents son;assassin

Amazon / KindleUnlimited / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

I LOVE the cover and the title for Daggermouth made me curious. Daggermouth has so many elements that speak to me: enemies to lovers, fantasy romance, apocalyptic and dystopian adventure that knocked my socks off. I got so much more than I bargained for and will, for sure, have my eye on H M Wolfe in the future.

Of course, we have the corrupt elite. I would be disappointed otherwise. I love the have and have nots, the forbidden romance, the danger at every turn. As I turned the pages, I became more lost in the story. The characters, well, Shadera Kael makes for an outstanding female protagonist. She’s raised to be an assassin. That is all she is good for, but….she can’t even do that right, which drives her into the arms of a man she hates with all the passion she possesses. Of course, it’s an enemies to lovers romance, so somehow Shadera Kael and Greyson Serel will find their way.

The ending BLEW ME AWAY. I WANT MORE, PLEASE!!!!!

GOODREADS BLURB

Set in a corrupt surveillance state ruled by the masked elite, this true enemies-to-lovers dystopian romance that’s Conform meets V For Vendetta follows a mercenary who botches the assassination of the president’s son and ends up forced to marry him.

The first thing you’ll learn in New Found Haven is that mercy doesn’t exist. The second thing is that, from the highest glass atrium in the Heart to the windowless slums of the Boundary, the Veyra are always watching.

The last lesson is the hardest, but you must remember it: Love outside of your ring is a death sentence.

The city is carved into rings of privilege and poverty, ruled by the masked elite who will do whatever it takes to hold onto power. Obedience is demanded. Rebellion is crushed.

Greyson Serel has spent his life caught between two worlds. Publicly, he’s the flawless heir to the presidency. Privately, he’s entangled in secrets that could topple the regime. But when he’s forced into a political marriage meant to bind him tighter to the government’s brutal laws, he finds himself shackled to a bride as lethal as she is unwilling.

Shadera Kael is a mercenary raised to kill, not to wed. Yet when her bullet misses its mark, survival leaves her tied to the very man she was sent to eliminate. Trapped inside the corrupt heart of the city, she becomes both prisoner and wife, her every step watched, her every move tested.

Their union is no love story—it’s a battlefield. As secrets come to light and betrayals fester within the walls of power, Greyson and Shadera must decide between annihilating each other or burning the city to the ground together.

In a world where passion has consequences and loyalty is paid for in blood, their forced bond may be the spark that ignites a revolution. Or the fire that consumes them both.

Genre: Apocalyptic, Dark Romance, Dystopian, Enemies To Lovers, Fantasy, Fiction, Romance, Romantasy
516 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 5, 2025 by Scarlett Press
Series: The Heart, Book I

ABOUT H M WOLFE

H. M. Wolfe writes with her heart wide open, chasing the thrill of chaos and the sting of heartbreak on every page. Based in Central Florida, she shares her days with her husband and three loyal dogs—her writing partners and adventure crew through every twist of her literary journey.

Wolfe crafts stories where romance tangles with fantasy and unforgettable characters drive the action, inviting readers to disappear into worlds brimming with magic and meaning. She’s fiercely passionate about mental health advocacy and the messy, powerful work of self-discovery, believing deeply that everyone deserves to see themselves represented in the stories they love.

As you turn the final page of her books, Wolfe hopes you’ll find a new kind of strength—ready to take on the world and own your story like the warrior she knows you are.

Website

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Review – The Gravewood by Kelly Andrew #kellyandrew #netgalley #thegravewood

Posted on May 15, 2026 by fundinmental

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

I love the bloody cover of The Gravewood by Kelly Andrew, and I love anything vampire, so this was an easy book for me to get lost in. The story takes place in a dystopian world. We have some diverse characters, which adds that extra little bit to keep me interested. I have to know what will happen to Shea.

Shea is the main female character and there are two men, one a vampire, competing for her heart. Shea is deaf and made a deal with Lys, the vampire. She would let him feed from her in exchange for batteries for her hearing aid. Then, we have Asher, a human that has his sights on Shea too. It is kind of a ‘Twilight’ sort of story and I loved Twilight.

We shift between points of view, which helps to reveal each character’s motivations for their actions taken. We have plenty of blood and gore to fill my mind with visuals. I love the blend of apocalyptic/dystopian and paranormal/supernatural.

The downside of The Gravewood by Kelly Andrew is waiting for Book II of the duology.

My thanks go out to NetGalley and Scholastic Press for the opportunity to read and review The Gravewood by Kelly Andrew.

AMAZON SYNOPSIS

An instant New York Times bestseller! The first in a darkly romantic duology that explores disability, obsession, and the twisted limits of loyalty.

Shea Parker has lived her entire life in the shadow of the Gravewood, an impassable forest that’s cut off her town from the rest of the world. With resources limited and supplies scarce, Shea is forced to carefully ration her hearing aid batteries. When her stash runs out, she’ll be left in the silence.

Desperate, Shea turns to the only person who can help — Oliver Lysander, the volatile leader of a vampiric gang that rules the Gravewood.

The arrangement between Shea and Lysander starts off simply enough. She gives him her blood. He tracks down batteries. They don’t cross any lines. They don’t make it personal. But when Shea’s best friend is lured into the Gravewood, her disappearance brings her older brother home from the frontlines. Asher Thorley is willing to do whatever it takes to find his sister, even if it means holding Shea’s ugliest secrets over her head.

Ever an opportunist, Lysander renegotiates the terms of their deal. If Asher takes out Lysander’s vampire rival, Lysander will help him find his sister. And if Shea agrees to Turn, Lysander will give her a cure for her ailing mother. For the first time ever, Shea finds herself leaving home. Swallowed up in the dreamlike dark of the Gravewood and traveling in the company of killers, it isn’t long before she risks becoming one herself.

Genre: Apocalyptic, Dystopian, Fantasy, Fiction, Paranormal, Supernatural, Vampires, Young Adult
348 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 7, 2026
Series: The Gravewood, #1

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Review – The Convergence: Broken Magic by Richard French #richardfrench #theconvergence #brokenmagic

Posted on February 20, 2026 by fundinmental

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

The Convergence: Broken Magic by Richard French is about fated mates, enemies to lovers, second chance and forbidden romance. Samantha Reed is tasked by the Federation with finding and destroying Connor Blake. but when she meets him…again…her soul cries out to his. She has been lied to and what she does next could either save their world or destroy it.

The story is fast paced with lots of action. Circumstances bring together an unlikely group of characters that will do what is necessary, what is right, to save their world, no matter the consequences. I was wrapped up the danger that surrounded them…and that ending. It was a blow that I wasn’t prepared for, but, there is Book II, The Convergence: Restoration, so we shall see what comes next.

I have read some of Richard French’s work and felt it was very likely that The Convergence series would be a good one, and I wasn’t wrong.

GOODREADS BLURB

Federation Enforcer Samantha Reed has orders to kill Connor Blake—the one person whose soul was torn from hers when the Federation shattered magic itself.Enemies to lovers. Fated mates. A bond the universe refuses to let die.

Reality is fracturing across the galaxy as the Convergence approaches—a cosmic force trying to heal what was broken. The Federation claims Connor’s rebellion is causing the breakdown, but when Samantha confronts the man she’s been sent to destroy, stolen memories their connection isn’t coincidence. It’s the echo of a soulmate bond artificially severed centuries ago.

What begins as a mission to capture a traitor becomes a forbidden second chance neither expected. Their unified magic doesn’t combine separate powers—it remembers what they were before the Federation broke everything apart. But every moment they spend reconnected awakens the truth the Federation desperately the artificial separation is failing, and only their restored unity can stabilize reality’s collapse.

With a band of unlikely allies who become family, Samantha and Connor must outrun the Federation’s hunters while unraveling centuries of lies. As the cosmos continues to unravel, the Federation’s leader plans to weaponize the Convergence’s healing energy to make the separation permanent—even if it destroys existence in the process.

The choice isn’t between order and chaos, but between artificial control and natural wholeness.

For readers who devoured Shadow and Bone, The Ten Thousand Doors of January, and A Court of Mist and Fury, this is star-crossed lovers, forbidden magic, and found family—with the fate of reality hanging in the balance.

When remembering their true connection means choosing between Federation loyalty and cosmic healing, will Samantha embrace what was stolen from them—or let the universe fracture forever to preserve a lie?

Get your copy now and discover why some bonds refuse to stay broken.

Genre: Apocalyptic, Dystopian, Fantasy, Fiction, Military
184 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 1, 2025 by Indie Pen Press
Series: The Convergence #1

ABOUT RICHARD FRENCH

Richard French writes at the intersection of technology, transformation, and storytelling. A former executive at Oracle and Nokia, and a serial startup leader, Richard brings decades of leadership experience to his books.

His non-fiction works include Daniel as a Blueprint for Navigating Ethical Dilemmas, The Journaling Mastery Series, and The Journaling Prompts Series. In fiction, his Convergence Series explores quantum physics, high fantasy, and human connection in richly imagined worlds.

Richard lives in the Pacific Northwest, where he writes full time and races GT cars on weekends. He believes in challenging limits—on the track, in business, and on the page.

Website

MY RICHARD FRENCH REVIEW

The Emotion Collector

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Cyberpunk – Review – The Zone: Fallen Son by Stu Jones @StuJonesFiction #thezone

Posted on February 18, 2026 by fundinmental

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Gotta love Chance. In for a penny, in for a pound.

The Zone: Fallen Son by Stu Jones, is the second book in this cyberpunk series. It is filled with fast paced action and the stakes are high. The battles are brutal, savage, and many lives will be lost.

Everything revolves around Chance, a father, a son, a hero. His son is ill and he will do anything to get the treatment his child needs, but when he is taken, he will also do anything to get him back.

It all begins in Neo Terminus, where Chance had taken down the Zone, a walled off area in the middle of the city where Enforcers, nano boosted gladiators, would fight to the death. He finds out his son has been taken to a distant city, New West City, and he will have to partner up with an unlikely ally. He will face betrayal and hordes of mutant humans.

Action and adventure, life and death, thought provoking moments, The Zone engulfed me in rapid fire reading, flipping pages, caught up, unable to look away. BUT..the story is not done. Chance may have completed one mission, but his son is still missing, being used as a bargaining chip by High Director Marko Senterian. I can hardly wait to see what happens next.

AMAZON SYNOPSIS

In the shadow of Neo Terminus, a father’s desperation becomes his only weapon.

Chance Griffin—super cop, fallen gladiator, hunted fugitive—will stop at nothing to rescue his kidnapped infant son. Even if that means tracking down and confronting the Glom’s shadowy masters.

But he can’t do it alone.

To save his child, Chance must forge an uneasy alliance with a ruthless adversary—a villain whose hands drip with the blood of Chance’s friends. Together, they’ll journey beyond the neon streets of Neo Terminus to the lawless frontier of New West City, where even legends are broken.

With each fractured step Chance is drawn deeper into a web of manipulation and betrayal, stretching the fragile thread connecting him to the life he left behind—to a wife whose face may soon fade from memory.

As Neo Terminus burns behind him and New West City looms ahead, Chance knows he can’t let the wasteland claim what’s left of his soul. He is more than the Glom’s former star Enforcer, their fallen son.

He is a father, a husband. A hero.

AWARDS for The Zone
Gold Medal(1st Place) Winner – The Bookfest Awards – Cyberpunk Category
Honorable Mention – Reader’s Favorite Awards – Science Fiction Category
Finalist – Best Thriller Book Awards – Science Fiction
Finalist – IAN Book of the Year Awards – Science Fiction
Semi-Finalist – Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards – Science Fiction
Approved Seal – Indie Reader

Genre: Action And Advenure, Cyberpunk, Fiction, Science Fiction, Suspense, Thriller
402 pages, Kindle
Published: 2.17.26 by Dropship Publishing
Series: The Zone #2

ABOUT STU JONES

Stu Jones. SWAT Sniper. Adventurer. Award-Winning Author of Epic Genre-Bending Fiction.

A veteran law enforcement officer, Stu has served as a beat cop, narcotics, criminal investigations, as an instructor of firearms and police defensive tactics and as a team leader of a multi-jurisdictional SWAT team. He is trained and qualified as a law enforcement SWAT sniper, as well as in hostage rescue and high-risk entry tactics. Recently, Stu served for three years with a U.S. Marshal’s Regional Fugitive Task Force – hunting the worst of the worst.

He is the author of multiple sci-fi/action/thriller novels, including the multi-award-winning It Takes Death To Reach A Star duology, written with co-author Gareth Worthington (Children of the Fifth Sun).

Known for his character-driven stories and blistering action sequences, Stu strives to create thought-provoking reading experiences that challenge the status quo. When he’s not chasing bad guys or writing epic stories, he can be found planning his next adventure to some remote or exotic place.

Stu is represented by Italia Gandolfo of Gandolfo-Helin-Fountain literary

Catch Up With Stu Jones:
Goodreads
BookBub – @stujonesfiction
Instagram – @stujonesfiction
Facebook – @stujonesfiction

MY STU JONES REVIEWS

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Review – The Last Nuclear War by Hazem Abdelmowla #hazemabdelmowla #thelastnuclearwar

Posted on February 13, 2026 by fundinmental

Amazon / KindleUnlimited / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

When I grabbed Hazem Abdelmowla’s Future Novels series, I had a different thought in mind. The books are heavy on the science of things, and I kinda got lost in The Last Nuclear War and not in a good way. I had met and became interested in Mousa, the main character in The Viruses Enigma. He struggles with social justice, corruption, influence and money.

The year is 2110 and viral pandemics had ravaged the world. Energy sources that you and I know, no longer exist. So…here we are…

Because he is so smart, there are those that want to use him. As I follow his life, I am more curious about him than the war that seems to be looming on the horizon. I am curious how his story will end and I kept flipping the pages for that reason.

For those who like to carry the weight on their shoulders while reading sciency novels, this may be right up your alley. For me, it was too heavy, but I am glad I read to the end.

The Last Nuclear War will definitely pose questions that are difficult to answer. My thanks go out to Hazem Abdelmowla for the opportunity to read and share his books.

GOODREADS BLURB

You wonder why war? But what if you are the war! What will you choose? What will you do for the sake of this world?
In the future, after decades of surviving devastating viral pandemics, the world has become very different from what we know. Energy sources no longer exist like before. The world has become like a compass where its parts are looking for nuclear influence. A smart child named Mousa was born. He had difficulty understanding the world around him. Why is he treated differently in school? Why doesn’t he feel social justice? What happened to corrupt the world like this? What is happening between the parties of the world? What is the role of influence and money? The questions were getting more complex at every point in his life. But he didn’t know that the path of answers was destined to ask him for choices that could determine the fate of the last future nuclear war.

Genre: Apocalyptic, Dystopian, Fiction, Science Fiction
238 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 30, 2024
Series: Future Novels #2

ABOUT HAZEM ABDELMOWLA

A dental surgeon, an entrepreneur and a writer who simply dreams of a better world.

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Review – The Viruses Enigma by Hazem Abdelmowla

Posted on January 2, 2026 by fundinmental

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

The Viruses Enigma by Hazem Abdelmowla is one of those books that tempted me with the blurb. Since Covid, books about pandemics always strike a cord with me. Also, to read about a man that will sacrifice much to make the world a better place and to avert another catastrophic pandemic, is a man I want to learn about. What drives him? How much is he willing to give up? How much will be demanded from him? Where will he draw the line?

The Viruses Enigma is deep into the science side of things, while, I am more into the people side of things. I followed a lot of what was happening, how the pandemic had killed millions of people and changed the world. The virus apocalypse delved into the human psyche and the best and the worst of people and one doctor’s drive to stop the next pandemic from killing more. There are those who are for him and those who are against him. It made me think of our reality, when Covid stopped the world.

Another plus to The Viruses Enigma is that Book II, The Last Nuclear War, is already out, so Rami’s story will be told. I vacillated between a 3 and a 4, and when that happens, I round up. I enjoyed the story, but you need both books to get all the answers.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos — 4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

Can an ordinary doctor who cares for his family come up with a new idea that will make us triumph over future viral pandemics?Will he have the courage to go down the road? What’s his success rate at reaching it? What will he do despite the lack of resources?After COVID-19, the world was on a date with a new pandemic that threatens humanity, which may not be the last. Rami, a doctor who works in the capital’s hospital, came up with a new idea that could be a revolution and humanity’s last hope for the treatment of future viral diseases. But it seems that the road is not as expected.

What is the idea? What are the requirements for its implementation, what are the obstacles that he will encounter in the way? What sacrifices does he need to bring it to reality? What is the unknown path he has to take to achieve his childhood dream of saving the world and solving the mystery that has puzzled scientists throughout history?

Genre: Apocalyptic, Dystopian, Fiction, Science Fiction
283 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 31, 2024
Series: Future Novels #1

ABOUT HAZEM ABDELMOWLA

A dental surgeon, an entrepreneur and a writer who simply dreams of a better world.

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Review – The Emotion Collector: Awakening by Richard French #richardfrench #indiepenpress #theemotioncollector

Posted on November 17, 2025 by fundinmental

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

In The Emotional Collector: Awakening by Richard French, we meet Senior Collector Emma Thorne. Emma is the state’s most powerful weapon…until she opens herself up to a four year old’s feelings of love. She has been conditioned to collect feelings, which are considered waste, not to empathize or sympathize. Now she was beginning to question her purpose.

Evan Cross is part of the resistance. These are the kind of characters I find most interesting. They come across as real, fighting against suppression, wearing a white hat. He is immune to the dampening technology. And, of course, anyone that knows me, knows I love a good villain and I was surprised that it was Emma’s mother that surprised me the most.

The state had been updating the dampening technology, increasing the efficiency, causing the planet to die at a faster rate. Emma begins to think that her real purpose was not to destroy the planet, but to save it.

The Emotional Collector made me think of Avatar, how everything was connected. By killing emotions, they were killing the planet.

The state wants to study Emma, and we know what that means…nothing good for her. And…it’s her mother leading the way. She can save the people and the planet, but at what cost to her? Is the Awakening a good thing, or will it doom the planet and everyone on it? Doesn’t really matter because the state had begun Project Terminus and it would permanently cut out human feeling within hours, killing the plane anyway.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from The Emotion Collector, but I loved it. The more characters I met, the more characters there were to love and others to try to understand their motivations. It’s one of those things, just because you can do something, should you?

I love this thought provoking novel. Once I started, I didn’t want to stop. I love novels that surprise me, and I was surprised at the twists and turns that Richard French threw my way.

GOODREADS BLURB

In a world where emotions are harvested as hazardous waste, an elite Collector absorbs a child’s love—and awakens.Senior Collector Emma Thorne is the state’s most precise weapon until a four-year-old’s pure love fractures her conditioning. When her collection field fails on an immune stranger, everything she believes crumbles.

Emma discovers the brutal emotions aren’t waste—they’re living energy linked to planetary health, and the Council’s “peace” is killing the world. Her mother is the architect of suppression. Project Terminus will permanently sever human feeling within hours.

For readers who devoured Delirium and The Giver, but crave the hard science and hope of Nexus.

To save humanity, she must sacrifice everything she is to restore the world’s heart.

Genre: Apocalyptic, Cyberpunk, Dystopian, Fantasy, Fiction, Metaphysical, Science Fiction
393 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication November 17, 2025 by Indie Pen Press

ABOUT RICHARD FRENCH

Website

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Review – The Human Hybrid Odyssey: Primitive Dangers by Kimathi Witt, Aaron McDonald & Kawsu Jatta #kimathiwitt #aaronmcdonald #kawsujatta

Posted on November 12, 2025 by fundinmental

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Primitive Dangers by Kimathi Witt, Aaron McDonald and illustrator Kawsu Jatta is the second book in The Human Hybrid Odyssey. It picks up where Book I left off. They made it through the attack of the giant elk and their journey to the kingdom is almost over.

I have found the creatures are intriguing. I don’t think I have read anything quite like The Human Hybrid Odyssey. The dangers rise, the beasts are more brutal. Can they learn to work together? Can they learn to trust each other?

The books are short and easy to read. I found myself gobbling up the words, having to know what comes next. We definitely see the dark side of the world the authors created. The beasts are savage. Are any of their human qualities left? I’m curious how the authors will bring the story to its conclusion.

My thanks go out to Kimathi Witt, Aarona McDonald and Kawsu Jatta for the opportunity to read The Human Hybrid Odyssey.

AMAZON SYNOPSIS

The hybrids have survived-but the world is only growing more savage.

Deep in the wild, a new era begins as hybrid tribes fracture and ancient powers resurface. Danger lurks in every shadow-primitive beasts, rival factions, and internal divisions threaten to tear them apart from within. What was once instinct is now weaponized. What was once unity is now war.

As trust crumbles and secrets rise from the soil, the journey through deadly terrain becomes a test of loyalty, purpose, and evolution itself. Bonds are broken. Enemies are born. And a deeper, darker truth about their transformation begins to reveal itself.

In Primitive Dangers, Volume 2 of The Human Hybrid Odyssey, the stakes climb higher, the battles grow bloodier, and the line between man and beast fades further into the jungle.

The survival of the hybrid species depends on more than strength-it depends on who they choose to become.

Genre: Apocalyptic, Dystopian, Fiction, Science Fiction
136 pages, Paperback
Published February 22, 2025 by McDonald, Witt and Jatta Ltd
Series: The Human Hybrid Odeyssey #2

MY KIMATHI WITT, AARON MCDONALD & KAWSU JATTA REVIEWS

The Human Hybrid Odyssey: Forever Changed

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Review – Divided States by Bob Thomas #bobthomas #dividedstates

Posted on October 6, 2025 by fundinmental

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

How bad would things have to be for you to want to secede from the union?

The Divided States novel by Bob Thomas supplies food for thought.

David Evans didn’t have a political bone in his body. He was only at the New Year’s Eve event because he could run the audio visual equipment. But, he was the face that was seen when chaos ensued, when states decided they didn’t want to be a part of the United States any more. They wanted their independence, able to choose their own government, their own laws.

A reporter, Jen O’Neil comes knocking at his door, wanting to know more about him. Of course, it’s easy to figure out that a romance may blossom between them.

It makes me wonder, how big is too big? Do individuals get lost in the shuffle and politicians have their own agendas, forgetting who they work for?

I found Divided States by Bob Thomas to be fascinating. It sure is a different way of looking at our government and the current leaders. I remember when the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was dissolved and states broke away, becoming their own countries, in 1991. Why could it not happen to us? Just food for thought.

My thanks to Bob Thomas for the opportunity to read and review Divided States.

GOODREADS BLURB

EMPIRES RISE AND FALL…

What if you lived in a country with an overly restrictive government that used technology to suppress individual freedoms?

When David Evans agreed to help with the technical details of staging a New Year’s Eve event in the small city of Penndelom, PA, he could never have imagined what their fireworks would set off.

Suddenly, David’s world erupts into chaos as the United States breaks into new geographic regions. Is this new found order better than the old?

Together with new-found ally, confident, and more – Jen O’Neil, they work with a charismatic governor, to survive several events that mark the end of one chapter and the beginning of a new one.

DISCOVER HOW ONE SMALL CITY CAN RESHAPE A COUNTRY

Genre: Apocalyptic, Dystopian, Ficiton
274 pages, Paperback
Published June 3, 2025 by Willow River Press

ABOUT BOB THOMAS

A lifelong love of the written word first led Bob to a professional career in communications. During a tenure that began with a small, de novo operation, Bob oversaw all aspects from advertising, web development, and public relations to more technical editorial tasks, but the written word was always the common denominator. Recently, he co-authored a blog, which has been on hiatus the past two years while Bob pursued his early love of fiction and completed his novel Divided States.

Bob and his wife Molly have two adult children, Caitlin and Dylan, which became three with the addition of Dylan’s wife Kelly. Bob and Molly split time between Dallas and Harvey’s Lake in Pennsylvania. He is a graduate of Bucknell University.