Hard rock, heavy metal, stoner rock, doom metal-it all dragged itself up out of the swamp called the blues. 

 

As a major fan of the blues, how could I not be aware of Robert Johnson's story? Legend says he sold his soul at the crossroads to play the guitar like that. Maybe he wasn't the only one doing the selling?

WE SOLD OUR SOULS is the story of a band in turmoil, maybe not a great band, but one that affected people. One that got people through the hard times...one that helped them celebrate the good. But when the lead singer decides that this isn't enough for him, he investigates...other avenues. Will the band survive his efforts and appeals to be something greater? Will they survive at all? You'll have to read this to find out!

I loved how the background of each band member was related, but I especially liked the lead character Kris, because she wasn't the stereotypical female protagonist that we so often see. (Well, let's face it-we don't see that many female leads of rock bands, in real life or especially as believable characters in books.) She was bad-ass but she didn't think so-maybe she didn't even realize it. But she was resilient and she kept on keeping on even when there was no chance of success. I think I have my first fictional girl crush.

As the tale progresses, several twists occurred that I didn't foresee at all. I will never look at a UPS truck in the same way again, (and I bet you won't either). I'm sure my mouth dropped a couple of times and it probably wasn't pretty, but hell, I don't care. (I won't even speak about how late last night my Kindle hit me in my face because I was so intent on finishing this story but I just couldn't say awake any longer.) The bruise was worth it!

At the end of each chapter you'll find little tidbits from radio or news broadcasts and some of them won't make sense until later on. I really liked them and they provided background at times, and foreshadowing at others.

Grady Hendrix blipped my radar with his beautiful book PAPERBACKS FROM HELL and since then I've been a big fan. This book, however, this one is truly something special. I rank it right up there with a few other books about bands that I've greatly enjoyed like Robert McCammon's THE FIVE.

At this point, if I haven't won you over I'm probably not going to. However, I will say, if you're a fan of well written, fast paced, dark fiction, and you love Rock & Roll, you will miss the boat by a wide, wide margin if you don't read this book.

My highest recommendation!

Available everywhere on Tuesday, September 18th, but you can pre-order here: https://amzn.to/2xdfoR5

*Thanks to Quirk Books via NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book, in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it.*

The Kunwar Viyogi Memorial Trust situated in Jammu, hometown of Dogra community, that works for the preservance and promotion of Dogri culture was established in the memory of Group Captain Randhir Singh, popularly known as `Kunwar Viyogi’ in literary circles.  For the dogri culture to survive, the language must be preserved first. The trust believes that language can be saved only if the youth accepts it, the younger generation can easily connect to today’s technological inventions  therefore the trust came up with a way to grab the attention of the youth, they have launched an application first of it’s kind, a dogri dictionary app by the name of Discover Dogri which also promotes dogri music

Discover Dogri App

Technological inventions are must for advancement of any initiative in today’s world. KVM trust works to help people understand the dogri language better, their application developed by the name of Discover Dogri, the app helps it’s users understand dogri language better, it has a rich dogri dictionary having both english and hindi translations of words, it also contains translated Hindi and English forms of some Dogri sentences.

As the name  suggests, the app lets it’s users discover dogri music and videos.

Dogri Music

Dogri music is still famous among the Dogra people, it is still played at cultural gatherings in the Dogra community, but soon it will disappear, the youth is unaware of the dogri rhythms,  people have forgotten the importance of inculcating the interest  of traditional and regional songs among their children, the importance of dogri music is getting diminished with time. The discover dogri app makes available the works of various reknowned  ghazal singers and dogra music for it’s users.       

by Mary Sharratt

Near the turn of the 19th century, Alma Schindler yearns to make her mark as a composer. Female composers are unknown at the time, though new possibilities for women are opening up. She marries Gustav Mahler, who insists she give up her music as a condition of their marriage.

I liked the writing voice on this one right away. Alma had such enthusiasm that I wanted to see her achieve her dream from the start. The story takes us through her life as a young girl, her first love and her relationship with her various family members, but especially with her music.

It's not all upbeat though. Alma sacrifices a lot for her marriage and it's inevitable that she will question her decisions as time goes on. Mahler himself is a challenge to deal with and it was an era when women were expected to suppress their own needs and be supportive of a husband. Alma is a naturally passionate and creative person and this state of affairs can only clash with her natural inclinations.

I enjoyed reading this, despite the unhappy parts. The narrative kept my attention, even if at times I wanted to shake Alma and tell her she was making some bad decisions.

The historical note at the end was as interesting as the story itself. Alma was a woman ahead of her time, though her unfaithfulness in her marriages would bring a lot of criticism. She weathered some difficult times and gave her love to some of the top composers of her time. Some of her own compositions can be found on YouTube and I couldn't resist having a listen after reading this story. I found her 5 Lieder for voice and piano pretty amazing and can only imagine that if her music had been supported earlier in her life that she might have been recognised in history as one of the great composers herself, rather than just a shadow of her husband's accomplishments.

"Bone Music" is original, well-written, emotionally engaging and very very threatening. It is all the things I want in a thriller but I can't continue with it.


I was only 11% through this book when I set it aside, intending to get back to it when my mood lifted. That was three months ago and I haven't been able to bring myself back to it.


I suspect that this will end up being a popular series with a remarkable heroine. The obstacle for me is that I'm at a point in the story where a woman who has survived childhood abduction and abuse, commercial exploitation by her father and all the nastiness associated with public notoriety in this peck-me-to-death-on-Twitter threaten-me-on-Instagram age and who has gone on to build a safe space for herself, is about to have that space violated with the help of those who should be protecting her.


It's a series. She's the main character. So she must survive this also. At the 20% mark, there must be a twist that sets her on a new path.


The problem is that this mindset, this careful planning of violation and destruction, revolts me. It's too real. Too common. I don't want it in my head, especially when it's placed there by someone who writes as well as Christopher Rice.


I'm reluctantly adding this to my DNF pile. The good thing is that it's taught me that there are some plot devices that I need to avoid. I'll take a look at Christopher Rice's other books and see if there is something there that will allow me to enjoy his obvious talent.