Freedom Quest – A Love Story by Debora Masterson

June 12, 2026 By Leave a Comment


Freedom Quest – A Love Story by Debora Masterson
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Genre: Romance, Historical, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

FREEDOM QUEST: A Love Story follows Michael Griffin, a gifted musician whose journey through the Southern California music scene of the 1960s-80s becomes a cautionary tale about artistic integrity, the pursuit of stardom, and the cost of chasing dreams. From backing up strippers in North Beach, San Francisco, to nearly landing a Capitol Records deal, from fronting his band Freedom Quest to losing the love of his life, Grace, Michael’s story captures the raw reality of what it means to live and breathe music.

Their story begins in 1965, when an instant spark ignites between them in a San Fernando Valley music shop. As Michael chases his musical destiny amid the counterculture revolution, Grace becomes his anchor, his muse—and the love he can’t live without. But the struggle between artistic integrity and commercial success, betrayal, and the chaos of the times tear them apart, sending each down separate and often harrowing paths of self-discovery.

FREEDOM QUEST is a sweeping and emotional odyssey. A love story that survives separation, success, failure, and illness and reveals the redemptive power of music. At its heart lies a timeless truth that true love does exist.

True love is eternal.

I adored Ms. Masterson’s creative approach to the second chance romance trope. Micheal and Grace were young lovers who never quite got over each other even after life pulled them in wildly different directions. It was engrossing to see where they both ended up and how their paths continued to cross years after their first relationship disintegrated. The conflicts that kept them apart were realistic and understandable, but I also liked how nostalgic these characters were about those years and how much they wished that things had turned out better.

There were times when I wished for more character development in this book. Michael’s life was filled with romance, adventure, and, in some phases, deep trauma, and I kept hoping he’d go into more detail about how they influenced him not only in those particular moments but also decades later as he began reflecting on what he had and hadn’t accomplished. While I still wish his innermost thoughts had been given more time to shine, the author’s note after the final chapter softened my opinion on this. I highly recommend taking a moment to look back at some of those scenes with a fresh perspective after reading it as it does put certain plot twists in a new light!

The ending was what made this tale so memorable in my opinion. Kudos to the author for being willing to take risks with this genre that stayed true to both her characters as well as to the decades-long journeys they’d just undertaken. This sort of writing that stretches the boundaries of what love could look like and how it can transform a character’s life no matter how many plot twists have already appeared is why I continue to include romance in the types of books I read.

I didn’t want Freedom Quest – A Love Story to end. It was beautiful.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , , ,

Alteration by Claire Ibarra

May 5, 2026 By 1 Comment


Alteration by Claire Ibarra
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Genre: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Margaret is an acclaimed fashion designer, devoted mother, keeper of order and elegance in a city that never slows. But one morning, she simply doesn’t get out of bed. She has the startling discovery that here, within her quilted sanctuary, life feels gentler, truer, and more alive.

What begins as a quiet rebellion becomes a daring experiment in stillness. From her antique four-poster bed, Margaret receives a parade of visitors – among them are her free-spirited best friend, fretful daughter, young neighbor, and even the echo of her late husband. As secrets and old wounds surface, she begins to confront painful truths.

With wit, wonder, and a sharp eye for the absurd, Alteration invites us to ask what happens when we stop merely performing and begin fully living — one unexpected revelation at a time.

Nothing can remain hidden forever.

Margaret was a multi-faceted character who evoked all kinds of conflicting emotions in me as I read about her. Sometimes her stubbornness irritated me while in other scenes I was gently surprised by how thoughtfully she approached the world around her. This was even more true when her definition of the world shrank to not only her apartment but eventually to her bedroom and nothing more.

I would have liked to see a stronger explanation for why the protagonist decided to spend all of her time in bed when this tale began. Honestly, I was expecting her to grapple with more conflict during her time there, so the list of what she was attempting to figure out never quite felt large enough to justify this choice for me. While they were no doubt important to her, I did find myself wishing that either more time had been spent exploring them or that she could have revealed a few additional things she was wrestling with that would help to explain her sudden withdrawal from the world. This was amplified by the fact that that this was set in late 2019 and early 2020, just before the Covid-19 pandemic spread widely enough that many cities began to shut down non-essential businesses and services temporarily.

The mystery was barely even a whisper in the beginning which made the gradual revelation of what it was and why it haunted Margaret so much even more appealing to me. I especially appreciated the later passages that showed what happened when she tried to discuss this topic with the authorities. It was definitely not a typical conversation, especially for this genre, and it illuminated not only the character flaws in the people participating in it but also some of the flaws of American culture when it comes to how justice is pursued and how people react to information that conflicts with their assumptions about how the world works. This is really all I can say on that topic without sharing spoilers, but it was thought provoking and one of the best scenes in this book in my opinion.

Alteration has piqued my curiosity about this author’s work, and I hope to read more of it soon.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Next in Line by T.W. Baker

January 23, 2026 By Leave a Comment


Next in Line by T.W. Baker
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Genre: Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Welcome to Mortar and Pestle RX, where prescriptions are filled, patience is tested, and absolutely nothing goes according to plan.

Meet Mic, Janice, Monika, Bronco, and Sammy—five pharmacy employees held together by caffeine, sarcasm, and the thinnest thread of professionalism. Whether they’re dodging irate customers, surviving corporate chaos, or staging passive-aggressive Post-it note wars, this band of lovable misfits is just trying to make it to closing time without strangling each other.

A sharp-witted satire of customer service culture and workplace dysfunction, Next in Line is for anyone who’s ever worked retail, waited in line too long, or wondered if the pharmacist was secretly judging them (spoiler: they were).

Sometimes irritation is a gift.

The most memorable scenes were the ones that described how the pharmacy crew bonded over their hectic and occasionally wacky workplace. Having warm and strong relationships with coworkers can make this type of often low-paid, unappreciated job so much easier on an employee’s mental health. There is nothing like an inside joke or a friendly offer to help clean up a customer’s mess to soothe the soul, so I nodded along as all of the main characters gelled together and faced the best and the worst of what they were about to experience as a close-knit team.

I struggled with the repetition, especially given the limited character development. Many chapters seemed to follow a similar pattern of introducing a new customer who had a troubling habit or personality trait and then explaining why he or she behaved that way. It would have been more meaningful for me to meet a few memorable customers and then gradually learn their difficult backstories as the pharmacy employees interacted with them over weeks or months. This is something I’m saying a reader who adored the concept of this tale and would have loved to give it a full five-star rating.

However, this captured the frustration, drudgery, and occasional joy of working in the customer service industry beautifully. People are fascinating and there is so much more to learn about humanity by observing folks when they’re impatient, in pain, frightened, bored, or otherwise not functioning as they normally might on a better day for them. This is a topic I wish was covered much more regularly in fiction as there are so many opportunities waiting for clerk and customer like to grow as individuals when characters are forced to serve a long line or to wait in one.

Next in Line has piqued my interest about what this author will write next.

Filed Under: Mainstream Fiction, Other, Reviews Tagged With: , , ,

Wake Up by Alejandro Marron

June 17, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Wake Up by Alejandro Marron
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary, Historical
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

“I get the feeling I am not real,” said Vlad.

“You are not. You are my dream.”

Vlad is a graphic designer for an IT start-up company in Denver. One night, he has a dream that reveals to him that he is not real, and the individual he meets in this alternate dimension, his creator, takes Vlad on a voyage through the annals of history. From the Belgian Congo, The Blitz, and The Crusades, to The Vietnam War, Ali vs Frazier, and the birth of a musical revolution, the dream is about to end, and with it, so too will Vlad’s existence.

It is a quick acting and capable formula, which implies that canadian pharmacy cialis find for info you will begin having impact in 10-30 minutes after ingestion. These last a week, a month, and over a month, cialis for sale canada respectively. So do not worry about levitra without prescription devensec.com feeling embarrass. Beyond medication, you will find best generic tadalafil a diabetes diet is a good idea. Alejandro Marron’s Wake Up is a psychological, sci-fi, and philosophical petri dish that poses the ever-lasting inquiries of why are we here, where were we before, and when will this end?

And, of course, is it all just a dream?

A dream can last a moment or an entire lifetime.

This entire book had a dreamlike quality to it. Vlad floated from scene to scene while not always being terribly concerned about how he moved between settings so rapidly. It fit the themes of this novel nicely, especially once Vlad relaxed into the experience and followed his creator to a wide variety of places. I was often surprised by where they ended up next and couldn’t help but to wonder how it would all be resolved by the final scene.

With that being said, I did have trouble following the storyline due to the style in which it was written. There were multiple times when this lack of transitions between scenes and minimal plot development made it hard for me to piece together what just happened. This was a creative take on the speculative fiction genre, but it would have been easier for me to read if the narrator had followed a few more conventions of storytelling and explained the stuff he wanted to play around with more thoroughly.

The ending was satisfying and fit into the storyline well. I appreciated the way it tied up the most important loose ends while still leaving some unanswered questions for the audience to ponder. Given how often Vlad was expected to wait for answers to even his biggest questions earlier on, this made sense. If the author ever decides to write a sequel, there’s certainly room for one here.

If you like experimental science fiction, Wake Up could be a good pick for the summer.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , ,