Slivers: Chiseled Poetry & Dead of Winter-BOOK REVIEWS

On By Baydreamer - Lauren ScottIn Book Reviews

Slivers: Chiseled Poetry by Balroop Singh is an enchanting collection of micro-poetry inspired by haiku, tanka, and senryu, also including acrostic poems. Nature, love, and life itself have inspired the growth of these poetic blossoms. Balroop reveals her graceful way of stringing words together, forming vivid images for the reader, inciting a myriad of emotions.

What I find noteworthy is her admission of thinking these forms would be too simple to write, therefore, her interest had waned. But when she met the challenge, she realized the task was anything but uncomplicated. And she met the challenge flawlessly. As I turned each page, more favorites appeared, too many to list, but here are a couple that resonated:

clasping trees beam/in the misty morning breeze/a glorious sight

These lines evoke backpacking memories of waking up in the morning in our wilderness home, greeting the majestic trees.

I heard melodies/of crescent moon that hung above/Darkness melted with the lilting sound/that merged in the symphony of sun/I chose life.

In this poem, I am reminded that our lives are not without strife but hope always prevails. Life is so much bigger and glorious than we realize.

Through Balroop’s magical word-weaving, she expresses the gift of surrounding beauty not to be taken for granted. She reiterates that we should persevere through the darkness because the light will shine again, and a heart that finds the deepest of love is a heart of gratitude. An exquisite poetry collection to be treasured and read over and over again. Highly recommended!

DEAD OF WINTER Journey 1-4 by Teagan Riordain Geneviene begins with Journey 1 in the first of a series that continues in monthly novellas. I have only recently begun reading the fantasy genre. But many wonderful authors have enticed me into their fantastical worlds of writing, and Teagan Riordain Geneviene is one of them. I was easily pulled into Emlyn’s world, the main character who is only twelve years old. A world with its restrictions appearing seemingly true to life for many.

Emlyn’s story starts in the Flowing Lands at Forlorn Peak, but her life is not all giggles of a twelve-year-old for she lives with a secret only her teacher, Osabide, is privy to. Emlyn can see spirits, but the controlling radical society called The Brethren view her as a disgrace. Because of this, her tale is one of mystery and suspense, of her trying to find her way, discerning who she can trust and who she must run from. Additionally, she keeps hearing the words, “Winter is Coming” which places the reader in a nail-biting position of mystery, wondering what those three words indicate.

Teagan’s writing is so compelling that the readers are invited into feeling emotions of love, acceptance, fear, and oppression, to name a few. This series is captivating with wonderful world-building, a well-developed setting, and characters that either charm or get under your skin. I have enjoyed the unfolding story through Journey 4, and I look forward to continuing the journeys to follow. If you appreciate great fantasy novels, or even if fantasy is not your go-to genre, I encourage you to give Teagan’s series a try. I highly recommend “Dead of Winter” for all readers!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you’ll add these books to your libraries – simply click Buy on Amazon. For Teagan’s books, the link in this post is for Journey 1, but you’ll easily find the books to follow. Happy Reading!

Lauren ❤️

48 thoughts on “Slivers: Chiseled Poetry & Dead of Winter-BOOK REVIEWS”

  3. Wow! What a pleasant surprise Lauren! Thank you for an insightful review of my latest poetry book. It was not an easy book, as I had many doubts about the forms and formatting was a bigger challenge. I am delighted to hear that you enjoyed reading it. ❤️🤗

    1. I’m glad you liked my review, Balroop, and I wish you much success with your beautiful book! I also think it’s great that you persevered through your doubts. A valuable lesson for all. 🤗 💞

    2. Thanks, Balroop. I admire your poetic talent. With Dead of Winter I found myself with the challenge of needing to create an ancient nursery song… I have absolutely no talent for poetry at all. Seriously, I’m awful with it. So I blush and hope people take that part as a clue to the mysteries (which it is). LOL. I look forward to reading your collection of poems. Hugs.

  5. Lauren, you treasure! What an unexpected delight to kickoff my week. I’m honored.
    I actually love that you’ve posted this after the series has gone further — because I hope that encourages people to go ahead and start at the beginning.
    I’m psyched! You’ve encouraged me to work like a fiend today to try and get back on schedule with the September issue. Sharing all around. Hugs on the wing!

    1. Unfortunately, I can’t read and keep up as fast as you can write, Teagan! 🙂 But I loved your books and look forward to reading further. I’m glad you liked my review and I hope others who haven’t already will dive into the journeys as well. Hugs back! 💗

      1. I’m not a quick reader at all, so believe me, I understand. If it makes you feel any better, Dead of Winter is mostly an editing project for me, since I wrote it in 2010. I’m only adding a little new content.
        One new scene is a prologue I wrote yesterday for Journey 9. Take good care of you. ❤

      2. Thanks for understanding, and that is interesting to know that you began the “journey” over a decade ago. It makes me think of the children’s book that is nudging me to edit and finish, one that I started 2 decades ago when my kids were little. So, I think that will be my next project and a first for me as far as fiction is concerned (but based on real-life). I don’t know if you’ve read my books, but my third one is about to come into the real world. I’m so excited because it’s a little different, poetry and short memoirs. Anyway, it’s always a good feeling to reach that finish line, isn’t it? I’ll visit Amazon soon to purchase another batch of the journey. Take care, too! 💕

      3. Oh! Congratulations on the upcoming book! I have trouble keeping up with everyone, but please let me know when you launch it. I’d be happy to share.
        If I’ve inspired you to take a book off the shelf and finish, then I’m thrilled. I know how hard it can be to finish something that has part of the real life self in it. I’ve worked on “Wheel of Fortune” for two years, and the personal aspect was just too much for me. Even so, I hope to finish it one day. 🙂

      4. Thanks for the offer to share, Teagan. I’ll let you know and I appreciate your support. Yes, you have inspired me! In fact, I opened up the doc yesterday and worked on it. 🙂 I hope you are able to finish your “Wheel of Fortune” too. Some things just take a little longer to come to fruition. Have a good day. Hugs 💗

  6. Pingback: Dead of Winter-BOOK REVIEWS — from Baydreamer – Teagan's Books

  7. Lauren, thank you for your two beautiful reviews written with skill and warmth. I love how you have embraced Balroop’s poetry and shared snippets of your own life which you recalled upon reading some of her work. Oh, you’ve seriously tempted me with the review about Teagan’s DEAD OF WINTER. The story sounds tantalising and I just have to get my head around the monthly novellas and how that works on Amazon!

    1. Thanks for your lovely comment, Annika! Balroop’s book is one I will enjoy again and again. And I hope you do dive into Teagan’s series – an enticing story for all who love mystery and suspense, especially in a fantasy world. I’m sure you would enjoy too! She has since written more novellas, so I have some catching up to do. Not enough hours in the day, as they say. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by. 💞

    2. Thank you kindly Annika. I wrote the epic in 2010 but (for reasons explained in the preface of the first “Journey”) I left it on the shelf until this year. I finally decided to revise it into novelette-sized volumes, and to publish those monthly. (The manuscript was over 800 pages.) That’s good for people who don’t have much time for reading, AND for those who like to read more than one book at a time.
      If you meant the technical details of how that works, Amazon makes it easy to put books into a series. The process is fairly self-explanatory when you get started. So, just as if I was publishing an ordinary novel, I do one of these a month.
      I’m off to a virtual healthcare appointment now. Hugs on the wing!

      1. Teagan, many thanks for explaining it all so clearly and as you say there are a lot of advantages. It reminds me of how many author, including Dickens, whose books tarted off serialised in a magazine.

        I’ve just bought the first instalment and look forward to reading it! Hope all goes well with your appointment. xx

  8. Lovely reviews, Laurie. I’ve read some of Balroop’s poems on her blog and on other people’s blogs, and love those and your examples. And I have long been a fan of Teagan’s writing and have been following her serial Dead of Winter from the beginning, and I couldn’t agree more. Stay safe!

    1. Hi Olga, thanks so much for stopping by and for your beautiful words. I’m sure you would love Balroop’s book, and I appreciate the endorsement for Teagan’s Dead of Winter series, too. I need to catch up on the series, but I’m definitely hooked. Thank you again and take care. ❤️

  9. Excellent reviews, Lauren. I enjoy Balroop’s poetry too, and have found too that the forms grow on you as you try to find just the right words, and so few, to convey something deeper than the whole. And Teagan’s journeys are great fun. I’ve been reviewing them individually, but like your combined review as I tend to read them in batches. Congrats to Balroop and Teagan on the lovely reviews. 😀

    1. Thanks, Diana. I’m glad you liked the reviews and share the same thoughts about Balroop’s poetry and Teagan’s journeys. I need to order another batch! 🙂 And between the both of you, I have all the fantasy reading I need.
      Thanks again for your kind words. 💕

  10. Hi Lauren, these are lovely reviews of Slivers and Teagan’s first 4 journey’s. I am looking forward to reading Balroop’s book and have Teagan’s Journey’s 6, 7 and 8 waiting patiently on my kindle.

    2. Thanks so much, Robbie. I have ordered a few more “Journeys” and can’t wait to catch up a little. 🙂 I look forward to reading “Behind Closed Doors” too. Thanks for stopping by. ❤️

    2. It’s great to meet you Owl. I hope you love the journeys. I generally describe them as being for ages 13 and up. It’s more of a fantasy story with ghosts than a ghost story. Not too heavy on the “sword & sorcery” element, but lots of characters and places. @v@ Hugs on owl wings!

  13. Nice review, Lauren.

    Both books seem wonderful. Balroop is a very inspirational writer, from what I’ve read and what you’ve said.
    I’m actually reading “Dead of Winter” I’m on the 3rd book. It’s wonderful, for sure. Teagan’s imagination is a rich vein within a mother lode.
    Thank You, and be well, Lauren!

    1. Thanks, Resa! I’m glad you enjoyed the reviews, and you said it well about Balroop and Teagan. I’ll never catch up with Teagan, but I’m enjoying the “journey.”
      I appreciate you stopping by and wish you a great rest of your weekend! 💗

    1. Hi Robbie, I’m not sure how that works because this post is from August, but I’m glad you liked the reviews. My blog break has begun that I posted about yesterday, but I’m replying to comments. By the way, thanks for following me and I thought you already did, but then I realized this is from your other blog. 🙂 Anyway, thanks for your wishes and wishing you a wonderful holiday, too. See you in the new year. 💕

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