Pages & Paws

Writing, Reading, and Rural Life With a Border Collie

Monthly Archives: May 2026


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Why ‘The Colonel’s Revenge’ Will Make Your Mom Forget Dinner Time

The Colonel’s Revenge

A Mateus de Silva Adventure (Koehlerbooks, 2026)

By Jeffrey K. Schmoll

Genre: Fiction – Action/Adventure

Pages (Print): 252

Via: Author’s request

Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book for an honest review.

“Revenge is a dish best served cold” – Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

So. You may want to break out your winter gear and an extra blankie for the newest action/adventure book by Jeffrey Schmoll. Cuz we’re talkin’ Edmond Dantes-esque revenge here as expert writing, pitch-perfect pacing and a lightning-fast plot race across pages and places like a runaway freight train in The Colonel’s Revenge.

Yeppers, this story has it all. Unusual settings: Angola, Namibia and South Africa. Friends lost on the battlefield. Diamonds, gems, treasure. A desperate fight for survival in a brutal, illegal gold mine. Losing a family. Finding a grandson. Love. Loyalty. Betrayal. Second chances. And enough high-octane adventure to send you into orbit. I’ll let Mom tell ya more. (Cuz, ya know. Mom. Insert eye roll here.)

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Let’s Lose “Happy” Memorial Day

Yo!

Kimber the Magnificent here. Giving you a little heads up. Cuz The ‘Ole Curmudgeon is being an old curmudgeon today. Again. Still. It has to do with this holiday thingy today. I’ll let TOC fill ya in:

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Ordinary People, Extraordinary Impact: How ‘Kindness Heroes’ Ignites Hope

You gonna eat that?

Kimber here. Saying you might want to stock up on tissue before tackling one of the best non-fiction books we’ve read all year. It’s Jackie Kurtz’s Kindness Heroes: Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things. Cuz we just finished it. And Mom is doing that sniffly, sparkly-eyed thing. Again. Cuz, ya know. Mom. (Insert eye roll here.)

We received a complimentary copy of this book for honest review.

I’ll let Mom tell ya more:

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Deck the Halls with Deadly Secrets in This Seasonal Whodunit

The Christie’s: A Christmas Murder 1984

By Daryl Smith (Indie author, 2026)

Genre: Fiction/Murder Mystery/Christian Fiction

Pages: (print): 148

Via: Author Request

Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book for honest review.

It’s Christmastime in 1984 Dearborn, Michigan. High Schooler James Christie is attending a Christmas Eve party. Ex-San Francisco detective/ace private investigator Johnny Wong is also attending the party at the Christie mansion. It’s a good thing the detective is in attendance. Because when industrial magnate and family patriarch David Christie falls dead at said party shortly after changing his will, the hunt for the killer is on in this faith-flavored seasonal whodunit.

There’s also superstition. Strange things that go bump in the night. The Christie family curse. Missing pictures. The Third Army. Suicide. Microchips and Silicon Valley. A gold pen. An ancient pact.

This book moves well and is an interesting read. It’s packed with plenty of misdirections, red herrings, and clever clues. It’s a good effort. The cover art is terrif! But it’s not yet ready for prime time. Here’s why:

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The Issue With “The”

Her Royal Momness and I were cruising literary headlines the other day. Several asked stuff like:

Psst! Throwin’ this in for free: I’M The Best, okay?
  • What’s the most emotional book you ever read?”
  • What’s the funniest book you ever read?
  • What’s the saddest book you ever read?”
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Better Than Bacon: 16 Ways to Download Books for Free

Someone say “bacon”?

Oh boy! Oh Boy! Oh boy! Today we’re highlighting two of my favorite words: FREE and BOOK! No. Really. This list includes 16 apps and websites where you either create a free account to download books for free, can download unlimited audio and ebooks free for a limited time, or just read for free, period. Hi, Libby. 

Sound good? Great! Grab the nearest fork and let’s dive in:

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3 Surprising Packages of Hope

Kimber here. I bet you think Her Crankiness is… 100% cranky, right? So do I. (Don’t tell Mom, okay? Let’s just keep this our little secret.)


But every once in a while Mom surprises me. Not that I’m surprise-able. But …


Wait. Where was I?



Oh yeah. Mom and I read a trio of books recently that were … surprising. They were quite different from each other, too. Think dogs and cats. (Well, okay. Maybe not cats. But you get the picture.)


Anyway, the first book is a delightful Christian romance from Kim Vogel Sawyer. The second is a non-fiction “travel tome with a twist” from Joseph F. Smith, M.D. There’s also an historical fiction novel by Kristin Hannah.


All get an Official Thumbs Up from Her Crankiness. Here’s why (short version):


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