This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
M.E. Strautmanis, short for Mary Ellen, grew up on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. She is a graduate of St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia, Canada, and the New York School of Interior Design in New York City. After eight years of design work in Toronto, M.E. relocated with her growing family to Soho, New York, and has lived there since.
M.E. is a voracious reader, a lover of the written and spoken word, a word puzzle enthusiast, and a born storyteller. She believes everyone has a story. Her six children were her first audience for her stories, both real and imaginary.
M.E. has volunteered in New York City schools, fund-raised, advocated for early childhood literacy, instituted after-school programs, and opened her home to youth in crisis. She believes strongly in community involvement, the adage that it takes a village, and family is not just the people to whom we are related but all the people with whom we interact.
Reviewed by Keith Mbuya for Readers' Favorite
Cassiopeia, aka Pia, and her friend Samsara had just graduated from the University of New York when they decide to go on vacation to Vieques Island. While on the island, Pia experiences strange events that she can’t explain. Apart from having the same dreams as her friend, Pia has visions and her body seems to be healing unnaturally fast from deep cuts. Things get even crazier for Pia when she flies back to New York City. First, it’s her on-time arrival for her new job interview at the office of the Chief Medical Examiner of New York City, despite being on a delayed flight from Vieques Island. Then follows a series of visions of the dead strangers she meets at the morgue – her workplace. It then dawns on Pia that she can go back in time and alter future events. What will Pia do with her discovery? Find out more in M. E. Strautmanis’ Reverse Ripples.
M. E. Strautmanis’ Reverse Ripples will appeal to lovers of time travel novels laced with romance, fate, destiny, friendship, love, and choices. Strautmanis weaves suspense and adventure into the storyline. She brings the Island of Vieques and New York City to life with vivid descriptions. Her attention to the smallest of details coupled with the first-person perspective for the narration gives the book the feel of a memoir. The plot twists were startling as I never saw them coming. Strautmanis writes with remarkable depth, which allowed me to experience the cast’s emotions. I could feel the undeniably strong chemistry between Pia and Samsara. Each character was well-crafted and endowed with complex qualities. It was interesting how Pia and Samsara were so different yet became the best of friends. While Pia is inquisitive and always seeking logical explanations and solutions for problems, Samsara seemed content with knowing little or nothing at all.
