nonfiction - No Apology Book Reviews

Review Roundup Fall 2025 – Part 2

November 10, 2025

A roundup of several smaller reviews I wrote in Fall 2025. Beware of spoilers! Title: Dead Wrong Author: Kate Allenton Series: Cree Blue Psychic Eye Mystery #1 Not great. Very simplistic and superficial storytelling. Too short to include much detail or character development. The MC, Cree*, is more foolishly headstrong than spunky, and waaayyy overpowered: clairvoyant, psychometric, knows when people are lying, and she can see and communicate with ghosts? She must also be rich, because she’s entirely unbothered by the …

7 Figure Fiction by T. Taylor

October 26, 2025

Title: 7 Figure Fiction: How to Use Universal Fantasy to Sell Your Books to Anyone Author: T. Taylor Series: Universal Fantasy #1 First, I blinked the sales-pitch dazzle out of my eyes. Second, I sneered at and moved past the fact that this entire book is a humble brag. Third, I processed. And processed. And processed. And finally made sense of this mess of a book. Universal Fantasy is real. Taylor just does the worst job of explaining what it …

Interview with Nina Willner (The Boys in the Light)

September 19, 2025

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper The Boys in the Light by Nina Willner reads like a novel. This non-fiction book is a story of love, family, devotion, loyalty, courage, and the ultimate triumph of good over evil. Eddie, the author’s father, enjoyed the life of growing up in a middle-class neighborhood in Germany, until the Nazis came to power where he and his family experienced growing antisemitism. Eventually Eddie and his father, Siegfried, a WWI hero, were sent to …

Interview with Christine Brennan (On Her Game)

August 15, 2025

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper On Her Game by Christine Brennan is a portrait of sports phenomenon Caitlin Clark. Brennan has been at the forefront of women’s sports and has been selected multiple times as one of the country’s top sports columnists. Readers will understand why she is a renowned journalist and commentator because she asks tough questions and uses facts for her answers. The book mainly chronicles Clark’s 2024 WNBA rookie season with the Indiana Fever. It follows …

Interview with Todd S. Purdum (Desi Arnaz: The Man Who Invented Television)

July 4, 2025

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Desi Arnaz: The Man Who Invented Television by Todd S Purdum is a captivating biography. The book shows how he was a trailblazing Cuban American who helped to revolutionize television and its technology. Readers will learn about Desi’s personal and professional life including his family, the famous TV show I Love Lucy, and the studios. Desi Arnaz is presented as a conflicted person. As a child his family went from being very affluent to …

Interview with Jeremy D. Baker (The Guilty Sleep) and James Donovan (Nothing but Courage)

May 23, 2025

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Below is an interview with two authors who served in the military. They discussed their books, one a novel, The Guilty Sleep by Baker, and the other a non-fiction, Nothing but Courage by Donovan, as well as what Memorial Day means to them and how they incorporated their experiences into their books. The Guilty Sleep by Jeremy D. Baker is a riveting novel. Although this book reflects on Baker’s past experiences, both professional, militarily, …

Interview with Scott Howard-Cooper (Kingdom on Fire)

April 6, 2024

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Kingdom on Fire by Scott Howard-Cooper is a wonderful book to read during March Madness. College basketball has changed over the years, but not for the better with the days of selfish players, and defense being a strategy of the past. This is why this book is so relevant today because it shows how the game used to be played and what is missing in basketball today. The unlikely trio of John Wooden, Kareem …

Interview with Brad Meltzer (The Nazi Conspiracy)

January 20, 2023

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper The Nazi Conspiracy by Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch dives into the 1943 Nazi assassination threat against the Big Three world leaders. As the war against Nazi Germany raged abroad, President Franklin Roosevelt had a critical goal: a face-to-face sit-down with his allies Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill. This first-ever meeting of the Big Three in Tehran, Iran, would decide some of the most crucial strategic details of the war. Yet when the Nazis …