Review of Cry of a Valkyrie

[Mercy Bolo]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Cry of a Valkyrie" by C. M. Schrecengost.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Cry of a Valkyrie by C.M. Schrecengost is a work of fiction that follows the life of Meana, a young woman who overcame a troubled childhood and blossomed into a formidable individual.

The author pens a captivating tale detailing Meana’s upbringing at the hands of drug addict parents. As expected, the experience takes a toll on the young Meana, and she can’t wait to free herself from the unintended prison. Although life dealt Meana an unfair hand, she frees herself from the toxic environment by joining the Marines. I wasn’t surprised when Meana jumped at this life-changing opportunity without informing her mother.

What I liked most about the book is that the author unexpectedly introduced social activism. Meana, a Latina woman, recruits her friends to join her in bringing down a corrupt New York politician destroying their community. This new chapter came after a tragic loss for Meana, and I was glad to see her recovery speed up as she channeled her energy toward something productive. The marine-turned-detective storyline livened the plot. It was refreshing to see Meana make some rookie mistakes since she was new to the detective scene. I’m glad the author created a realistic storyline and didn’t present Meana as a know-it-all.

The author includes informative flashbacks of Meana’s life, which come in handy to fill in the gaps in readers’ minds. I empathized with the young Meana as she underwent difficult situations imposed by uncaring guardians. I could see how these challenges built her resilience and forged her into a risk-taker. Although these flashbacks were helpful, I had many questions and would’ve liked to read more about Meana’s childhood. I wondered whether she had any happy memories. The budding romance between Meana and a fellow Marine leaves tongues wagging since the man in question has a bad rap in the female circles. Her holding on to this relationship made me wonder whether it was out of love or a fear of abandonment.

Although the story is captivating and well written, I was disappointed by the many errors in the text. These are missing apostrophes, misspelled words, and usage of the wrong form of verbs. The errors are what I didn’t like about the book. A round of professional editing will iron these out and catapult the writing to the masterpiece it could be. Due to the errors, I will deduct a star and rate the book 3 out of 4 stars. I would recommend the book to lovers of combat stories, lovers of investigative novels, and fans of coming-of-age stories.

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Cry of a Valkyrie
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[Jatto Onimisi]

Indeed, it's fascinating seeing how much a life can change by taking a drastic but important decision. I am not surprised that Meana took on social activism seriously given her upbringing. You have done well with this review.