CITIES OF THE DEAD – The World’s Most Beautiful Cemeteries by YOLANDA ZAPPATERRA is due for Release on September 26th – Check out some of the amazing photographs HERE

Title: CITIES OF THE DEAD

Subtitle: The World’s Most Beautiful Cemeteries 

Author: YOLANDA ZAPPATERRA

Release Date: SEPTEMBER 26, 2022

Genre: NON-FICTION, PHOTOGRAPHY, CEMETERIES, HISTORY, TRAVEL

Number Of Pages: 240

Received From: NETGALLEY

ISBN: 978-0-711265783 

Rating: 5 OUT OF 5 STARS  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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DESCRIPTION:

Discover the fascinating stories of the world’s most beautiful cemeteries, featuring spectacular photography, unique histories and famous residents.

Cities of the Dead takes us on a tour of memorial sites, ranging from monastic settlements to grand cathedrals, Shinto shrines to Gothic chapels, tombs and crypts. Enjoy tales of myths and monsters, grave-robbers, pilgrimages, spiritual retreats, remembrance and community. Marvel in cemeteries with a hundred thousand to a handful of graves which feature famous headstones, weeping angels, ocean views, woodlands, thousands of glowing lanterns and a tomb of poets.

From London’s famous Highgate Cemetery, which houses famous names from Karl Marx to Malcolm McLaren, George Eliot to Christina Rosetti, to Hawaii’s breathtaking Valley of the Temples, this book spans the globe to bring you the most fascinating, intriguing and evocative cemeteries across cultures and continents.

Together with evocative images, the stories behind these notable burial sites bring these sanctuaries to life, detailing the features that make them special, highlighting both similarities and differences between time periods, religions and cultures, and showing how cemeteries are about and for the living as much as the dead.

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MY REVIEW:

This stunningly gorgeous book is now available and I can’t wait to receive a hardcopy of it. I received an advance ebook of CITIES OF THE DEAD to read and review. The result? Well, I have now added many of the graveyards shown in this book to my Bucket List of places I want to visit before I join the Cities of the Dead permanently.

The photographs are beautiful and perfectly described so that readers cannot fail to see the radiance and magnificence of the various monuments to the dead.

CITIES OF THE DEAD: The World’s Most Beautiful Cemeteries by YOLANDA ZAPPATERRA illustrates the fact that beauty and even tranquility can be found in the most unexpected of places.

Readers of this book will quickly realize that burial monuments exist for the living as much, if not more than as a way to honor the dead.

One of the things that struck me were the similarities between cemeteries all over the world, a fact that demonstrates that people everywhere have much more in common with residents of other countries than they might have originally thought. 

This magnificent book deserves a rating of 5 out of 5 Stars ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Although the digital version of this book is lovely, I highly recommend pre-ordering it’s print version. I have already pre-ordered my copy and I am excited to be able to hold this exquisite book in my hands.

*** Thank you to #NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book. ***

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PREVIEW AVAILABLE BY CLICKING HERE

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 

To learn about this author visit the following links:

OFFICIAL WEBSITE 
http://t.co/PYzHFoxT

GOODREADS
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/685575.Yolanda_Zappaterra

TRAVEL WEEKLY
http://travelweekly.co.uk/articles/author/216  

LINKEDIN
https://www.linkedin.com/in/yolanda-zappaterra-41082027

TWITTER 
https://mobile.twitter.com/yzappaterra

QUARTO KNOWS
https://www2.quartoknows.com/authors/2867/Yolanda-Zappaterra

THE INDEPENDENT
https://www.independent.co.uk/author/yolanda-zappaterra

INSTAGRAM 
https://www.instagram.com/yolzappa

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ABOUT THE PUBLISHER:

The Leading Global Illustrated Book Publisher

The Quarto Group creates a wide variety of books and intellectual property products, with a mission to inspire life’s experiences. Produced in many formats for adults, children, and the whole family, our products are visually appealing, information rich, and stimulating.

The Group encompasses a diverse portfolio of imprints and businesses that are creatively independent and expert in developing long-lasting content across specific niches of interest.

Quarto sells and distributes its products globally in over 50 countries and 40 languages, through a variety of sales channels, partnerships, and routes to market.

Quarto employs c. 300 talented people in the US and the UK. The Group was founded in London in 1976. It is domiciled in the US and listed on the London Stock Exchange (QRT).

To learn more about this Publisher visit the following links:

OFFICIAL WEBSITE 
http://www.quartoknows.com/

FACEBOOK 
https://www.facebook.com/QuartoKnows

TWITTER 
https://twitter.com/quartoknows

YOUTUBE
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg6_9Q3TbEXRPspas_bqPHw

INSTAGRAM   
https://www.instagram.com/quarto.knows

PINTEREST
https://www.pinterest.com/quartoknows

TIK TOK
https://www.tiktok.com/@quartobooks  

INSTAGRAM  – UK
https://www.instagram.com/quartobooksuk

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THE ICEMAN’S CURSE by Gary F. Jones comes out in October

Title: THE ICEMAN’S CURSE

Author: GARY F. JONES

Release Date: OCTOBER 11, 2022

Genre: FICTION, MYSTERIES AND THRILLERS, and MEDICAL THRILLERS

Number Of Pages: 350 

Publisher: BQB PUBLISHING

Received From: NETGALLEY

ISBN: 978-1-952782-79-4

Rating: 3 OUT OF 5 STARS  ⭐⭐⭐ 

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DESCRIPTION:

A mysterious, 1200 year-old corpse and a sudden outbreak of a fatal viral disease in a snow-bound Wisconsin village has the CDC scrambling as eccentric townspeople and drug mules put all involved in jeopardy.

When a 1,200-year-old corpse called the Iceman is discovered in the Alps, a Swiss professor, to avoid regulations, smuggles the samples into the United States. When a blizzard diverts the professor’s flight to Chicago, Customs is hectic, and the professor mistakenly swaps his suitcase with Frank, a drug mule. A snow storm forces the professor to stop in the hamlet of Kirby, Wisconsin. He has no idea that he’s carrying drugs and that his life is in jeopardy.

Between dangerous drug mules and infected tissue samples, many lives in the snow-bound village are in jeopardy. 

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MY REVIEW:

Although THE ICEMAN’S CURSE does not have a very original plot, I still thought the book was ok. However, it could benefit greatly from a perusal by a professional editor.

The only semi-original twist was that the “scientist” who was smuggling the iceman’s tissues into the United States somehow switched suitcases with a drug smuggler. However, this idea of a character switching luggage is again, not original.

https://www.imdb.com/video/vi582222105/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

Setting the book in a hamlet in the most rural portion of Wisconsin allows the author to not have to think very hard about how to contain the virus. Oh, and coincidentally, there just happens to be a military base nearby. In my opinion, this was just way too convenient and was used to make it easier for the author to provide resources to combat and contain the outbreak.

There is, of course, the prerequisite bit of romance included in the storyline. This starts out promising, but ends up completely implausible and (in my opinion) is actually insulting to all intelligent women who have careers which they love. I don’t want to give any spoilers, but suffice it to say that the author will never have a career as a romance author.

LINK TO IMPLAUSIBLE GRAPHIC:
https://thesaurus.plus/synonyms/implausible

The ending left much to be desired. Of course, the good guys win, but there are so many loose ends left that it feels unfinished.

I hate giving books low ratings because I respect anyone who puts in the time and effort required to write a novel, but I cannot in good conscience give this book a rating any higher than 3 out of 5 Stars ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

*** Thank you to #NetGalley and #BQBPublishing for providing me with a free copy of this book***

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 

Gary Jones says his life has been a testament to questionable decisions and lost opportunities. However, his wife of many years says she knows of nothing in the record to justify such unfettered optimism.

Gary practiced bovine medicine in rural Wisconsin for nineteen years, returned to graduate school at the University of Minnesota, earned a PhD in microbiology, and spent the next nineteen years working on the research and development of bovine and swine vaccines. He retired in 2012.  

To learn more about this author visit the following links:

OFFICIAL WEBSITE 
https://www.garyfjones.com

GOODREADS
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14122488.Gary_F_Jones

FACEBOOK 
https://www.facebook.com/authorgaryfjones  

INSTAGRAM 
https://www.instagram.com/garyjonesbookstore

AMAZON 
https://www.amazon.com/Gary-F-Jones/e/B0106Q79ME 

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ABOUT THE PUBLISHER:

To learn about this Publisher visit the following links:

OFFICIAL WEBSITE 
http://www.bqbpublishing.com

FACEBOOK 
https://www.facebook.com/BQBPublishing

TWITTER 
https://twitter.com/bqbpublishing

INSTAGRAM 
https://instagram.com/bqbpublishing

AMAZON 
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09RQ7W55C