{"id":3772,"date":"2025-08-07T19:29:31","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T19:29:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=3772"},"modified":"2025-08-07T19:29:31","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T19:29:31","slug":"review-saving-maria-by-truant-memphis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=3772","title":{"rendered":"Review: Saving Maria by Truant Memphis"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Saving Maria\u00a0revolves around the life of Littlethumb Brooks, a world renowned painter and philanthropist who suffers a life of great tragedy. While the world knows Littlethumb as a famous painter, he secretly functions as the financial and operational force behind his uncle\u2019s globetrotting team of Robin Hood-esque soldiers of fortune, the Electric Medicine Men. When Littlethumb\u2019s most famous collection of paintings,\u00a0The Marias, is stolen, it\u2019s up to the Electric Medicine Men to recover them. Along the way the team discovers a world-changing invention, a villainous syndicate marches toward global upheaval, and a disturbed journalist unleashes his misguided wrath on our hero. While navigating all of this madness, Littlethumb\u2019s greatest challenge is conquering the fear he\u2019s been cursed and will never be able to safely raise his child.<\/p>\n<p>Composed with elements of mystery, action-adventure and magic realism,\u00a0Saving Maria\u00a0is a fast-paced, comedic work of experimental fiction presented by an omniscient narrator. Often breaking the fourth wall, teasing the audience and himself, your narrator openly pokes fun at literary tropes like \u201csecret bad guy\u201d and \u201csecret good guy\u201d organizations, government agencies shrouded in conspiratorial darkness, evil despots bent on global upheaval, stern martial arts masters, and characters so deeply undercover no one knows who they really work for, not even the author.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Favorite Lines:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen again, without life there would be no fried chicken.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust kidding. This isn\u2019t that type of story. The monkey\u2019s don\u2019t speak, though they are remarkably intuitive. And adorable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can\u2019t be afraid to lose someone you love, or you\u2019ll never love all the way. And if you believe this life is chaos\u2026well, you know chaos doesn\u2019t do patterns. So, either you accept what happened was the impartial nature of reality, a random occurrence, which means that there is no curse upon you and no precedent for assuming something bad will happen to Hope. Or, you\u2019re going to have to set about the task of completely rearranging your personal philosophical believes on human existence. At least, as they appear.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>My Opinion:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.<\/p>\n<p><em>Saving Maria<\/em> by Truant Memphis is like stepping onto a rollercoaster where you\u2019re never sure if you\u2019ll plunge into an action-packed heist, a heartfelt moment, or a quirky meta joke that breaks the fourth wall. The book\u2019s omniscient narrator doesn\u2019t just tell the story\u2014he becomes a character himself, offering witty commentary, playful jabs at literary tropes, and a healthy dose of self-awareness that adds a fresh layer of humor to the reading experience.<\/p>\n<p>At the heart of this whirlwind tale is Littlethumb Brooks, a world-renowned painter grappling with personal tragedy, whose life takes an unexpected turn when his iconic collection, <em>The Marias<\/em>, is stolen. Cue the Electric Medicine Men\u2014a colorful team of Robin Hood-esque mercenaries whose missions are equal parts thrilling and absurd. From daring heists in the Western Sahara to covert operations in Europe, the team\u2019s escapades are loaded with explosive action, clever banter, and just the right amount of chaos.<\/p>\n<p>What really stands out is the balance between adrenaline-fueled sequences and deeper emotional beats. Littlethumb\u2019s personal struggles\u2014particularly his fears surrounding fatherhood\u2014lend the story surprising poignancy amidst the madness. And then there\u2019s the quirky cast: from Daring Bird\u2019s gruff leadership to Silas\u2019s comic relief antics, each character is distinct, with relationships that feel both authentic and entertaining.<\/p>\n<p>The narrative doesn\u2019t just play with genre conventions\u2014it has fun with them. Expect nods to classic adventure tales, sly commentary on secret organizations, and unexpected twists that keep you on your toes. The humor is sharp, sometimes delightfully absurd, but never detracts from the story\u2019s emotional core.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Summary:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Overall, if you\u2019re looking for a book that combines the thrills of an action film with the playfulness of a satirical novel\u2014and still manages to tug at your heartstrings\u2014<em>Saving Maria<\/em> delivers. It\u2019s witty, fast-paced, and packed with surprises, making it perfect for fans of genre-bending fiction that doesn\u2019t just entertain, but winks at you while doing it. Happy reading!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3J3Xloi\">Check out <em>Saving Maria<\/em> here!<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Synopsis: Saving Maria\u00a0revolves around the life of Littlethumb Brooks, a world renowned painter and philanthropist who suffers a life of great tragedy. While the world knows Littlethumb as a famous painter, he secretly functions as the financial and operational force behind his uncle\u2019s globetrotting team of Robin Hood-esque soldiers of fortune, the Electric Medicine Men. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":3773,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bookreviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3772"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3772"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3772\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}