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.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
J.B. Rivard believes words can create pictures. One 80+ year-old reader said, “I was right in the biplane cockpit with Nick,” referring to Nick Mamer, the 1929 record-setting pilot featured in Low on Gas – High on Sky, J.B.’s nonfiction book (2019).
A writer of historically-authentic fiction and nonfiction, J.B. knows readers want the past to blaze up and enthrall them. His commitment to compelling and convincing writing derives as much from his widely-varied working life and four years in the military, as from his technical career on the staff of a U.S. National Laboratory.
In her review of the novel Illusions of Magic:Love and Intrigue in 1933 Chicago, Marssie Mencotti wrote, “Similar to Erik Larson’s The Devil in the White City, Rivard explores historic Chicago by illustrating how the events of that time affected and informed his characters.”
J.B.’s deeply-researched historical writing also includes feature articles such as “Under the Cloud,” a recollection of the Pacific nuclear tests in The American Legion Magazine of April, 2022.
His latest novel is the cinematic Dead Heat to Destiny, in which the lives and loves of three people are imperiled during the cataclysm of World War One. “The level of research required was more than I initially imagined,” says the author. “And this book may be the best one yet.”
Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers' Favorite
Dead Heat to Destiny: Three Lives and a Spy by J. B. Rivard is a work of fiction in the historical, interpersonal drama, and intrigue subgenres. Set during the world-changing events of the First World War, it follows four lives intertwined by bonds of love, family, and duty. Student Adrienne finds herself caught in this international conflict when her love interest, Will, becomes a U.S. Army pilot while her cousin, Gregor, is promoted to Imperial German Navy U-boat captain. As families flee across continents, a spy in Central America shakes things up in a way nobody could predict.
J. B. Rivard has crafted a masterful tale that balances the suspense and intrigue of an international wartime spy thriller with the sensitivity of a deeply emotional drama, resulting in a WW1 epic that will satisfy readers. One striking feature of the story was how Rivard never shied away from the dangerous realities of war and the difficult choices people on both sides of the divide make when there is nowhere to run from global conflict. I really enjoyed Adrienne’s practical approach and heartfelt personal narrative, and the dialogue between the different characters offered both emotional insight and excellent plot exposition. I would certainly recommend Dead Heat to Destiny to wartime fiction fans; readers won’t regret it.
