Swirling Mist Press

Not Let Go: A Novel by Paul Bruno

Not Let Go

Michael Santino doesn’t know what he wants to be when he grows up. The problem is, he’s in his mid-twenties. He’s walked away from the things in life that bother him, including friends, family, and a promising career as a copywriter. The only thing he loves to do is to play softball. When his girlfriend Ellen kicks him out of their apartment, Michael has to decide what he wants, what he doesn’t want, and what to not let go.

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About the Author:

Paul Bruno is a retired IT professional. He now lives and writes in Connecticut. Paul has been writing his whole life. This is his first novel.

Reviews

Thrilling page-turner

Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2025 — Paul Bruno’s “Not Let Go” is a confidently written debut novel that swings easily from the inner turmoil of the main character Michael Santino to the propulsive plot involving the inner circle of his friends and frenemies. I look forward to his next novel!

Very compelling story, characters and life lesson.

Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2025 — A great read, well thought out and a page turner.

A very good story

Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2024 — For the author’s first book, this is a very well thought out story. No loose ends, a satisfying ending, and plenty of fleshed out characters to love and hate.

Highly entertaining

Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2024 — You’ll find this book amusing, funny, relatable, seductive, and with some disturbing twists. The protagonist, Michael, is having a hard time navigating relationships and life in general at the ripe old age of twenty something. Is he immature, likable, a jerk? All these things and more. He’s trying to figure out what to keep in his life and what to let go. It’s a fun journey.

Through the Summerlands: A Celtic and Catholic Spiritual Journey by Mauro F. Bruno

These poems represent the author’s brief journey through Celtic lore and spirituality, a journey that informed his Catholic faith, heart, and mind with a more poignant awareness of the deep, unwavering presence between Creator and creature. In this collection we may find an understanding of suffering and sacrifice from which we otherwise often turn away in fear — in a type of dark night of the soul — the Beloved who beckons from within the human heart and leads us to the light that enlivens all things.

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About the Author:

Mauro Bruno is a retired teacher of children, a writer, artist, musician, theologian, gardener, and father, the latter of which is his greatest and most fulfilling challenge. He lives in the Hudson Valley in New York State with his wonderfully understanding wife, three grown children trying to understand, and two almost understandable grandchildren. Oh, and a pride of small lions.

Reviews:

I liked this little book of poems. The relationship to Christianity and Paganism has always interested me and these poems use some of both as subject matter.
The notes in the back of the book were helpful but it would have been even better if there were more of them. Some references in the poems I understood and some I looked up – on Google, of course – but there were one or two that were beyond my understanding.
However, the poems are lovely and I really enjoyed the book and would recommend it.

What a nice quick read. It such a wonderful journey to invest some time into.

This is a nice compact edition that is easy to read, put down, contemplate and reflect, and pick back up. It can be read at your leisure. I thought it was clearly Christian without being overwhelmingly Catholic, and provided a definite Celtic spiritual feel. I could imagine using some of the poems for presentation or performance among other readers of poetry. I thought the rhyming seemed a little forced at times and could have been left out in places, and some of the poems veered from mystical to modern a little too sharply, though I appreciated the wider range at times. It is the type of book that reminds me of Lectio Divina where I could let the Spirit guide my choice of poem in order to find meaning for my life. I look forward to perhaps a larger volume of similar poems from this author.

Through the Summerlands is a thought provoking inspiration. It is a quick read, but I highly encourage time spent on reflection on each poetic stepping stone of the journey presented. It has been a long time since I have read something that has slowed me down, nay…stopped me in my tracks. This book is a keeper. I have had it in my possession only a few hours and I have already re-read several poems, studying, reflecting on how this speaks to my own life, the phase that I am in and my own Catholic spiritual journey.