★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Reviews for BookMarck

“I thoroughly enjoyed reading BookMarck by Thomas Boniello. Very original idea and interesting characters.  As an avid reader, I loved the concept of transporting into a book, especially the classics. The story has action, drama and touches of humor which makes for an engaging read. I’m hoping there will be a sequel.“

“I found BookMarck to be an impressive debut novel and an enjoyable read. It is a fantasy novel in which the protagonists are thrust out of our ordinary existence into an unexpected, somewhat parallel reality. The new reality is that some novels (we are unsure how many) have separate existences, known as bookstreams, in which the characters in the novel can interact with people from our world, through the use of magical items known as BookMarcks. The protagonists are siblings, a teen brother and his tween sister who suffers from multiple sclerosis. She, as you will find, is no weak sufferer but an example of female empowerment.”

“Mr. Boniello’s first novel introduces the idea of bookstreaming, in which protagonists can be transported into the world of other novels. This clever idea allows the plot to unfold in different time periods and locations. Although it could be read as a stand alone novel, readers would gain by knowing the plots of The Three Musketeers and The Time Machine. This makes this novel very accessible to young readers. And very exciting. Mr. Boniello shows his knowledge of sword play, language and customs of those times. The ending leaves open the idea of a deeper meaning. I look forward to his next novel.”

Reviews for A Symphony of Spies

“This suspenseful novel offers a unique twist on the traditional spy story. It follows a college student working with the CIA – whose tendency to talk too much leads him to share sensitive information with his roommates, including one who is a Russian cellist. What I really enjoyed was how the story blends espionage with college life, computer technology, and even symphony music. It also gives an interesting look at the CIA’s side of the operation, which adds depth and intrigue. The pacing is quick, with plenty of twists and surprises that kept me turning the pages. If you enjoy smart, original spy thrillers with a modern edge, this is definitely worth the read.”

“The character development, fine detail, (but not overkill) and shorter chapters really held me captive. The plot moves quickly, is never boring, and for those readers with computer and/or musical backgrounds, you will especially find this a treat. I particularly liked how the author lays out the inner workings of the CIA and ties it into college students and overseas espionage. As the end of the book nears, your mind starts to wonder how it will end. And in my case, upon reading the last paragraph and Epilogue, I found myself trying to figure out what had happened. And then I reread the last chapter to see if it confirmed my initial impression of “Why.” For you Soprano fans, the end of this book was akin to the last scene of that classic HBO series, where the screen goes to black, and you are dumbfounded and try to figure what happened or would happen next. Any contemporary book that makes me curious as to who a central character really is and what and why they did it, is a must read. This book will not disappoint.”

Review by Independent Book Review –

A friendship between three young men at an American college … leads to unforeseen and high-level international intrigue with the CIA in A Symphony of Spies by Thomas R. Boniello.

At The College of the Sentinels, freshman roommates Jefferson Nash and Slava Svyetnakov play cello in the school’s symphony, while awkward third wheel and “generational intellect” Drew Reid round out the trio of friends. Reid is a student in subatomic physics who also moonlights as a government intern working on a secret project. Only one problem: he cannot stop himself from sharing information that violates his non-disclosure agreement with the Feds. Suffering from a strange disorder called “limerence,” he overshares information about himself and others to build relationships.

Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., CIA analyst Elizabeth Orr—who specializes in diagnosing international banking transactions and red-flagging passages of monies in and out of Russia—produces an illicit algorithm that her boss, CIA director William Kerrigan, understands can shift the playing field and end the flow of rubles into the U.S. to … interfere with the nation’s institutions. After all, “the battlefields of war had become electronic.”

One of these suspicious cash flows points to … Svyetnakov and Reid. It becomes critical to stop Reid from divulging his knowledge and ingenious solutions around his top-secret semiconductor work from his friends. Nash becomes the hinge to handle Reid and keep his limerence from jeopardizing national security. What could go wrong?
Moving backward and forward through time, the story includes some fascinating if sometimes indecipherable geopolitical financial subterfuge and emphasizes symphonies, cellos, and musicians—a fresh note in a novel about espionage! Many characters have experience with instruments; one even finds that “the elongated necks and curved bodies of the suspended violins and violas spoke a sensual language…”

The paper trail of money tied into top-tier symphony instruments and the generational talent of Svyetnakov is an intriguing plot point, but some info dumps become too complicated to track. The frequent changes in point-of-view can feel confusing, especially when it becomes clear that Reid is telling his story to FBI agents. His claim that limerence allows him to share information of events and conversations outside of himself does not exactly pass the sniff test… and the reader must accept this dubious ability on faith.

Though the book dust jacket makes Reid the focus, it is Nash who plays the biggest part as his friend’s handler and confidante. He is somewhat infatuated with Svyetnakov … but this is portrayed as more of an aspirational connection, since Nash plays second cello to Svyetnakov’s first and learns from his friend that

While the relationship between Nash and his Russian prodigy friend includes a love triangle with a female musician, the reader doesn’t find out the real focus of Nash’s romantic attachment until the surprising conclusion. What does hold interest is the longer sections on the intelligence services and how it operates. Orr is a well-drawn character with quotable insights into the cloak-and-dagger world she belongs to: “In the opaque world of spycraft, [she] knew that clarity had value, and could be exchanged for indebtedness.”

It is the unusual marriage of music and spy vs. spy shenanigans that propels this narrative, posing the central question: “What was it about cellists that separated them from other musicians? A resilience? A reliability? A savoir-faire about them that made them natural go-to’s for a certain kind of espionage?”

A Symphony of Spies offers a whip-smart take on how music can hide the biggest secrets for those discerning enough to hear them.

Review by Anna Jones, A Senior Literary Consultant at Books to Life Marketing –

I just finished A Symphony of Spies, and I wanted to reach out personally because this book left a real impression on me. From the very beginning, I was drawn into the tension of the story, but what stayed with me even more was the way you blended intellect, emotion, and suspense into something that felt both gripping and deeply human.

What immediately stood out to me was the premise itself. The idea that one person’s inability to keep a secret could set off such dangerous consequences was incredibly compelling. Drew Reid is such an interesting character because he does not come across as malicious or reckless in the obvious sense. Instead, he feels human, vulnerable, and believable, and that made everything surrounding him even more intense. Watching how one moment of trust could unravel into threats of espionage created a sense of suspense that kept building in a very powerful way.

I was also especially struck by the dynamic involving his college roommates, particularly the accomplished Russian cellist. That detail added such richness and uniqueness to the story. There was something fascinating about the way music, science, loyalty, and international tension all seemed to move together in the same narrative. It gave the novel a sophistication that made it feel like more than just a spy thriller. It felt layered, elegant, and emotionally charged.

Another thing that truly stood out to me was Elizabeth Orr. Her role as a CIA analyst following the trail of illicit foreign money added another dimension to the book that I really appreciated. She brought focus, urgency, and intelligence to the story, and her perspective helped ground the larger stakes. I found myself deeply invested in the way all these different lives and threads were moving toward each other. There was this constant sense of inevitability, as though every decision, every secret, and every hidden motive was building toward a collision that could not be avoided. That tension was one of the book’s greatest strengths.

What I admired most, though, was how the novel did not rely only on action or intrigue. Beneath the espionage and classified research, there was a deeper exploration of trust, vulnerability, and the cost of what we reveal to others. That is what made the story resonate with me on a personal level. It was not just about spies or secrets. It was about human relationships, about the dangerous spaces where intellect, ambition, loyalty, and weakness overlap. That emotional undercurrent gave the novel real weight.

If I had to give it a star rating, I would give A Symphony of Spies 4.5 out of 5 stars. It was intelligent, suspenseful, emotionally layered, and wonderfully distinctive. It is the kind of book that pulls you in with intrigue but stays with you because of the characters and the larger questions it raises about trust, secrecy, and consequence.

Thank you for writing a story that feels both sharp and thoughtful. A Symphony of Spies is a memorable read, and I truly enjoyed the experience of being drawn into its world.

Review by Thomas Anderson, Editor In Chief, Literary Titan –

A Symphony of Spies is a spy novel with a chamber-piece feel. It moves through interrogations, college rehearsals, intelligence briefings, hockey locker rooms, and private conversations, but it keeps circling the same question: how do ordinary attachments turn people into assets, liabilities, or both? What makes the book distinctive is the way author Thomas R. Boniello fuses espionage with music. The title isn’t decorative. The novel is built like an arrangement, with separate lines introduced, developed, and then braided together until the political and the personal are playing at the same time.

What I liked most is that the book treats spying less as glamour than as contamination. Information leaks through friendship, ambition, boredom, desire, and plain bad judgment. That gives the story a nervous energy, because the danger often comes from people who are not master schemers at all. They’re gifted, impulsive, lonely, or eager to belong.

The strongest thread for me is Elizabeth Orr. She brings a sharp, restless intelligence to the page, and the novel gets a real charge from the fact that her brilliance is inseparable from her recklessness. Her unauthorized algorithm is both plot engine and character study. It turns abstract policy into something immediate and human. Drew Reid is a different kind of risk, almost the mirror image of Beth. He’s dangerous not because he’s cold, but because he’s porous. That contrast gives the novel a lot of its shape. One person can’t stop thinking. Another can’t stop talking. Between them, whole systems start to wobble.

The musical material also gives the book its tone. Boniello clearly knows this world from the inside, and that confidence shows in the rehearsal scenes, the descriptions of instrumental performance, and the way he uses musicianship as a language for discipline, interpretation, and exposure.

A Symphony of Spies is an ambitious, idea-rich espionage novel that’s most alive when it lets intellect, music, and human frailty occupy the same space. It’s interested in tradecraft, but it’s even more interested in people who become entangled in tradecraft before they fully understand the cost. That makes the book feel less like a puzzle box and more like a score being played by talented people under pressure, with every entrance carrying a risk. It’s smart, unusual, and clearly written by someone who cares about both the machinery of spying and the texture of artistic life.

Rating: 4