Showing posts with label appealing characteristic-character. Show all posts
Showing posts with label appealing characteristic-character. Show all posts

Saturday, September 4, 2021

The Undoing by Shelly Laurenston

This was a hard one to grade because it was a good story, just not as good as the first. I enjoyed the addition to the world building. 
Jace Berisha used to be married to the leader of a cult, a cult her mother still belongs to. Jace was subservient, meek, and never spoke back. All that changed when he killed her. She was granted special powers by a goddess and became a part of the Crows. Now she's part of a group of women that work to serve the goddess. And they're going up against a Big Bad. One they thought they had defeated. And one that they'll have to get their traditional enemies to buy in and work together in order to defeat for real.

Three and a half stars
This book came out March 29th, 2016
Follows the Unleashing
Followed by The Undoing
Opinions are my own


Thursday, December 3, 2020

The Unleashing by Shelly Laurenston

 There is a reason I have heard more than one person on the Smart Podcast, Trashy Books talk about their love for this book. The world building is amazing. The sisterhood of the women warriors in this book. Also amazing. There were some rough spots in the story but overall I tore through this book as fast as I could. 
The book opens with the startling realization that our heroine, Kera, is dead. Or... she was. She was killed by the pimp she confronted in an alley while he was shaking down his girlfriend. But somehow, she's still alive(?) in a place she doesn't recognize and surrounded by people who seem to want to kill her. When she starts to fight back (being former Marine and all), she suddenly realizes that she's much, much stronger than she used to be. But what the heck is going on? And who are these women claiming to be Crows, saying she's now one of them?
Vig knows what's going on. After all, he's the one who prayed to Skuld (a Norse goddess) to save Kera by making her a Crow. See, he knows about the Crows because he's from the Ravens, another of the nine Norse clans. And, while we're told that the Ravens and Crows are enemies from way back, we usually see them cooperating with each other. Which is good since Vig and Kera are setting up for a fine romance. Too bad there are some people trying to bring the Big Bad into this dimension and the Crows and Ravens are on point to help bring her down.

Three and a half stars
Followed by the Undoing
This book came out March 31st, 2015
Opinions are my own

Reread as audiobook from Libby August 2023


Sunday, November 15, 2020

When All the Girls Have Gone by Jayne Ann Krentz

 The book opens, not unlike many of Krentz's contemporaries, with a murder. We see it through the eyes of the killer. And it seems rather obvious who the killer is as the book goes on, but this is a Krentz novel.
To that end, we do get a hero and heroine. Max Cutler is a former profiler. A case went horribly wrong, stirring up ghosts from his past, and he decided (or the decision was made) for him to leave D.C. He ended up in Seattle, working as a private investigator. His current case involves a dead woman who the police believe to have died from an overdose. Her cousin isn't so sure. He things it's murder. 
Normally Charlotte Sawyer considers herself fairly boring. She works in a nursing home as an the activities coordinator. It's true that her former fiance left her at the altar, but she's working to get over that.  Charlotte step-sister, Jocelyn, says that she is too trusting, and Charlotte agrees. But it doesn't follow that she is also stupid. 
Max and Charlotte's paths cross when Charlotte, watching Jocelyn's house while she's on a tech-free month-long retreat, is the one who picks up the package sent to Jocelyn from the dead woman.  A packages that sends her on an adventure. 
Regular Krentz readers will definitely enjoy the book. It's very much in the rhythm of her recent contemporaries. The love story was a bit fast and furious and the multiple "epilogues" were a bit tedious but overall a fast and fun read. I do hope we get to hear about Max's brothers, Cabot and Jack and find out whether the guru Zane really did die.

Three and a half stars
Followed by Promise Not to Tell
This book came out November 29th, 2016
Audiobook from Cloud Library


Opinions are my own

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Rival's Break by Carla Neggers

Rival's Break (Sharpe & Donovan #9)I'm pretty sure I've never read a book that opens with a rash of seasickness, but this one does. Well, really it opens with Colin's brother, Andy, getting married to Julianne (Declan's Cross) but Colin and his marine patrol brother, Kevin, end up leaving the reception to investigate the illness. Colin is surprised to recognize one of the victims as an undercover agent.
From there, they get caught up in the world of nerve agents and mushrooms while Aoife Byrne's work becomes part of the story once again. Were the people on the boat targeted for some reason? Or is someone after the chef whose scientist father is even now in the throes of death?
The mystery was... very confusing. The story was fine but I had really no idea what this did to move anything in the Sharpe & Donovan universe forward.

Two and a half stars
This book comes out August 27th
Follows Impostor's Lure
ARC kindly provided by Harlequin-MIRA and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Friday, August 23, 2019

The Lady Travelers Guide to Happily Ever After by Victoria Alexander

The Lady Travelers Guide to Happily Ever After by Victoria AlexanderJames and Viola didn't expect to be married to one another. In fact, James was engaged to Viola's friend. But one drunken mistake (James's) and one all-to-understood-overhearing (Viola's) later and the two are married and then separated faster than you can say lickety-split.
For seven years, Viola has traveled the world. Both she and James have heard rumors of the romances of the other. And now they'll have to face those rumors, and each other, head on because James's uncle, the Earl of Ellsworth has died, and has left strict instructions that James and Viola must follow in order to inherit his estate since the bulk of it is not entailed and the earl was free to leave it to whomever he wants. At least according to his firm of lawyers.
This book gets us to care about Viola and James and shows us a lot of growth out of each. Along with the help with our Lady Travelers who are the ones overseeing whether or not Viola and James stick to the terms of the will. I didn't love that there were a couple of Big Misunderstandings at the end; they could have been done without, but it was overall a nice read.

Four stars
This book comes out August 27th
Follows The Lady Travelers Guide to Deception with an Unlikely Earl
ARC kindly provided by Harlequin and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Labyrinth by Catherine Coulter

This book starts with a literal bang when Sherlock is t-boned at and intersection. As she is spinning out of control, she hits a man who then disappears. But what was he doing in the intersection in the
first place? Adding to the mystery, Sherlock's head injuries are such that she gets amnesia and can't remember anything about what happened. In fact, she can't remember anything at all.
At the same time, Agent Griffin Hammersmith is taking some time off in Virginia when he hears a psychic scream. A woman is being attacked. But when local law enforcement arrives, they're more interested in covering up than in helping.
Carson is in the store when a man just starts <i>thinking</i> at her. He's ruminating on the death of one of three missing girls. She inadvertently draws attention to herself and wakes up in a basement. Rather than interviewing an eminent scientist, she is now trying to escape with her life.
Griffin has the FBI to throw so throw he does. But the secret that they uncover is big enough that they need both Sherlock and Savich. But the Ss still need to find Justice, the man who Sherlock hit. As a CIA agent, he holds the key to uncovering a major conspiracy.
The two stories are not well connected but it was otherwise a good read.

Three and a half stars
This book came out July 30th
Follows Paradox
Followed by Deadlock
ARC kindly provided by Gallery Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Friday, June 21, 2019

Bewitched and Betrothed by Juliet Blackwell

Bewitched and Betrothed by Juliet BlackwellLily Ivory is trying to plan a handfasting. She loves Sailor and would like to be married before the upcoming magical war breaks out. One thing she's not excited about is the former prisoner's shirt that has some really evil vibes. Lily is excited that the Park Service is coming to pick it up and she warns them not to put on the shirt. Both of the rangers are confused but they walk out. Too bad one of them is kidnapped, with the shirt, minutes later. The talisman to hold in the vibes is left at the scene. Oh, and the ranger? Carlos Romero, inspector for the police department and Lily's friend, it's his cousin.
Things ramp up and all of the bad vibes point to Alcatraz being the point of the issues. Lily is also juggling her grandmother and her grandmother's coven as well as Sailor's family.
A good addition to the series, I'm wondering why Amanda, Sailor's ex-wife was added to this book. It seems to be resolved but, unless she's going to be a larger part of the series later, it added nothing but extra lines to this story.

Three stars
This book comes out June 25th
Follows A Magical Match
ARC kindly provided by Berkley and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Tuesday, June 18, 2019

Say No to the Duke by Eloisa James

Say No to the Duke by Eloisa JamesLady Betsy Wilde's mother ran away from her father during a scandalous affair. Gossips claim that one of her children (Betsy's sibling) may not be the Duke's child. And Betsy knows that she has her mother's blood. Before she settles into a nice, sedate marriage with no passion, she wants to rack up as many proposals as possible, just to show those snobs from her boarding school that she is better than them. Fourteen proposals later, she has snared one from a duke. But she's annoyed that he proposes in front of the family hanger-on, Lord Jeremy Roden.
Lord Jeremy doesn't have much time for Betsy. He knows what she wants and he disapproves. In his opinion, she should be living her life to the fullest extent possible and not settling for the staid Thaddeus. He is willing to indulge Betsy when she proposes a billiards match. If she wins, he will take her on an adventure. And, while this is a trope we've seen before, Jeremy is surprisingly pragmatic about it. He wants to make sure that they are properly chaperoned, even on the adventure. He is also very aware that his PTSD makes him a freak in his lifetime.
This is definitely not the normal adventure story. For one thing, Betsy's other suitor and his mother come along as well as her aunt. And I liked that twist. I did not like that there was a "villain" sort of squished into the story just so that there would be one. Other than that, I do hope that we get to see Thaddeus again because he seemed like a genuinely good guy and his mother is amazing.

Four stars
This book comes out June 25th
Follows Born to Be Wilde
Followed by Say Yes to the Duke
ARC kindly provided by HarperCollins, NetGalley, and Edelweiss
Opinions are my own

Tuesday, April 30, 2019

A Kind of Paradise by Amy Rebecca Tan

Spending the summer volunteering in the library is not how Jamie Bunn envisioned her vacation. But she made a Very Big Mistake and she ended up here. It's not bad. She really likes her coworkers and seeing the people in the library is really opening her up to the world around her.
This is definitely a This Is a Punishment That Will Change Your World In a Wonderful Way book but it is done deftly, with characters that come alive and keep the readers engaged.

Four stars
This book comes out May 7
ARC kindly provided by Edelweiss; Opinions are my own

Wednesday, January 2, 2019

Fashions Fade, Haunted is Eternal by Rose Pressey

Fashions Fade, Haunted Is Eternal (A Haunted Vintage Mystery, #7)
Cookie Chanel is back again. This time she's got the ghost of a 1920s flapper who joins her in a cemetery where a fashion shoot is going on. Cookie is the clothing expert. Too bad the photographer is a jerk. A dead jerk before all is said and done. A dead jerk who also joins Cookie's crew as a black cat.
This book was okay but not at all up to the levels of the others in this series. This was definitely more disjointed and the story lines just sort of petered out.

Three stars
This book came out December 18
ARC kindly provided by publisher and NetGalley

Thursday, December 13, 2018

The Accidental Beauty Queen by Teri Wilson

The Accidental Beauty Queen by Teri WilsonCharlotte Gorman doesn't understand her twin sister. An elementary school librarian, Charlotte doesn't often get dressed up as opposed to her sister who regularly competes in beauty pageants. Ginny is REALLY into beauty, even keeping a popular Instagram series about her competitions. She throws herself into her causes, just recently adopting a dog in order.
Charlotte always internally (sometimes externally) rolls her eyes when they talk about the competitions but when Ginny has a horribly allergic reaction that causes her face to swell, it's going to be up to Charlotte to step in and keep her sister in the competition.
This book created some great characters, both A and B. It was very light and just what I needed during a heavy time in my life. It was a little shallow as well but as to be expected.

Four stars
This book came out December 4
ARC kindly provided by publisher and NetGalley

Saturday, December 1, 2018

The Coloring Crook by Krista Davis

The Coloring Crook by Krista DavisFlorrie Fox and the Color Me Read characters are dealing with another murder. This time, it's one of their own. Coloring club member Dolly Cavanaugh loves to attend garage sales and she has an eye for a bargain. At the latest sale, she snaps up a rare book infuriating the previous owner, the man who was directing the estate sale, and any number of people who read about her find when she posted it on various social media platforms.
When Dolly turns up dead, it appears to be a heart attack. But Florrie knows better. And she's going to make sure that her friend gets justice.
I wish we could have seen more of Dolly's life and even had more development of some of the other suspects. It felt like we glance off of all of them.

Three stars
This book came out November 27
Followed by Murder Outside the Lines
ARC provided by NetGalley; Opinions are my own

Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Killalot by Cindy Brown

Ivy Meadows is in the audience for a Renaissance Faire with her boyfriend, her brother, and her brother's girlfriend. She's delighted to learn that her friend Riley is also there; he's participating in the jousting tournament against the man who used to be his mentor. But the time comes for the bout, Riley is not the opponent who walks onto the field and his mentor is the one who ends up dead.
An okay addition to the series but didn't capture me as much as earlier books. Still looking forward to the next one in the series.

Three stars
This book came out November 6
ARC kindly provided by Edelweiss; Opinion is my own

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

'Twas the Knife Before Christmas by Jacqueline Frost

'Twas the Knife Before Christmas by Jacqueline Frost
We're back with Holly White at her family's Christmas Tree Farm one year after the last book. She's settled into town nicely and is still dating the local law man. It's too bad her best friend Caroline's life isn't so settled. She went out with a jerk in order to make her parents happy then very publicly argued with the man. The day before he turned up dead outside Caroline's store.
Now Holly's trying to figure out who killed the man (it's a mystery, he had no shortage of enemies) before they can get to her.
At the beginning of the story, we learn that it's a year later. That makes sense for the series but the time jump was rough. There was a lot that went on in the year that wasn't explained. The end also went a bit off the rails for me. If you don't mind an unexpected burst of magical realism, you won't mind it though.

Three stars (barely)
This book came out November 23
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley; Opinions are my own

Merrily Ever After: A Novella by Jenny Holiday

Merrily Ever After by Jenny HolidayElise and Jay are perfect for each other. He doesn't want kids and she can't have any. Except, despite all the odds, Elise is pregnant. And she's terrified about what that's going to mean for their relationship.
Jay doesn't know what's going on but he knows that something is up. His normally loving wife isn't responding the way she normally does. How will he react to the news?
I wish that this had been longer. Elise and Jay were presented as a couple at the beginning of the series so we don't know either's back story very well (maybe they were in a different series?) and that would have helped tremendously with this story. I'm still very much looking forward to finding out what is going on with their model friend, Gia.

Three stars
This novella comes out December 4
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley; opinion is my own

Monday, November 26, 2018

The Lady Travelers Guide to Deception with an Unlikely Earl by Victoria Alexander

Sidney Honeywell has become known as the Queen of the Desert from her writings about traveling in Egypt. Too bad she's never been. But Harry Armstrong has and he's not impressed. He believes that she is just out to trick everyone in the ton. So he challenges her to a trip in a series of letter using his
newly minted title. However, he says that he's going to send his "nephew" Harry along. Also going, a reporter to make sure that everything is on the up and up as well as the founders of the Lady Travelers Society. And, dang, do those old ladies make the book fun. Yes, they're a little plot-moppet-ish but overall just a fun read and a wonderful addition to the series.

Four stars
This book came out November 20
Followed by The Lady Travelers Guide to Happily Ever After
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley; Opinions are my own

Monday, October 8, 2018

A Tall, Dark Cowboy Christmas by Maisey Yates

A Tall, Dark Cowboy Christmas by Maisey YatesMcKenna Tate isn't looking for a handout. She's looking for her family. That's the only reason she's in Gold Valley. Her mother died when she was young, McKenna grew up in foster homes. She's recently found her birth certificate and it seems that she might have some blood relatives in the Valley.
Grant Dodge is known for one thing. He married his high school sweetheart even knowing that she was going to die. He loved; he lost and on one lets him forget it. Except that McKenna doesn't know who he is. The look in her eyes is different. It may be a fling... but it may be something more.
This one was not my favorite Yates book and the short story with this one (Chloe's and Tanner, step siblings decided to take their family relationship to the next level) was about two and a half stars for me.
I am ready for Beatrix and Dane to get together but I have to admit I am a little nervous about it as well. Will be interesting to see how it happens.

Three stars
This book came out September 25
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

Friday, September 28, 2018

A Willing Murder by Jude Deveraux

A Willing Murder by Jude DeverauxKate Medlar only recently found out that her father's sister, Sarah Medlar, is a famous romance author. She's excited to find out that the town she's just found a realty job in is the same town as her aunt and she can live with her aunt while she finds a place to live.
Jackson Wyatt is living with Sarah Medlar while he recovers from a broken leg. And to make sure that this long-lost-niece isn't just after Sarah's money. Then their lives get tangled up even more when the three of them find two dead bodies buried beneath a tree and discover that Jack knew one of them.
Kate's a little annoying and the "mystery" is easily solved if you've read Devereaus before. The author also has a disconcerting habit of spelling out everything (making a joke and then pointing out that it was a joke, etc.) Even so, it was fast, fun, and fluffy.

Three and a half stars
This book came out September 18
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

Thursday, September 27, 2018

A Brazen Curiosity by Lynn Messina

A Brazen Curiosity by Lynn MessinaI wish I had known when I started this book that it was part of a series. I have read Lynn Messina before and thoroughly enjoyed her books, so I couldn't understand why the romance was so ploddingly slow. The hero and heroine spend barely any time together. But the beginnings of a flirtation between a plain spinster and a pedantic duke are in this story. I wish we had seen more but I understand the need for a slow burn to make it through at least two more stories.
Beatrice Hyde-Clare is unfortunate to meet the Duke of Kesgrave in the middle of the night when she's looking for a book. She doesn't notice him until after she's picked up the candlestick from the floor. The candlestick that has obviously been used to murder the man the Duke is now standing over.
Edited March 14th 2021: Upon rereading, my first instinct was absolutely correct. This book is much more enjoyable when I have no expectations. I had completely forgotten reading this story until about halfway through when I went to Goodreads and, yes, I had read it before. On the Kindle Unlimited books, you can currently read the entire series and the sum of these parts are definitely greater than the whole.

Three stars
Followed by A Scandalous Deception
This book came out September 15
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

Treacherous Is the Night by Anna Lee Huber

Treacherous Is the Night by Anna Lee HuberVerity and Sydney are trying to figure out the rhythms of their marriage now that Sydney has "returned from the dead." Verity is struggling because he didn't tell her that he wasn't dead and her emotions sent her into a spiral of bad decisions.
When Verity's friend Daphne asks her to attend a seance, Verity is skeptical. Just because most of the world is embracing spiritualism doesn't mean she believes that someone can talk to you after they're dead. Except that Madame Zozza singles Verity out, pretending to be one of Verity's contacts from the war, talking about things that no one knew. When Verity goes back to try and figure out what happened, the spiritualist is dead in a fire.
This sends Verity and Sydney off on an adventure where they will face their demons and have to make some hard decisions about where their marriage is going. It will also uncover men who are working to further the cause of the defeated enemies.
A steady read, this book made me uncomfortable at points because it's depiction of life after war and the peek into the Kents' marriage seemed so real. But definitely looking forward to the next book in the series.

Four stars
This book came out September 25
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley