Latest Book Reviews and Comments

I love the series but just thought this one was okay.  You really need to read at least some of the previous novels to understand the main character’s (Evan) personality and the other characters.  I think it is good that the author is “growing” Evan in his personality and empathy.  I look forward to the future novels in the series to see where the author takes these new found characteristics.

I really liked this book.  I think too much sex detracted from the story and I reduced my rating because of it.  However, the story was great.  I liked that the heroine had synethetic capability, was an interesting twist.  The story had lots of tension and twists and turns.  The heroine turning the tables on her bosses/tormentors was great.  I don’t see any point of the recipes after each chapter but you don’t have to read them.  I didn’t see the movie, but sight unseen, you may want to see it over reading the book.  I expect that the sex will be toned down a lot.  I recommend this book though and plan to read the other books in the trilogy.

I listened to audio book for this one.  It went quickly but in no way was this was a thriller.  I liked that she was going to get married and like the portions on Enzo.  But overall, it was disappointing.  I sure hope the next book in the series is better or it will be my last.

I didn’t think this second novel was as good as the first.  In fact, I may be getting tired of the series.  The second plot was too similar to the first for my taste.  I also didn’t like that the housemaid character was stringing along her boyfriend.  From his character description, he did not deserve it. 

Incidents Around the House is a thrilling and unsettling novel. A little girl is forced to confront the frightening world of adults while a powerful entity looms over her. It has a well-crafted atmosphere and a chilling ending. I'm really looking forward to seeing the movie.

This was my first book by Ember Sage and while it can be read as a standalone since each book focuses on different couples I feel like I would have enjoyed it more if I was more familiar with the town and other characters and how they all tied together. This story is about Reed & Lea and I enjoyed seeing how the two of them overcome their issues together and their shared love of plants. The epilogue at the end was nice and sets things up a bit for the next story.

While the plot seemed totally unbelievable, it really kept my interest.  I liked all the action and double crosses.  I also liked the detail of lock picking and computer hacking.  For a second book, it was good and has improved on his first.  I plan to continue reading his books. 

I love the Serpents of Serant series and was so glad to get a new story as well as see that another is in progress. I really enjoyed getting to know Ekkire & Jasmine in this story and their sleara companions Hunter & Dove were SO adorable! I loved how Ekkire was so great with Dove when they first rescued her despite his not fully understanding Jasmine's bond with her until he bonds with Hunter. I look forward to reading more about Joxra in the next story.

I did like this book and honestly was surprised that I did. It was not filled with action or plot twists.  It kind of slowly plodded through the story going back and forth between the present and past.  It revealed the killer early so the booked focused on the why he did it.  You need to pay attention as some of the changes between past and present were hard to follow.  I also think the author could have eliminated the unnecessary detail.  Made the book seem longer than it needed to be.  The ending was great.  Was the basis for the higher rating despite comments above.

This was my second book by K.M. Shea and I really enjoyed her Retelling of Wild Swans and all the characters in this story. It can be read as a standalone although I do plan to read more books in the series to find out what happens with some of the other characters who have their own books in the series. I really liked the fact that at the end this book has two different epilogues allowing the reader to decide which of the two different love interests Elise ends up with and I read and enjoyed both.

This is such a fun book and I loved getting to know Cole & Summer and seeing how everything comes together for them despite their rocky beginning. This book is set in a small town during a heatwave that causes a few problems for both Cole & Summer. I look forward to seeing what comes next in this new series.

This is another fun addition to the Wrong Move, Right Monster series of standalone romances. I enjoyed getting to know Malachi & Isadora in this story and how they initially clashed with one another but slowly grew closer and helped one another overcome issues from their pasts. I also loved Mal's imp Nix even though he was in so little of the story but he was so fun whenever he did show up. I look forward to reading more of this series as well as many more books by Honey Phillips.

The Trial by Kafka is a strange and even unsettling work. K is accused of a crime that is never revealed to the reader — or even to K himself. He insists on his innocence, but as a reader, I’m not so sure. What bothers me about the events unfolding around him is how women are portrayed in the story. Perhaps that’s why I’m not sure how I feel about K myself. This work has probably been analyzed to death, and I have nothing philosophical to say about it. It’s as if I’d just had a rather strange nightmare.

The story wasn’t bad but not anywhere as good as the Colter Shaw novels.  I liked the hint of future potential pairing with Lincoln Rhymes.  However, the ending overall was poor.  Not a real ending, just left me hanging. This story is also included the recently released anthology called Deceptions.  I thought it was the worst in the anthology, a mix of mostly previously published material.

I really enjoyed this newest addition to the Holiday Heartmates series of holiday romances. Each book in this series can be read as a standalone story and features a different couple. I loved getting to know both Torvikk & Tammi in this story as well as Torvikk's son Duvikk. This story has a decent balance of seriousness, sweetness, and some fun humor. Torvikk & Tammi made a decent couple and helped one another grow and overcome issues from their pasts. I look forward to reading more from this series in the future.

This final part of the series felt a bit lackluster. The suspense was missing, and it didn't really matter how the two most important events of the series played out. Too bad. Overall, this one ended up falling into the category of average middle grade series.

I really enjoyed this steamy Retelling of Beauty and the Beast. This story had several great side characters and I loved getting to see how everything came together for Bastian & Sable. This story has several really fun scenes with a good sense of humor to balance out the more serious moments. I have enjoyed several books by this author in the past and look forward to reading many more in the future.

A few of the stories were good, a couple were not.  What I find very frustrating with most of Deaver’s short story collections is that many or most of the stories were previously published, either individually or in another collection.  In this book, seven of the nine stories were in the last collections book, Dead Ends.  Three of the stories were in at least one other collection.  Beware future collections, check the story list before buying.  This book was not worth it for 2 short stories.  I still really like his books but wish he would stop this practice of including old work in new collections.

Margaret Atwood’s autobiography, Book of Lives, is far more colorful and vivid than its dull title suggests. Atwood’s youth with her family in Canada is filled with adventures and experiences in nature, which continued into adulthood with her life partner and children. The details of country life in old farmhouse with farm animals make for some amusing reading at times. The stages and background of her book publications are also interesting, though I wasn’t necessarily interested in every single detail. At the same time, however, the book offered a glimpse into the entire Canadian literary and publishing landscape.

A contentious retelling of the early days of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson, interesting and well written but not entirely convincing.

I loved this book and getting to read about Emmett & Elana as well as Emmett's adorable dragonlet Melly. This story can be read as a standalone or as part of the series for a richer character history for the side characters. I enjoyed getting to know all the characters in this book as well as how they interacted with one another and Melly was so cute! It was also amusing that at one point in the book Elana was reading Claimed by the Hunter since it is by the same author but under a different pen name. I look forward to reading more by this author under both her names in the future.

Just okay.  Not a lot of intrigue. Nothing new on the main characters.  Short and probably worth the time to read, just to read the whole series.

The story’s protagonist is Natalie, a quintessentially American woman with Christian family values, who has an unsatisfying husband and six children. As a stay-at-home mom on social media, she presents a glamorous, do-it-yourself, eco-friendly, and organic lifestyle on her country farm. Reality, however, is different from what’s on social media. Suddenly, she finds herself transported to a bygone era; her husband, children, and home remind her of the present day, yet they are different.

I had a bit of trouble with Watch Me. I read this in Finnish. This dystopia, classified as young adult fiction and romance, is quite graphic at first with its depictions of violence. The book features, among other things, decapitations, children having their entrails ripped out, and a seven-year-old killing someone with a gun. Well, a dystopian world is a given.

I am not as familiar with either The Snow Queen or King Thrushbeard so I appreciate the brief summary for both stories at the beginning of this book. I thought this book blended these fairy tales in a very fun way and loved Freddy's character as well as felt for Eliza. I haven't read all the books in this series and it works as a standalone but I had read Falling for the Winged Witch: A Villainous Twist on Wild Swans and Jack and the Beanstalk before this book and it was about Eliza's sister Lindy. I look forward to reading (and rereading) many more books by this author in the future.