Latest Book Reviews and Comments

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.

I thought the book was pretty good.  The story was different than all the other books in the series.  It held my interest but I wished that it had more art history in it.  Gabriel or anyone connected with him was never in any danger which is one of the reasons I don’t think this book was as good as most or all of the other books in the series.  The author’s dislike for the current American president comes through loud and clear again and I find it unnecessary.  While Gabriel is retired, i wish there was more connection to his past Israeli intelligence work.  Despite all that, I still recommend the book.

I listened to this book.  I think if I had to read it, I would have rated it even lower.  The story had no flow and not sure there was even a story.  Maybe if I read this book 50 years ago, I would have appreciated it.  I don’t recommend this book.

I very much liked the story despite the main crime of children being killed.  Cosby really made me understand and feel the ongoing racism in small Southern towns.  The main character, Sheriff Titus, was believable and I wanted him to succeed and overcome his past failures.  So, I would recommend this book but wish I could offer some suggestions to improve his future books.  First, I thought there were too many characters or too many that were not described adequately.  The bad guy totally comes out of the blue, not preferable for a mystery where the reader is always trying to figure out who done it.  Doesn’t seem like 3 sadistic people working together in such a small town is realistic, especially mixed races in a rural Southern town.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Couldn’t put it down, I think because it was fast paced, and I was rooting for the main character to survive. I could feel her heat and loneliness. I thought the book was fast-paced and held my attention. However, if I could give some advice to the author, I would say that the crazy strength and other survival actions from a non-in shape woman were unrealistic also reduce repetitive information, like that the Antarctic winters are so much more harsh than summer. I felt there were some personal agenda items from the author related to global warming and “the current president“ (implied) that I personally am tired of. Even with this, the book kept my interest, and I plan to read his next book.

Overall, I liked the book.  I liked that it did not spend much time defining the quantum computing technology, and it didn’t need to.  As a spy thriller, it was not action packed.  There was no super spy or anti-hero.  The side story of racism and discrimination in the espionage community was different for a thriller but it made me root for the main character and despise his superiors.  The author should consider a sequel but have the ending be less predictable.  Still, it was worth the read and I plan to read more.

I enjoyed getting to know both Adjar & Jaz in this newest addition to the Dragons on Mars series as well as the wonderful world building descriptions of the polar environment this story takes place in. Adjar & Jaz make an excellent couple and helped one another to learn to rely on each other and to accept help when necessary. I look forward to reading more of this series.

This Book Skips Straight to the Good Stuff

The Last Rift Dragon takes a very common story, skips over the parts we already know, then slams us with several surprises.

In Tamora Pierce's The Song of the Lioness, Alanna becomes a knight in book 3 of the series. In the Protector of the Small quartet, the pattern repeats, and Kel becomes a knight at the beginning of book 4. However, in The Last Rift Dragon, chapter one starts with what would normally be the 3/4 point of Richter's coming-of-age story: the final exam that determines which of the seven finalists will get to choose an egg first, immediately prior to becoming a knight.

The story centers on a highly sensitive boy and his father following the death of the family’s mother. The father’s attempt to keep his son away from chemical medications leads to an unconventional form of therapy and its consequences. The surrounding political climate, led by a familiar-seeming president, wreaks havoc on society, including the lives of the boy and his father. The story is sad and bleak. Just like reality. Given my current state of mind, this might not have been the best time to read this story. But still, it’s a good and thought-provoking work.

In the Blink of an Eye is the British author’s debut novel. What caught my attention was that Detective Kat Frank’s partner is Lock, an AI assistant in the form of a hologram. The book weaves into the standard crime thriller plot a discussion of whether AI is suitable for criminal investigations, and what benefits and drawbacks it might have. Lock is self-learning and constantly strives to find ways to work with human intuition and logic. At first, there are difficulties on both sides. Humans also struggle to accept AI’s access to and use of the vast amounts of data it processes, which it primarily treats as statistics. Since three books in the series have already been published and a fourth is on the way, the outcome of this collaboration is predictable. I might read the next installment to see if the treatment of the subject improves from here.

The world of the story is shrouded in ever-thickening mist and ash, and despair runs deeper than ever. Vin and Elend do everything they can to save the world, and the story is full of twists and turns right up to the end. The trilogy’s conclusion was the right choice for the story. The book had too much filler and repetition (which I noticed especially on my second read), and the main characters failed to hold my interest enough. The Kolossi, the Kandras, and the Inquisitors added spice to the story with their backstories.

This was my first book by Ashley Mendoza and I thought it was an enjoyable Retelling of The Wild Swans with excellent characters, world building, and an engaging plot with some unexpected twists along the way. I liked both Ali and Calix and seeing how their relationship evolved throughout the story. This book did have a little more violence and death than some of my preferred stories but the author did warn about that in the book summary so it wasn't a surprise. I am curious to see if some of the side characters in this story get their own stories and plan to keep an eye out for more Fairy Tale Retellings by this author.

Well, the book was pretty good in the end.  I disliked the two main characters, especially the husband.  I was routing for the detective.  Despite this, the story kept me interested and there were lots of surprises.  I especially liked the ending, definitely did not predict.  

The Well of Ascension is a direct continuation of the events in the first book. The author skillfully weaves the old legend and contemporary events together right up to the end.
The action clearly picks up in this second installment, which is packed with plot twists and shocking events. The level of brutality increases exponentially, and the characters offer wonderful depth. Of course, a book of about 750 pages is bound to have some slow and even tedious moments, but fortunately, there aren’t many of them. Highly recommended epic fantasy.