As the second in command of the Paranormal Investigators Unit, Shiloh Harrison follows orders. She's good at her job and has a good relatio
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As the second in command of the Paranormal Investigators Unit, Shiloh Harrison follows orders. She's good at her job and has a good relationship with her team. Her team includes a human boss (Julius Almeida), an incubus (Novak), a skinwalker (Jaxon) and a dhampir (Kathleen). Shiloh herself is a half djinn. She can grant three wishes. She also has to deal with her Quarrel, an ability to affect the combative nature of humans. If she doesn't exert control, she can be responsible for unleashing a fight where none should be.
She just finished a case and is about to spend some time with her current lover Vincent Ortiz, when she's called back to work. A trailer park has been taken hostage by a group of vampires. Her team needs to show up as soon as possible before things get out of hand. Her boss is nowhere to be found, making Shiloh the lead US Marshall.
At the scene, Shiloh meets Woodrow Tennyson, a master vampire who has moved all his line into the trailer park. Tennyson is worried. Some of his vampires have disappeared and before any more are taken he needs the team's help to discover who's behind it and why.
Shiloh knows this mission is important when Tennyson admits he's not the only master vampire or werewolf pack who has members gone missing. Forty-six vampires and twenty-eight werewolves have disappeared.
This will take the team into a never-before-seen danger where black magic is at the center of it all. Shiloh won't know who's an ally and who's a foe.
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I love Urban Fantasy novels. I was excited about starting a new series. I was hoping to find a new favorite. I can't say that I did. However, I was entertained by the characters and the action.
I couldn't connect with Shiloh at the beginning but I liked her by the end. She made some rushed decisions. They felt too impulsive. She also has some issues with her relationships. She was with Vincent but was thinking about her ex-lover and then she throws Tennyson in the mix. She's supposed to hate vampires but she could barely keep two feet away from Tennyson.
There was a good twist at the end and a few unanswered questions. I'm hoping we get some answers in the next installment.
Stray Magic delivers a good plot and interesting characters. I'm looking forward to reading the second book in this series.
Thank you HarperCollins Publishers for providing me with a complimentary copy of Stray Magic in exchange for an honest review.
As the second in command of the Paranormal Investigators Unit, Shiloh Harrison follows orders. She's good at her job and has a good relationship with her team. Her team includes a human boss (Julius Almeida), an incubus (Novak), a skinwalker (Jaxon) and a dhampir (Kathleen). Shiloh herself is a half djinn. She can grant three wishes. She also has to deal with her Quarrel, an ability to affect the combative nature of humans. If she doesn't exert control, she can be responsible for unleashing a fight where none should be.
She just finished a case and is about to spend some time with her current lover Vincent Ortiz, when she's called back to work. A trailer park has been taken hostage by a group of vampires. Her team needs to show up as soon as possible before things get out of hand. Her boss is nowhere to be found, making Shiloh the lead US Marshall.
At the scene, Shiloh meets Woodrow Tennyson, a master vampire who has moved all his line into the trailer park. Tennyson is worried. Some of his vampires have disappeared and before any more are taken he needs the team's help to discover who's behind it and why.
Shiloh knows this mission is important when Tennyson admits he's not the only master vampire or werewolf pack who has members gone missing. Forty-six vampires and twenty-eight werewolves have disappeared.
This will take the team into a never-before-seen danger where black magic is at the center of it all. Shiloh won't know who's an ally and who's a foe.
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I love Urban Fantasy novels. I was excited about starting a new series. I was hoping to find a new favorite. I can't say that I did. However, I was entertained by the characters and the action.
I couldn't connect with Shiloh at the beginning but I liked her by the end. She made some rushed decisions. They felt too impulsive. She also has some issues with her relationships. She was with Vincent but was thinking about her ex-lover and then she throws Tennyson in the mix. She's supposed to hate vampires but she could barely keep two feet away from Tennyson.
There was a good twist at the end and a few unanswered questions. I'm hoping we get some answers in the next installment.
Stray Magic delivers a good plot and interesting characters. I'm looking forward to reading the second book in this series.
Thank you HarperCollins Publishers for providing me with a complimentary copy of Stray Magic in exchange for an honest review.
Lucas Davenport has not been the same since his last few cases. His head hasn't been right since then. He has lost his relationship with hi
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Lucas Davenport has not been the same since his last few cases. His head hasn't been right since then. He has lost his relationship with his girlfriend, Jennifer and he barely sees his kid. He went into a major depression but maybe getting back on the job is the one thing that can help him.
When Dell, another cop, asks Lucas to look into the murder of one of his cousin's, Lucas decides to put his personal problems aside and help Dell. Dell thinks the husband, Michael Bekker did it. Bekker is a doctor, a well-known pathologist, but he's a strange bird. Everyone who Lucas approaches about Bekker thinks Bekker is the responsible party but he has a great alibi. Bekker was in a different state when his wife was murdered.
One look at Michael Bekker and Lucas know there's more to the story. Then a theater manager is murdered and her eyes are gouged just like Bekker's wife. The plot thickens when Lucas believes there is a second killer involved. Lucas wishes for "Loverboy", the sole witness to Bekker's wife murder, to come forward.
Lucas will have his hands full trying to piece together these murders.
Carlo Druze and Michael Bekker were a weird couple of psychopaths. Michael was obsessed with death and what comes after. He was hooked on all types of drugs which at times made me doubt his capacity for him having any logical thought process and fooling the police. Carlo had no qualms with killing but it was kind of strange for him to befriend Bekker. He knew Bekker was crazy but he did everything Bekker wanted him to do despite knowing it could bring trouble to his doorstep.
When I started the series, I didn't like Lucas but he was able to bring out plenty of emotions from me. He made me angry with his philandering ways. He made me upset when he didn't blink an eye when he was breaking the law. Yes, his purpose was all about catching a criminal but I was expecting him to do it by the book. He also made me laugh many times and he made me feel bad for him at certain times too. In this book, John Sandford has made him more likable. Not that he didn't use violence and still broke the law, but for me, he has finally realized his actions have consequences.
I'm guessing, Lucas will continue to grow on me since I've many more books to get to.
Eyes of Prey ends with an amazing twist. One, I never saw coming until the very end. I wonder if this will come back out on a future book.
As a side note, this book has a lot of violence and gory details, so if you're squeamish, this might not be the book to start this series with.
As a huge, Sandra Brown's fan, I'm committed to trying to read all of her books. Every time I have downtime, or I had read a few books that
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As a huge, Sandra Brown's fan, I'm committed to trying to read all of her books. Every time I have downtime, or I had read a few books that didn't cut it for me, I revert back to something I know I'm going to enjoy.
Low Pressure is full of suspense, romance, intrigue and great plot twists which is not unusual for Mrs. Brown's arsenal of amazing books.
From the first chapter, I knew it was going to be a good one.
Bellamy Lyston Price has written a novel about a murder. She has based her book, Low Pressure on a real-life event, her sister Susan's murder. When Bellany was twelve, during a Memorial day festivity, a tornado hit their party and soon after, her sister was found murdered.
Susan's boyfriend at the time, Denton Carter was the prime suspect. Yet, Dent denied ever being around the park and he had a firm alibi. He was flying a plane with his soon to be boss, Gall Hathaway.
Susan's family, her father, Howard (who is dying of cancer), her step-mother, Olivia and her step-brother, Steven are very unhappy about the book. Susan's murder affected all of them eighteen years ago and having the wound opened again is hurting them now. It doesn't help that Rocky Van Durbin, a sensationalist reporter won't let the matter go. Furthermore, there are many others who are unhappy with what Low Pressure has stirred, Dale Moody was the cop who investigated the murder, Rupe Collier was the DA at the time and Ray Strickland is obsessed with hurting Bellamy and Dent since his brother was the one who paid for Susan's murder when Ray is sure his brother was innocent.
Low Pressure is another winner. I loved the audio as much as the Kindle. As always, the characters are well-developed and the storyline is an interesting one. I didn't love Denton as much as I've loved the other male characters. I did like Bellamy a lot.
I can't wait to read another book by this great author.
I couldn't connect with this story or the characters. I should have known better and stopped reading it. I tried multiple times to continue
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I couldn't connect with this story or the characters. I should have known better and stopped reading it. I tried multiple times to continue reading. I forced myself to finish it when I think I should have quit instead.
Why didn't it work for me?
Mostly, because nothing happens. The prose is so slow that became irritating. The book is very (VERY) descriptive but I felt a lack of substance to the story. I don't think anything important happened in the first 25% of the book. Lastly, the main character was flat to me.
I'll proceed to give you an idea of what the book is about.
John Pentecost is moving back to the Endlands to help his father. He brings his pregnant wife Kat with him. His grandfather, Gaffer recently passed away. The Gaffer had many responsibilities including delineating limits. John is back to the Endlands to help gather the sheep and help them come down from the moors. This is what the residents of the Endlands called the Gathering. The day before the Gathering, they have a celebration called the Devil's Day. Legend says the devil came to the Endlands a hundred years ago and killed many people and the animals too.
As you can see, the story is intriguing from the outside. I thought when I was reading the synopsis that pregnancy and the devil reminded me of Rosemary's Baby but it was nothing like it.
I'm sad this didn't work for me but I'm sure others might enjoy it.
Cliffhanger: No
2/5 Fangs
A complimentary copy was provided by Crooked Lane Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Over the past month (I know, I was not suffering through years like so many) I have come to enj
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What a bittersweet moment to end this book!
Over the past month (I know, I was not suffering through years like so many) I have come to enjoy learning about everything Elin Hilderbrand wanted to tell me about these characters. I have come to adore this not-so-perfect family with their quirks and all.
Bart coming back home from Afghanistan and finally listening to his point of view was something I enjoyed tremendously. He was a man who was suffering and who deserved some happiness.
I was ecstatic to see "Fast Eddie" showing up in this book. I liked him a lot in The Rumor despite getting himself into so much trouble and ending up in jail. Now, as a free man, he was trying to support his family and he was desperate to sell a property in order to keep his family afloat.
As Winter Solstice progresses, we check in with Patrick, Jennifer, Kevin, Isabelle, Ava, Margaret, Mitzi, and of course Kelley.
I won't lie and say that Winter Solstice didn't break my heart. As I approached the ending, I knew where this was going and more than a few tears were shed.
I'm going to miss these characters and my only hope is just like Fast Eddie, Elin Hilderbrand decides to bring them back into her future books.
I usually hate cliffhangers but I think Thunderhead ends in a gr
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"The Thunderhead did not speak to unsavories."
What a huge cliffhanger!!
I usually hate cliffhangers but I think Thunderhead ends in a great one.
So what happens in this installment?
Rowan is now Scythe Lucifer. He's targeting Scythes who have forgotten their way. The Scythes who enjoyed the killing are all in his naughty list.
Citra as junior Scythe Anastasia is trying to change the Scythom from within with the support of Scythe Curie and the help of Scythe Faraday. This puts her in grave danger. Not everyone agrees with her way of thinking.
There's a fight for power between the old order and the new one. All thanks to Scythe Goddard and his followers.
Shusteman introduces an important character, Greyson Tolliver who will play a huge part in the Thunderhead.
My favorite part was learning more about the Thunderhead. Instead of the Scythes journals, we get so much more input about It, what he's thinking and who he wants to help.
“Death must exist for life to have meaning.”
I love the world building and the insight we get from the main characters.
I'm not sure how much the Tonists will play a part in the next one but I think it's going to be a major one.
I wonder how much time passes between the end of the Thunderhead and The Toll. I hope we don't have to wait too long for it. I'm dying for answers.
Jennifer is steel dealing with her pill addiction. Ava is dating both
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The Quinns are back!!
This time the book begins way before Christmas.
Jennifer is steel dealing with her pill addiction. Ava is dating both Nathaniel and Scott (hard to have a favorite. Neither is worth it). Kevin is getting prepared for his wedding to Isabelle (The plan is to get married during the Christmas Holiday). Margaret might be walking down the aisle herself. Kelley has a health issue (I was not prepared for this one. Plenty of tears were shed). Mitzi is back with Kelley. Patrick is getting out of prison after doing his time for inside trading. Lastly, Bart might be alive and coming home for good.
So many sad and wonderful things are happing to the Quinns and I didn't want to miss any of it. There's plenty of drama to go around for this family. There were so many lingering questions from the prior two books and it was nice to get some closure (Although, one more book is out there).
I'm thankful for these books and for Mrs. Hilderbrand sharing these characters with us. I love the Winter series. Their drama, their hope, their happiness only made the season even more wonderful for me.
It has been a year in the life of the Quinn family. Another December in Nantucket is here.
So what's new with the characters?
Kelley's missing Mitzi. He has not divorced her and when she calls to beg to attend the baptism of Kevin's new daughter, Genevieve, he can't say no to her. It seems things between Mitzi and George, the yearly Santa Claus, are not going well. George might even start dating someone else!
Margaret is still dating the pediatric surgeon, Drake. She's very happy with him. She's also quite involved with the Inn and with her children lives too.
Kevin and Isabelle are preparing for the baptism when Kevin's ex-wife Nora makes her presence known. She's back to create trouble for the Quinn's family.
Ava is dating Scott and she couldn't be happier. Then, Scott invites another teacher to the Winter Stroll and when she gets hurt, Scott feels responsible and takes care of her, leaving Ava behind. This leaves room for Nathaniel to make a pass at her. Nathaniel is back on the island with the sole purpose of recovering Ava as his girlfriend.
Bart is still missing in Afghanistan but all his family is thinking of him.
Jennifer, Patrick's wife has become addicted to pain meds and Ativan. She's trying to figure out a way to get more pills for herself. She thinks she will stop using when Patrick is out of prison.
A lot has happened in the last year and many more things happened in this novel. All exciting and interesting to me since now I'm invested with these broken characters. The audio was fantastic and I would love to do a Winter Stroll myself during December in Nantucket.
One of the things I love the most is how they were thinking about Bart and how the light in his room was always on.
I'm surprised I have come around to liking Mitzi. I was so happy with the way she felt at the end of The Winter Inn but after finishing Winter Stroll, I understand her better and I'm rooting for Kelley and her to fix things between them.
Ava's love life is a mess. I'm leaning towards Scott but who knows.
Kevin had a moronic moment but thanks to George, not everything was lost to him.
Winter Street sets the bait for the Winter series. I enjoyed the audio and as soon as I was done with it, I was purchasing the next book, W
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Winter Street sets the bait for the Winter series. I enjoyed the audio and as soon as I was done with it, I was purchasing the next book, Winter Stroll. I'm so happy all the books are out so I don't have to wait anytime in between discovering what will be the future of these characters.
Winter Street centers around The Quinn family. Kelley Quinn is the father. He owns a B&B with his current wife Mitzi. He's worried about the financial future of the Winter Street Inn but this concern takes second place when he finds his wife in a room with George, the Santa Claus who performs during the yearly Christmas party at the Inn. Before she leaves, Mitzi confesses that her affair with George has been ongoing for twelve years every single Christmas holiday.
Margaret Quinn is Kelley's ex-wife but she's also the most famous women on TV. She's part of America as she delivers the daily news. She's currently seeing a pediatric surgeon and is spending Christmas with him in Hawaii instead of Nantucket until she learns something that pulls her back to her ex-husband's home.
Patrick is the eldest son and Kelley and Margaret's favorite too. He's a broker and supposedly a great businessman except he let his greed take hold of him and now he's being investigated for inside trading. Patrick is married to Jennifer and they have three children.
Ava is the only daughter. She's a music teacher whose love life is a mess. She's in love with Nathaniel but he's not as serious with their relationship as Ava wishes it to be. She wants more from him. Ava does have Scott in her life. She knows he's in love with her but she doesn't think about him that way but maybe she should.
Kevin is living at the Inn. He's ex-wife Nora did a number on him. He lost trust in women but secretly he has been dating Isabelle, a French woman who works at the Inn too. He's going to be a father and he better get with the program before he loses his chance at happiness.
Last but not least is Bart. The youngest son of Kelley and the only kid by Mitzi. He was a loose cannon until he joined the Marines and now he has been deployed to Afghanistan. No one knows where he is at but they all hope he's safe.
Winter Street is full of drama. There are so many things happening all at once to this family that it should be impossible to believe it. Yet, I found myself being entertained by their angst, sorrow, persistence, and happiness.
I liked all the family members especially Margaret. She changed her plans to help her kids and ex-husband.
Winter Street ends up in a cliffhanger. I'm happy I didn't have to suffer through it for too long.
“My greatest wish for humanity is not for peace or comfort or joy. It is that we all still die a little inside every time we witness the death of another. For only the pain of empathy will keep us human. There’s no version of God that can help us if we ever lose that.”
The Scythe came highly recommended to me. My husband read it and loved it. He told me "This one is right up your alley." I can't disagree. It had all the right components to become a favorite fantasy.
In this new world, many years away from us, people don't die. There is no sickness and the Cloud has become an entity that manages the world without taking absolute control. It's called the Thunderhead. Since people don't die, many try to do it just for fun. Deadish is the new extreme sport. If you don't like the aging process, you can reverse time and "turn a corner" and become a younger self.
Permanent death is only achieved by being "gleaned". The person performing a gleaning is specially chosen and trained. He or she becomes a Scythe. Scythes are feared and revered. The only ones who don't like them are the Tonist. The Tonists live in monasteries and the Thunderhead leaves them alone although cameras are still everywhere.
The main characters are Rowan Damisch and Citra Terranova. Both teenagers, who after having an interaction with Scythe Faraday they are offered to become apprentices into the Scythom. Neither wants to do it but their families are all for it in order to receive immunity for one year.
The world of the Scythom is full of intrigue, politics, and danger.We meet many important characters like Scythe Curie (the Grand Dame of Death), Scythe Goddard, Scythe Xenocrates and many more.
The Scythe is an amazing fantasy. It has an impressive world-building with very interesting characters and compelling dialogue. There was a couple of great twists (one, I saw coming, one, I had not thought about) and a fantastic ending.
Aleatha has a way with words. She's always able to grab my attention from the very first chapter.
Secrets is the first book in the Web of Sin series. The dark setting intrigued me and the suspense made me turn the pages constantly.
The book begins with Renee being sent away by her adoptive mother. Their lives are in danger and she must run. Her mother hands her new a new identity and tells her she must move to Colorado. She will cease to be Renee and she will become Kennedy Hawkins. However, before she leaves, her mother reveals her true identity. Her real name is Araneae McCrie.
"The devil has been searching for you. And my greatest fear has always been that he find you."
Ten years later, due to her successful company Sinful Threads, she must return to the place she promised her adoptive mother she would never go back to, the city of Chicago. She will come to regret her decision. Or maybe not, after all, she will land in the arms of Sterling Sparrow.
"Sparrow, Allister Sparrow. He's currently in charge, but one day it will be his son, Sterling."
Sterling is a very powerful and rich man. Someone who has waited to take Araneae as his wife. He's determined to do so without a second thought. Araneae knows he has the information about her past she is desperate to learn. He holds all the cards. She must do as he says or the people closest to her will get hurt.
"Sparrow, Allister Sparrow. He's currently in charge, but one day it will be his son, Sterling."
I can't believe the book ends in a cliffhanger. There were so many lies and secrets! Everyone was hiding something. Araneae didn't know who to trust. I feel like there is much more for us to learn about Araneae's childhood and her real parents. I know Sterling has to be the good guy (although he's the anti-hero) and since her life is in danger, he has the means to protect her too.
I liked Araneae. She had a backbone. Even when she had no choice, she still made her dislike of the situation known. She didn't roll over and that was a plus.
Sterling is a smart man. He served his country, cultivated true friendships along the way and now he's the CEO of Sparrow Enterprises. We know he hated his father Allister Sparrow and that he was promised Araneae when he was too young to know better. He does have an obsession with her and I'm sure he has been following her progress through the years. It will be interesting to know how much he was involved in her life without her knowing.
I'm excited about the next book and I'm so glad Aleatha is not making me wait long.
If you have been following this series, you know what happened at the end of the last book, Stone Col
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John Carr is back and he's on the run!
If you have been following this series, you know what happened at the end of the last book, Stone Cold. This will trigger a reaction from Oliver Stone which will make him become the most sought-after man in the USA.
Oliver says goodbye to the Camel Club and to D.C. He ends up in the little town of Divine, WV which is nothing but that. Here, he'll realize that something is wrong with the town and some people are into shady businesses. Oliver can't walk away. He stays in Divine to help the people he has come to care for.
While Oliver is in Divine, the rest of the Camel Club won't let him deal with the government on his own. They decide to help Oliver even if he doesn't want their help. On the other hand, some people in the government want to keep Oliver quiet about everything he knows. Ending his life is the best way to do so.
Divine Justice is a great addition to the series. I was with Oliver on this one. He did what he thought was right and despite being on the run, he couldn't walk away from the trouble in Divine.
My favorite part of Divine Justice was to see characters from the other books making an appearance like Harry Finn and Alex Ford and meeting new ones like Joe Knox. Of course, there are some dangerous men like Macklin Hayes who were easy to hate.
I could say that Barefoot is my least favorite book by Elin so far. Even the epilogue didn't answer a
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*My review will contain some spoilers*
I could say that Barefoot is my least favorite book by Elin so far. Even the epilogue didn't answer all my questions about the characters' future. Yet, I still enjoyed the story about these three women spending their summer in Nantucket.
The first woman is Victoria Lyndon Stowe. Vicki has been recently diagnosed with lung cancer despite never smoking. She decides to leave her life in Connecticut and take her two young kids, Blaine and Porter, to spend the summer in Nantucket. She plans to get her chemotherapy there. Chemo is never easy and Vicki will have to deal with her feelings about her own mortality.
The second woman is Brenda Lyndon. She's Vicki's younger sister. She had the perfect job in Academia until she met her new Australian student, John Walsh. He's one year older than her but a relationship with him will cost Brenda her beloved job and plenty of legal issues.
The third woman is Melanie Patchen, Vicki's best friend who's escaping with them in order to avoid her own problems. Melanie has tried seven rounds of in-vitro treatments in hopes of getting pregnant without any success. Then, she discovers she's pregnant but she also learns that her husband, Peter, is cheating with a woman at work.
Last but not least, we meet Joshua "Josh" Flynn. A twenty-two-year-old man who crosses paths with them as they get off the plane. By serendipity, they meet a few more times and Josh ends up becoming their nanny for the summer.
As you can see there's enough material for plenty of drama in the making.
So why didn't I love it? Well, a few reasons.
It was hard to like Melanie. She behaved childishly and never really helped Vicki throughout the summer. I also thought she took advantage of Josh's feelings and young age. Worse, her decision at the end made me lose all respect for her. I hated Peter. He had it too easy and I didn't believe his apology. He will cheat again.
In the beginning, I wasn't crazy about Brenda. She could be selfish but she did help her sister. She was there for her. I wished there had been more info about Walsh. Where was he during all those weeks? Why didn't he call her more times? Why didn't he show up to look for her?
Vicki's storyline was the saddest. I felt sorry for her. She was dealing with the unthinkable. Cancer is a scary word and she wasn't sure if she would be there for her two small kids. She had many bad days ahead of her. I love her two kids.
I thought Josh had a rotten deal. He was indispensable to them while they needed him but I thought they didn't tell him how much he meant to them and when it was time to let him go, neither women batted their eyelashes. No offer to stay connected either.
This will teach me to read the synopsis before starting a book. Elin Hilderbrand clearly hints about the outcome of this book but sadly, I
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This will teach me to read the synopsis before starting a book. Elin Hilderbrand clearly hints about the outcome of this book but sadly, I didn't read it and I just thought: "What a cute name for a book". I will say it was a very deceiving title and it left me completely unprepared for my feelings as I started approaching the end of The Matchmaker. It was, to say the least, a bittersweet story.
As with her prior books, Elin Hilderbrand takes you back to the Island of Nantucket with its charming people, beautiful sceneries and the unraveling of a specific family or character's life.
Dabney Kimball Beech has always loved only one man, Clendenin Hughes. When he left the island twenty-seven years ago in the pursuit of his dream as a journalist, he took her heart with him. She did marry a man that she has come to care for, John Boxmiller Beech.
Box is a famous economist whom even the President of the United States likes to consult from time to time. When Clendenin left he didn't know Dabney was pregnant with their daughter, Agnes. Box took the role of a father as Agnes starting growing up. Now as a young woman, Agnes is dating an older man. Someone Dabney doesn't approve of.
To make her life even more interesting, Dabney receives an email from Clendenin. In it, he tells her that he's coming back to Nantucket and he wants to reconnect with her. This piece of news will mark the beginning of a new chapter in Dabney's life.
Dabney was a very nice woman. She was a huge believer in love and she tried to help everyone around her. For this reason, everyone liked her. She was friendly, sweet and she had a stellar reputation as a matchmaker. A total of Forty-two couples were together because of Dabney. The only one she never got right was her own love story. She was in love with Clendenin from the first moment he joined her school. His return to the island brings chaos into her life. Too many things are happening too fast for Dabney. She will need to learn to deal with all of her new emotions and decide if it's too late for her and Clendenin or if she continues living comfortably with Box.
I thought the last third of the book was a tear jerker. It was unexpected but it gave the story a tone of truthfulness.
The Matchmaker proves to me once again that Elin Hilderbrand can bring a phenomenal gamma of emotions to her stories.
“The destiny that matters most in anyone’s life is the one concerning love.”
Every Breath is a tear jerker. You have been warned!
For the longest time, I resisted reading Nicholas Sparks novels. I had seen the movies like A Walk to Remember, Message in a Bottle, Dear John and The Notebook. So I knew his main characters either didn't stay together or one of them died. As a true romantic, this really hurt my heart. Then, I read The Longest Ride, See Me, and Two by Two and I became a fan of his storytelling.
Every Breath took me on a journey full of destiny, hope, heartbreak and true love.
Tru Walls is going to America for the first time. His biological father has sent him a letter and in it, he has asked Tru to meet him. The meeting will take place in North Carolina, in Sunset Beach. In Africa, Tru is a guide in Zimbabwe. Since early in his life, he has spent time in the bush. He was once married but currently divorced. He has one son he adores and he gets along with his ex-wife Kim.
Hope Anderson has many things to think about. Her boyfriend of six years, an orthopedic surgeon is currently in Las Vegas. Over the years, he had a problem with faithfulness and they are currently on a break. Hope decides to go to his family beach home in Sunset Beach for the last time. The beach house is going on sale to save money to pay for his father's care who has recently being diagnosed with ALS. Hope will stay there and will attend the wedding of her best friend over the weekend. She's concerned and has no idea how to explain her boyfriend's absence.
A chance encounter due to Hope's dog will begin a true love affair between these two souls. Hope will show Tru the magic of a place called the Kindred Spirit, and it will connect them forever.
After reading, Every Breath, I'm dying to go to Sunset Beach and Kindred Spirit. Whoever decided to start it, had a great idea in the making.
I can't end my review without thanking Grand Central Publishing, NetGalley and Nicholas Sparks for my copy of Every Breath. The cover alone is gorgeous.
It's always a thrill when I embark into another Sandra Brown novel. She writes compelling characters, thoughtful plotlines and has plenty o
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It's always a thrill when I embark into another Sandra Brown novel. She writes compelling characters, thoughtful plotlines and has plenty of good twists to keep this suspense reader happy.
Griff Burkett is fresh out of prison when he's asked to meet Foster Speakman and his wife Laura. Griff went to prison for five years after being found guilty for taking payment by his bookies in exchange for forfeiting a game while he was the Dallas Cowboy's quarterback. Everyone in Texas despises him for doing it and despite five years gone by, everyone still remembers what he did.
As Enemy #1 and without any of his football money (which he lost before going to prison) it's hard to find a new job offer. When Speakman offers him money in exchange for performing a special service, first he thinks Foster is crazy but by the end of the night, he's agreeing to do what they want from him.
Laura Speakman loves her husband. She will do anything he asks of her. She will even do the crazy thing he's requesting from her. At first, she doesn't trust or likes Griff but when she gets to know him, she's conflicted. She realizes she has developed feelings for him. She tries to severe her connection with him but then a murder brings them closer together.
I had fun reading/listening to Play Dirty. It had plenty of suspense, an evil character to hate and two good twists.
As for the characters, I liked how Griff was not cookie-cutter perfect. He was down on his luck and he had to start over from scratch. I loved that Laura was a cut-throat businesswoman. She worked as hard as her husband or maybe even more. I'm not sure how she could have fallen for Foster who was manipulative and deceitful.
Something weird happened to me while I was reading Stone Cold Heart. I was more interested in the suspense and the unsub than in the romanc
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Something weird happened to me while I was reading Stone Cold Heart. I was more interested in the suspense and the unsub than in the romance. As a romantic at heart, this was really shocking to me. No doubt only Laura Griffin can distract me from a HEA!
Stone Cold Heart is the 13th book in the Tracers series. Each book has a new couple investigating a case.
Newcomer Sara Lockhart is a forensic anthropologist. She's at a wedding when she's called by detective Nolan Hess to assist on an investigation. Human bones have been found at a National Park. Sara has recently relocated to Texas after spending some time in Guatemala. She accepted a job at the Delphi Crime Center. Sara is confident in her performance. She's a hard worker and prefers to stay away from any romantic notions. Her last relationship ended with her breaking up her own engagement.
Nolan Hess feels a responsibility to his town. A girl disappeared almost a year ago and her family is still looking for answers. Nolan wants nothing more than to bring the family some closure. He would love to capture the person responsible for her disappearance and put them behind bars for a long time. When human bones are found at the park, he thinks they could be the remains of the missing girl but Sara has her doubts. Then, a new young woman disappears in a city close by.
Stone Cold Heart had the perfect components of a romantic suspense. Laura Griffin is able to create the right environment for the crimes. In this case, the parks, the rock climbing and the caves were an excellent addition to the mystery. The idea of a serial killer dumping bodies so close to other people enjoying the outdoors was scary. I was biting my nails trying to figure out who was the killer. I knew it had to be close to them but I wasn't sure who it was until the end.
Stone Cold Heart is a great complement to the Tracers series. I hope we see many more stories to come.
Cliffhanger: No
4/5 Fangs
A complimentary copy was provided by Pocket Star via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren was everything this romance reader needed (and was desperat
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FINALLY, A FIVE FOR ME!
Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren was everything this romance reader needed (and was desperate for) in a book.
There are so MANY things I loved about the story and about the characters. It has become apparent to me that I tend to love quirky and special female characters. Hazel was amazing! She was funny and very unique, a breath of fresh air. In a genre where there are so many other romance novels, she excelled, that's for sure.
What's the novel about?
Our heroine Hazel Camille Bradford lacks a filter and she behaves in a different way than your usual heroine. She says things without thinking first. She rambles when she should remain quiet. She puts herself in embarrassing situations but the difference is that she knows she is like this and she accepts herself this way. She doesn't want to settle for a man who doesn't like her for herself. In a way, she reminded me of Bridget Jones.
"The world seems full of men who are initially infatuated by our eccentricities, but who ultimately expect them to be temporary. "
Hazel met Josh when they were in college and the first time she met him she made quite an impression after vomiting all over his shoes. Over the years in college, she created a reputation for being quite crazy and she knows some men are uncomfortable with her personality thinking she's too much to handle. In college, Hazel had a crush on Josh. After all, he's "the blueprint for Perfect", but she knew a relationship with him was impossible.
Josh was the quiet one. A good guy whom a decade later is currently dating a girl who's living in California. The long distance relationship is hard on him. He then bumps into Hazel who wants to turn him into her best friend. In a turn of events, Hazel is best friends with his sister Emily without realizing it but now that Josh is back in her life, she wants him as her best friend. Hazel thinks Josh will never want to be more than friends with her because he knows how she is, a tornado or more like a hurricane. In her mind, if you can date them then you can make them your best friend.
As friends, Hazel and Josh decide to go on double dates after Josh discovers his girlfriend is being unfaithful to him. Of course, the double dates go horribly wrong but it also makes Hazel and Josh realize that there are other feelings in play. Discovering those feelings are what makes this book so humorous and sexy.
I love this novel. It was deliciously funny, witty and one of a kind! Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating has become my favorite book by this duo.
“I know I’m like Pig-Pen in Charlie Brown, and I have chaos around me, but it’s like he doesn’t even care. He doesn’t need me to change or pretend to be someone else. He’s my person. He’s my best friend.”
Stone Cold kept me on my toes. I had no idea what was going to happen next!
As with The Collectors two parallel storylines are being describ
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Stone Cold kept me on my toes. I had no idea what was going to happen next!
As with The Collectors two parallel storylines are being described.
The first one involves Annabelle Conroy. Annabelle is the con artist who robbed Jerry Bagger of forty million dollars from his casino as a revenge for killing her mother decades ago (book 2). She hates Jerry and she wishes she had done more damage to him but she also wants to stay alive.
Not long after, Annabelle learns that her cover has been blown and Jerry is coming for her. It's up to the Camel Club to help Annabelle survive. Annabelle will also get help from two other people, one her estranged father, Patty Conroy who she has not seen in years. The second person is Alex Ford, the secret service agent who was part of the first book.
The second storyline involves Oliver Stone who is really an ex-military killing machine. His real name is John Carr. He's ex-CIA and he has proven to be able to outsmart Carter Gray before. Having done this is the reason why his life is in danger now. Carter Gray and Roger Simpson would like nothing better than to have John Carr dead - for real this time.
Harry Finn is an ex-SEAL. He's a doting husband and father but he's also someone who's helping his mother seek revenge for the death of his father. One by one, the CIA agents who were involved in his murder must pay with their lives. Oliver Stone was one of them.
A multitude of things happened in Stone Cold. I felt sad for Oliver, he has lost everything except for his friends from the Camel Club. Gray was a great adversary. An evil man with his own personal agenda.
I also felt sorry for Harry. He had no choice but to follow his mother's commands. He was raised by her with only one purpose in life. Yet, he was worried about his family and he was hoping to keep his two lives separate.
I like the connection I saw between Annabelle and Alex Ford. They make a great couple!
With the way Stone Cold ended, I had no choice but to listen to the first two chapters of the next book, Divine Justice.
The whole first half of The Collectors, I was thinking how are these two storylines going to connect? I was loving both of them on their ow
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The whole first half of The Collectors, I was thinking how are these two storylines going to connect? I was loving both of them on their own but wasn't sure where David Baldacci was going with it. When it finally happened I was like, wow I didn't see that coming.
The book begins with the murder of the Speaker of the House and then Caleb Shaw's boss, Jonathan DeHaven is also found dead in the Library of Congress's Rare Books room. When Caleb sees his boss's body, Caleb passes out. His three friends, Oliver Stone, Ruben Rhodes, and Milton Farb will go in search of the connection between these two very different set of deaths.
While the Camel Club is going in one direction, another plot emerges. We're introduced to sexy, smart, independent con artist, Annabelle Conroy who is recruiting a group of men for a con involving an Atlantic City casino owner by the name of Jerry Bagget. Jerry is well known for his lack of compassion and if it is up to him, anyone messing with his casino will pay with their own lives.
When the two stories collided, I couldn't put the book down. Annabelle was a fantastic asset to the story- and to the Camel Club. I loved her. She created mystery, humor, intrigue, and suspense in every page she appeared. I wasn't a fan of the first book but with the addition of Annabelle and I'm all in. Good job Mr. Baldacci for launching this unforgettable character!
Even though one of the plot lines closes by the end of The Collectors, another one is left wide open, making it impossible for me not to grab the next one in this series.
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