TRBChallenge Review: Captive of Fate

Captive of Fate by Lindsay McKenna
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

2.5 stars

“Damn you, Colonel. You're going to get everything that's been coming to you. I promise. God, how I promise.” 

I know, I can't believe there isn't an exclamation point in that sentence either.(!) 

The theme for this month's TBRChallenge was Change of Plans. In Captive of Fate Alanna is a twenty-nine year old woman who works for a Senator in D.C. She's been pulling sixty hour work weeks when he suddenly springs a trip to Costa Rica on her. She's supposed to go down there and prove that the US's head of a relief effort for earthquake victims, Marine Colonel Matt Breckenridge, is running and making money off a survivor goods black market. Having worked for the senator awhile and been tainted against Matt with all the horrible stories the senator has told her and that Matt is at fault for the senator's son's death in Vietnam, Alanna is gung-ho to get the evidence. 

He was honest in a way she had never known a man to be.

Of course, she gets a change of heart (plans) when she meets and spends time with him. Their first meeting initially sets up the friction with Alanna's presence bumping a radio specialist Matt really needed and him being angry at her but that dynamic doesn't rage as hard in this as I was anticipating as Matt softens and pretty obviously likes/falls for her quickly. Alanna for her part tries to keep her distance because she's been listening to the senator for so long but seeing Matt in action in Costa Rica and then realizing the evidence doesn't point to him at all for the black market has her leaning more into her attraction. 

He represented the emotional freedom she longed for. Yet, at the same time, he was a threat to her sense of security. He was dangerous. 

With the 1983 publishing date of this, you'll get a lot of Matt is so hot because of his masculine masculinity, He's sooooooooo male!, and leaned a bit too much into the fish out of water Alanna with some overemotional helpless female. With the Vietnam War fresh in memories there was a ton of “[...]Politicians versus military. Dove versus hawk.[...]” dialogue and ideology going on, I about fell off the couch when Alanna made a crack about Marines having a reputation for being rapists; 2000s military rom-suspense were, for the most part, ever up to touching that. It was interesting to me how Matt was portrayed, his thoughts on Vietnam (war is hell and all that but with how it was a waste of human life) and how though he was a Marine Recon the author worked hard at portraying him softer, very invested in emotions and wanting out of that kind of life, again I feel like the 2000s subgenre works hard at the messaging of for good of country/way of life and all that. (we're getting some years removed from the Afghanistan War so maybe I need to dip back more into rom-suspense and see if these feelings are being grappled with again) 

The last 40% they've left Costa Rica and the story kind of lost it's way for me. They romp around Maine for awhile as love, sex, and marriage are declared, had, and planned for but there's the senator wanting to take Matt down lingering in the background. There's a, sort of, third act breakup for the last 10% and Alanna leans way too hard into helpless female as Matt takes care of business and we eventually get our HEA. Some interesting character aspects to Matt, some disappointing from Alanna, the constant talk of “maleness” was wearing, a story that seemed to lose it's way for a while, kind of an odd late betrayal reveal, and interesting post war authorial thinking in the fabric, all lead to a not bad but probably not memorable book.

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Review: The Ferryman and His Wife

The Ferryman and His Wife by Frode Grytten
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review 

At a quarter past five in the morning Nils Vik opened his eyes, and the last day of his life began. 

Prepare to sob, really, that's all you need to know. I mean, if this doesn't gut punch you with the grief: He simply stared at his eldest daughter. Her clear eyes, her feminine movements, the way she said things, the way she laughed – and all the while, he saw her mother. It was all he had now. To other people it would have been nothing, but for Nils it was almost too much. 

All his passengers – they ooze out of the logbooks, arise from his handwriting, grow out of his memory. They line the fjord, they are with him, they present themselves in the hope of being recognised. See us. Touch us. Speak of us. 

The Ferryman and His Wife was a shorter story of a Norwegian man who knows it's his last day on earth and he becomes a sort of Charon on his fjord as he ferries ghosts from his past and thinks back on his life. 

After Marta, he still flicked off the lamp on the nightstand and said: Goodnight, sweetheart, sleep well. After Marta, he whispered the words from his side of the bed, but from the other there was no longer any reply. 

It's all from Nils' point-of-view with such descriptive setting writing that you'll freeze on the fjords with him at times. Readers learn that he still lives in the home that he grew-up in and he's followed in his father's footsteps as a ferryman for the community since he was fourteen. 

Everyone needs to be seen – there isn’t a single person on this earth who isn’t longing to be discovered. 

His wife has already passed on and he has two grown daughters, are the bare facts we know as he starts his ferry up for the last time. It's all pretty intrapersonal but through his thoughts and feelings you get such a beautiful scope of all the people and moments that make a life. 

He can remember no point in his life when he hasn’t loved her, or when he’s doubted that she truly loved him back. Sometimes, when he turned on the radio at home and heard people harping on about being unhappy in love, all the bitter experiences of their lives, he would walk into whichever room Marta was in and just look at her. What are you staring at, Nils Vik? she might ask him then. I’m staring at you, Marta Haugen Vik. Well, you can bloody well stop it – go on, get away with you, Nils Vik. 

Nils first passenger is his dog that died twenty-five years ago and their communication and love will be your first sob-fest and from there on readers are treated to vignettes about passengers Nils has had over the years. It's a heartfelt look at how his job integrated him into the community and how everyday people can make such a huge difference. 

A cigarette in her hand, and strangely enough it was the cigarette that had shaken Nils the most – not the smoking itself, but that she was sitting there on the edge of the bed with a cigarette, when she usually never smoked. It was as if there were another Marta, one he had no knowledge of, one to whom he had no access. Who was his wife? And who was his best friend?

As he's traveling picking up some ghostly passengers and reminiscing about others, there's always going back to thoughts and feelings about his time with his wife Marta. I loved how his memories showed the highs and lows of a longterm relationship, the way that couples can grow apart and grow together; Nils changing and working a little harder for Marta is subtle but there in a big way. 

How could I ever have prepared myself for you? he whispered. How could I ever have prepared for these days, which became these weeks, which became these months, which became these years, which became this life? 

This, to me, is the best of literary fiction, it set me in a place I could feel and delivered on the emotions that make you run the gamut, crying, smiling, struggling, questioning, and wanting to understand yourself and others more. The grief, love, connection, and with all the mistakes and doing right of a life well lived was beautifully relayed in this story. Read this, get your book clubs to read this, and then come talk to me about it (sob with me about Luna and let's talk tea about that photographer bestfriend).

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Reading Update: 30%

After Marta, he still flicked off the lamp on the nightstand and said: Goodnight, sweetheart, sleep well. After Marta, he whispered the words from his side of the bed, but from the other there was no longer any reply.

On his last day alive they started with his dog that died 25yrs ago joining him and they talk. Tears for days. 

Now I have to try and survive him reliving, talking about his wife who died. As someone who has been with the same person for 23yrs, well, trying not to sob my way through this.

Review: The Library of Fates

The Library of Fates by Margot Harrison
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review 

The Book of Dark Nights was gone. 

I devoured The Library of Fates in the beginning as I found the magical realism world where an 18th century book created by a witch for Voltaire acts as a sort of Ouija board and powers a library. The lore created about and around this book was fascinating, you're supposed to write in the book a true confession, shut the book, and then open it to read what the book has written in answer to you. Only the writer can read their confession and the tell you something about your future answer. Told in dual time-line and povs from our two leads, more story about the book's origins and purpose gets revealed as you read on. 

To him the touch meant nothing, while for her it roused far too many memories. 

As the story goes back and forth between Now (2019) and Then (1995) we get the story, mostly, from Eleanor, a college student and then eventual librarian of The Library of Fates, and Daniel, the professor's son, who introduces them to The Book of Dark Nights, and eventual former flame of Eleanor's. We start off with Daniel's mother having died and Eleanor discovering that The Book of Dark Nights is missing from the library. As the book gives the library it's power and makes Eleanor feel special because she's one of the few who the book “talks” to by directing her to select the exact book a person needs at that time and place in their life, she's devastated and worried. Daniel comes into the picture as he's showing up for the first time back at Harvard, where the library is, in twenty-four years, and realizes his mother's will states that he doesn't get his inheritance if the Book is not in the library by the time of his mother's wake. When it becomes obvious that Eleanor's mentor and Daniel's mother hid the book and left them clues, we have them going on a scavenger hunt for the Book in the current time-line as the Then time-line goes back and shows us how Eleanor and Daniel met in his mother's special Book class and the events that lead up to their separation. 

“You protected the Book, Eleanor. You've been protecting it all this time, haven't you? What if I said I think we should destroy it?” 

From Eleanor's pov, it's clear there was a lot to her and Daniel's relationship, readers get to see it in the Then sections, but Daniel doesn't seem to remember Eleanor at all in the Now. There's a slow build to that reveal as they search for the Book and secondary characters come into the picture, others from the special Book class and Daniel's father. As I mentioned, the plot about the Book immediately drew me in but when we got towards the ending with reveals and tying the characters and plot together, I couldn't help feel some disappointment, it all felt messy and somewhat underdeveloped. There was a henchman that came out of nowhere, and some secondary character usage that had them staying off-screen too much to suddenly come in and make the impact they were supposed to. 

What if, when you confessed, a sliver of your soul stayed in the Book? 

The second chance romance stays a thread throughout the story but it didn't encompass enough to be a strong genre element. I thought the dual timelines of furthering the plot while going back and showing how the foundation of it was built worked but I can't help feeling the climax felt like a whiff. I'd definitely recommend for some cool magical realism as The Book of Dark Nights plot will definitely fascinate (witches! Voltaire! confessions!) and textual potential shenanigans that give fun shout-outs to literature of yore, but just be prepared for a little bit of a messy letdown on the wrap-up.

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Reading Romance Bingo Challenge

 That's What I'm Talking About (Twimom227) 2025 Romance Reading Bingo Challenge

Trying to get one more bingo before end of year!

*clicking on book title takes you to my review

Sports - The Hook Up by Kristen Callihan

Snow/Ice on cover - Window Shopping by Tessa Bailey

Forced Proximity - A Cowboy to Remember by Rebekah Weatherspoon

SciFi/Fantasy - Order of Swans by Jude Deveraux

Non-US/UK setting (real country) - A Tropical Rebel Gets the Duke by Adriana Herrera

TBR over 1 year - The Liar's Dice by Jeannie Lin

LGBTQ+ - Les Normaux by Janine Janssen with S. Al Sabado

Non-US Author - Gate to Kagoshima by Poppy Kuroki

One Word Title - Prophecy by M.L. Fergus

Royal MC - Where Shadows Meet by Patrice Caldwell

MC name starts with a "M" - Too Hot to Handle by Portia MacIntosh

Shirtless Man on Cover - Sweet Starfire by Jayne Ann Krentz

Food on Cover - Time Loops & Meet Cutes by Jackie Lau

Borrowed From Library - Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes

MC Over 35 years old - Seize the Fire by Laura Kinsale

MC Works on a Farm - Look Before You Leap by Virginia Heath

Fake Dating - Love is A War Song by Danica Nava

Romantic Suspense - Your Knife, My Heart by K.M. Moronova

Review: Your Knife, My Heart

Your Knife, My Heart by K.M. Moronova
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review 

I won’t kill my next partner. I won’t. 

You're Knife, My Heart had a sci-fi Suicide Squad vibe where recently caught murderer Emery and Dark Forces soldier Cameron are thrown together to survive the Under Trials. Listen, you're just going to have to roll with stuff on this. Emery was a forced to be murderer when her Underground (Mafia-ish) head of the family father forces her to become a hitwoman for the Family at age sixteen (I kind of question this man's leadership skills but c'est la vie). She was trained by someone named Reed, who we only get to know through her reminiscing and I guess was her mentor. She ends up getting caught, some plot comes out about this later, and gets pulled out of jail by a General Nolan who tells her she's going to be sent to a sort of boot camp and if she survives, she'll work for the super secret Dark Forces. When she gets there, she meets Cameron, who readers have already been introduced to, this is told in dual pov, and while she is instantly attracted to him, she senses something very off with him. 

My fatal flaw is the desire to fix broken things that don’t want or care to be fixed. I’m drawn to them like vultures are to carcasses. 

Cameron has already survived the Under Trials and worked for the Dark Forces on their team Fury for years. He's also been the only one to survive the drugs General Nolan's enhanced soldiers project has been trying out on these criminal soldiers. It takes a while to get Cameron's full background story but it's obvious he must have had an abusive childhood because he's damaged enough to want to keep taking the drugs, even though they're clearly giving him adverse side effects, he just can't stop killing people he's teamed up with on Fury, because his continued survival makes him feel special. He's been sent down to the Under Trials again because he needs to prove he won't kill Emery, his potential new partner, as they try to survive the Trials. 

I don’t want to be hidden when she’s around. Her eyes belong only on me. 

This was tagged as Dark Romance, Fantasy, and Military Romance, I know it's cringe to use “old” terms but, y'all, this is rom-suspense with some sci-fi. If you've read Anne Stuart or any Bodice Rippers from the '70s and '80s (I'm personally a reading survivor of Part 5 of Sweet Savage Love), you're not going to even flinch at anything in this. Cameron leans soft towards Emery from the moment they meet, insta-attraction, and while they like to talk up, while also disliking it, their killing natures (some Joker and Harley Quinn vibes) their relationship was pretty solid throughout. Emery slaps Cameron a couple times and while there's always talk of Cameron killing her, I can't say I ever felt the danger. Besides a closer to the end murder scene that did read squeamish gory, what I felt the darkest about this story was the constant vibe of Emery staying and wanting to help/fix/redeem the psychologically damaged and physically violent Cameron. I'm a sucker for the Beauty and the Beast trope but that line needs to be walked more careful than I think it was here, messaging is all I'm saying. 

Maybe two monsters like us really can find happiness. 

The trials and bedroom scenes (more descriptive/steamier than most newer big 5 pub house contemporary) get going around the half-way mark. There's some danger with each of the three trials but with some other points in the plot, rushed through and not really fleshed out. We get some last second reveals and a cliffhanger, which kind of surprised me as I felt Emery and Cameron's story felt completed. If you have a thing for the occasional “love” uttered by your MMC, some enhanced solider sci-fi, and a belief in a couple that stabs together stays together, this could be one for you to give a try.

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Review: Break Wide the Sea

Break Wide the Sea by Sara Holland
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review 

Don’t move too fast. Don’t touch anyone. Ignore the smell of blood. 

A young adult mash of historical fantasy, romance, and magic, with a cover that will surely grab those among us that haven't gotten past our ship phases and still have sea shanty songs on our feeds. Break Wide the Sea takes place in a fantasy world where finfolk (mermaid and fae mix) exist and are close to going to war with the humans who hunt Livyati (magical whales). It's a historical fantasy 1800s whaling world where told all from her point-of-view, eighteen year old Annie is now the head of her family's whaling company. Her parent's died when she was younger, finfolk attacked them when they were out whaling and only she, and two other boys August, and Silas, survived. This was nine years ago and bonds the three together, oh yes, we have a love triangle, but it's a weak one. Annie's family was cursed eons ago, she's turning into a Siren, her turning brought on by Heartbreak but holds it off by getting comfort from her fiancé August. When they were attacked by the finfolk it was revealed that Silas was half-human, half-finfolk, but Annie can't reveal him as he also knows she's cursed. Six years ago, Silas sent Annie a shell that holds a memory showing her August plans on killing her eventually and taking over the company. Annie's trying to fend off a curse, take care of her two younger siblings, and figure out who she can trust. 

“Dissolve the company,” he whispers. “End whaling forever.” 

I think this will be more for historical fantasy readers, the whaling world and finfolk elements captured my attention the most, but maybe that's the sea shanties ringing in my ears. The romance felt fairly weak to me, it's YA so there was kissing and groping, with a completely off-screen bedroom scene later on but more importantly, there wasn't much emotion to feel between Annie and August. For plot purposes, it's clear it wants to remain a mystery to put tension between Annie, August, and Silas, if Annie can trust August or Silas, but, it's all pretty obvious. Annie's pov felt wishy-washy a lot of the time and that made for drawn out melodrama because as it's all from her, the reader can't escape. 

Something malevolent is happening on the Heralder. My family’s ship, I think with a surge of possessive anger. 

A lot of the story takes place on the sea, which I enjoyed and the messaging is pretty clear on this, humans have to respect and work with nature or feel it's wrath. I almost felt like Annie's younger sister Lydia stole the show from her, she was a stronger character and I wish we could have felt that decisiveness from Annie. Silas intrigued, as he's mostly a mystery to Annie, he remained for most of the story the same to me as the reader. I'm not usually a fan of love triangles but as the relationship didn't feel strong to me between Annie and August (you'll swim with the whales to deeper depths), well, I was just waiting for her to open her eyes more to Silas. 

A monstrous queen wants me for unknown purposes. 

As Annie fights to figure out who to trust, August claiming to help her build up her whaling business or Silas who claims August wants to kill her and tells her he can bring her to the finfolk to cure her curse, it all builds to a now you're going learn ending when the finfolk and their Queen show up. This does end on a cliffhanger, we see what happens to the characters but they are set on new journeys as the building war between the finfolk and whalers isn't over, and a new one has begun between Annie, August, and Silas.

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Review: Son of the Morning

Son of the Morning by Akwaeke Emezi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review 

The Kincaids had their own world, a world of sideways realities where they hunted down dangers in the thick of the trees. 

Son of the Morning was a sex-on-a-stick insta-lust paranormal romance. The main star of the show was Galilee Kincaid, trying to establish some independence from the fierce Kincaid women, she moves of their land and tries to live a “normal” life. However, there's something even the favored Kincaids sense is wrong/different about Galilee, but their matriarch Darling Kincaid isn't talking and Galilee does her best to stifle any powers she may feel trying to bubble up. It's when she meets Lucifer Helel, there's no mistaking here, she knows he's the literal Devil, that Galilee gets put on a crash course of fate, truth, and embracing your power. 

She wanted to be seized, and he had so many teeth. 

This started off with some enticing magic and fantasy elements. The beginning gave us time to learn the characters, the Kincaid women, led by Darling Kincaid and Galilee's cousin Celestial, along with Galilee's friends, Bonbon and Oriaku, were deeply fascinating secondary characters in their own right and I missed them when they disappeared for a bit in the middle. There were also Lucifer's princes that gave enough that I wanted to spend more time with them all, we get the most out of Leviathan and while he has his own mini-arc in this, I still think the cover layout promise of more the merrier should have been delivered earlier in the book so we could have gotten more of it. Basically, extremely strong secondary characters that are going to have you begging this to be a series. 

“It might be an end, but a whisper in me wonders if it could also be a beginning.” 

Our main stars, Galilee and Lucifer had that insta-lust that never quite delivers on the depth of relationship I'm looking for but it was hot. Galilee was at turns strong, vulnerable, lost, and fierce, basically what you'd look for from a character trying to learn her origins, finding out she's mixed up in millennia old beef between Heaven and Hell, and having the Devil get off from her burning touch. For being the literal Devil, Lucifer didn't pop off the pages as much as I would have liked, but in service to Galilee his character worked. 

The Devil had betrayed her, and an angel was whispering in her ear. 

The mystery of who Galilee really is, who's the villain pov, why is the Hellgate suddenly letting demons out, and the lurking around the edges war between Heaven and Hell will intrigue but it did wrap up a bit abruptly for me. I missed how some of the strong secondary characters disappeared for long stretches, but if you're looking for some angels and devils warring, this would be a sexy little number to pick up.

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Review: All of Us Murderers

All of Us Murderers by K.J. Charles
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5 stars 

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review 

“I hope and pray none of you see it, but if you do, don’t look at its face. Turn away and you may, perhaps, be spared." 

All of Us Murderers was a fun romp of a Gothic mystery and romance. As any Gothic worth it's salt, this starts with our lead Zeb arriving to Dartmoor at the looming, dark, and cold stone, Gothic mansion Lackaday House. His cousin has written and begged Zeb to visit for them to get to know each other. When Zeb arrives he's greeted by a night-gowned young woman dramatically running out of the house and his former lover Gideon. Zeb clearly has ADHD (he uses the original fidget spinner, a rosary) and with that not being understood or respected in Edwardian times, he struggles with keeping jobs. When he worked with Gideon, it had Gideon covering for him at times and trying to keep their romance a secret, it was the first time for Gideon being in a relationship with a man. They ended up getting seen and they both got fired, with Gideon blaming it on Zeb. 

Wynn looked around the table. “It is very simple. One of you shall marry Jessamine, and have my fortune with her.” 

Along with Gideon, Zeb's brother, his wife, and two other cousins are houseguests. Wynn tells them all that he's changed his inheritor from Zeb's brother to whomever will marry Jessamine, a distant cousin and the previously night-gowned fleeing woman. It's a plot set-up that has family members turning on each other for money and a setting that brings in the spooky, hauntings, legends, myths, and similarities to moments from their grandfather's published Gothic books. The first half focused more on the Gothic mystery, it's a little foggy mystery with introducing all the characters and working out, remembering who's who and the relationship dynamics between them all. 

He was a serious man, but Zeb knew, none better, how much his eyes could warm and crinkle at the edges, how his face could light up with amusement or desire or love— 

The second half brought in the romance more and we got Zeb and Gideon working out their past relationship issues with a clearer understanding of who they are individually and how that means they will work together. I enjoyed how neither character was perfect, in how they previously reacted but visibly grew into their selves more and worked and learned how their chemistry puzzle pieces fit together; they developed their relationship. There were bedroom scenes to bring in the heat before the latter second half brought the mystery back in and delivered reveals and answers. 

“It was razed to the ground because of the corruption of the monks.” 

“Well, that was the point of the Reformation.” 

“I mean, it was a place of great cruelty,” Jessamine said. “Cruelty and secrets, presided over by evil men, until the people of Dartmoor tore it down because no such acts of darkness should be concealed in a house of God.” 

“Gosh,” Zeb said, nonplussed by the sharp left turn into melodrama. “Odd site to pick for a house, then.” 

There were numerous nods to other Gothic works (The Yellow Wallpaper, etc.) and the foggy atmosphere you want from the genre was there. I did think some of the twists and turns got a little convoluted towards the end but even if the vengeance, justice, and retribution ride got a bit bumpy, it was still fun. Gothics are always great at getting Satan to take a back seat to the true horror, family dynamics, and this story definitely delivered on that vibe.

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Review: Episode Thirteen

Episode Thirteen by Craig DiLouie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Definitely reads like a found footage movie, epistolary story with video scenes, diary entries, interviews, and text messages. 

A husband who claims to have had a ghostly encounter when he was a kid grows up forever searching for proof of ghosts and ends up dragging along the college scientific PhD woman he fell in love with when they get an opportunity to do a reality tv show hunting for ghosts. The wife plays the skeptic and works to debunk what the husband and his crew find, an actress added to the show to liven things up, a tech guy who was a former police officer who claims to have meet a demon, and the camera guy just taking a job. 

They're coming to the end of the season and looking for a way to end on a high note and ensure they get a second season, with the wife wanting to bounce because she's sick of dealing with pseudoscience. Their last job is the Foundation House, a place where in the sixties two professors conducted experiments on a group of people trying to further the Human Potential Movement but as the wife reads through the papers left by the profs, realizes they were doing unethical experimentation. 

The first half starts off a little slow with getting to know the characters and their intra/interpersonal drama and then the house starts to wake up and eventually reveals a well with a door at the bottom that has the group doing an Alice in Wonderland and traveling, what the wife comes to realize is a Mandala loop. 

It all starts to get a bit out there, a little bit of a The Cabin in the Woods down the rabbit hole, and I ended up feeling like this was more SciFi (think movie The Abyss like) and less horror. I also struggled a bit with the flow of the story that was probably a personal issue with the epistolary style and not novel form. 

You'll get a fantastical major ending that also stutters epilogue final endings, the last epilogue I felt delivered the best chill, and a story that will work to expand your mind while delivering some creeps.

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