Starting
for my 
Halloween Bingo square, while enjoying some 
I know there's strong feelings on candy corn but I like it. You also can't tell me the pumpkins don't taste better :)
Wednesday, September 30, 2020
Review: Tough Talking Cowboy
Tough Talking Cowboy by Jennifer RyanMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Adria understood how her past had affected her. A piece of her was broken. She accepted that. She lived with it.
Third in the Wild Rose series that follows a group of sisters that had a difficult childhood, Tough Talking Cowboy, was a sobering read. Aria's mother had drug issues when she and her twin sister Juliana were growing up, this lead to Aria experiencing grooming and child abuse as she tried to protect her sister. While Aria's mother is still a sex worker, she's managed to keep herself clean and start a new business with her friend, Juliana hasn't been as lucky and battles a drug addiction due to feeling guilty over what Aria did to keep her safe. Aria and her other sisters (heroines from other books in the series) manage to get Juliana in rehab and Aria moves to her friend's ranch to be closer to Juliana and start their new business.
His gaze landed on the scars on his chest, then swept down to the ones covering his side, hip, and thigh. “It’s not pretty.”
Drake was an Army Ranger who had to retire due to injuries from an IED, he's covered in shrapnel scares and has major leg damage. He's severely suffering from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and just had his fiancee end things. His sister and brothers are worried about him but he can't contain his anger and pain about how his life is now going. When Aria shows up and he finds out she is staying in the cabin he likes to go to for quiet, he has a total melt down that ends with him holding Aria in a strangle hold as he is lost in a flashback. Due to the abuse Aria suffered in her childhood, she is no stranger to PTSD and, almost, too calmly handles the situation she is thrust into (she plays a game on her phone as Drake holds her against his body with his hand around her neck). These two definitely have deep pain but they also just want someone to love and love them, their pain brings them together.
“And I will do whatever it takes to prove to you, you are not broken. And maybe I’ll convince myself that I’m not either.”
If you couldn't already tell, this is a very heavy toned book. The issues both characters are dealing with are deep and scaring. They have a fairly immediate attraction to each other and decide that in order to fix a couple of their issues, Aria not being able to trust men enough to enjoy sex and Drake thinking he's impotent, decide to sleep together to work on them. By the 30% mark, they're pretty much all in with each other and the story seems to want to lean to them being cured already, which for how deep their issues were, obviously, seems too quick. Then by 50% marriage and babies is being discussed and yeah, I thought the romance was really rushed.
“You needed her. Now she needs you.”
With Aria and Drake not really having any more emotional hurdles with each other, the focus shifts to Drake rehabbing his leg, Aria's business opening up, and Juliana coming out of rehab. The story felt more like a general fiction than romance genre to me. There's a very late angst moment involving Juliana that added even more to the heavy tone and at a point where I want to be starting my happy sigh as my couple really sinks into their love with one another, there was just more sadness. The last two chapters acted as epilogues and all the joy I wanted to experience while reading along in the story, was hurriedly dumped here.
“Just because you can’t see my scars doesn’t make them any prettier. They’re a part of me. They’re evidence I survived.” She flexed her hand under his. “These are a part of you now, Drake. They are proof of what you’ve been through, your strength, your resilience.”
The way these two characters met and then ended up together made me feel like they would have went for anyone, they early on talked about just wanting someone to love and the way they thought it could be a cure all, I never felt the specialty between them. I also didn't like how in the beginning Aria blatantly disregarded Drake's psychiatrist's opinion on their arrangement. This ended up being more heavy toned, less focused on romance than I was looking for, and lacking some joy.
Sunday, September 27, 2020
Reading Update: 60%
I used ground turkey, cut the potatoes in half, and doubled seasoning (I still thought it tasted blah but I like things very flavorful)
Saturday, September 26, 2020
Review: The Devil of Downtown
The Devil of Downtown by Joanna ShupeMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
2.5 stars
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
There had been something in her eyes when she’d first watched him approach on the walk, an appreciation. Feminine interest. Just the hint of a flame waiting for the right match. And God help him, because he was a terrible man, the worst man, he’d love nothing more than to watch her burn.
The third book in the Uptown Girls series stars the youngest Greene sister Justine with New York City's top criminal kingpin Jack Mulligan. I'm new to the series and I think that might have hurt my enjoyment, I felt like I was missing some foundation for the characters, especially Jack. Justine is the quiet and fade into the background do-gooder sister but quiet doesn't mean weak. She spends her days chasing down wife deserters and forcing them pay child support. When one of the deserters works for Jack, she simply goes to him and requests he find the man for her.
“I thought I wasn’t your type?”
He lifted a shoulder and shoved his hands in his trouser pockets. “The more you argue with me, the more ‘my type’ you become.”
Justine and Jack had instant chemistry and since I was new to the characters, I wanted their fire to simmer a bit longer so I could get to know the characters first. Jack runs a huge criminal enterprise but the story doesn't really veer into that involvement, he's more trying to go more legit with a beer business. Jack grew up extremely poor, mother was a sex worker and he never knew his father, so he has a strong desire to remain at the top. The story starts right off the bat with Justine and Jack and even as the story went on, I never felt like I 'knew' Jack, he had his character outline points but I felt like I was missing some of his substance; readers of the series might not have this problem if he is featured in previous books.
Her sisters had no idea of the woman she’d become. Or the things she’d done and the things she hoped to do. Her sisters gambled, drank and kissed their way across the city . . . but they wouldn’t dare let her do the same. And she was tired of it.
I thought the story highlighted Justine better, we see how she doesn't have an exceptionally tight relationship with is sisters and even though she is born to privilege she's out there trying to help people. It was convenient that her parent's were away to Europe (even though I'm not sure why Jack as a partner was such a big deal when one of her sisters lives in a casino with her man unmarried) and while she has a grandmother to oversee things, we get around two scenes with her and then granny disappears from the story. I also thought that even though Justine was out there trying to help women, it wasn't truly pointed out that she enjoyed the protection of her rich father and then her protection from Jack. Not that she could help either but it took away some of the danger from the character.
He couldn’t tell if he hoped a little of her goodness would rub off on him . . . or if he prayed his wickedness rubbed off on her.
These two were pretty hot and heavy for each other from the beginning but my lack of feeling like I knew the characters hampered me feeling some emotional depth between them, which I need to feel and enjoy the heat. Towards the end I also thought Justine gave up Jack way too easily and this made her love feel even more airy to me. There was also an ending climatic scene that just had Jack disappearing from it, to solve the problem I guess, and it left the whole scene and mood deflated. I did love how Jack was loosely inspired by a real Gilded Age New Yorker along with all the other historical people, places, and events the author added to the story; it really set the time and place for me. Like I said, if you've read the other two books in the series, you might have some of the character foundation I found lacking and ultimately hurt my enjoyment here. This had more of a focus on the couple with their intimacy more at play than outside story, readers of the series will probably enjoy the youngest do-gooder Greene sister getting her happily ever after with the bad boy Jack.
Thursday, September 24, 2020
60%
She examined him through her lashes, as if she didn't wish to stare but couldn't look away. Interesting. He took full advantage---how could he resist?---by removing his cufflinks, slipping them in his pockets and slowly rolling his shirtsleeves up his arms. Look your fill, little do-gooder.
Wednesday, September 23, 2020
Reading Update: 10%
Mid-week treats!
I'm usually a purple gal but this pink cover is so pretty. My first book in the Uptown Girls series!
I baked mine and dipped in sweet and sour sauce
Review: The Broken
The Broken by Shelley CoriellMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
She’d discovered each attack mirrored hers except for one thing: She survived.
If you followed along with my updates, you'd know I was really enjoying this from the beginning. Kate who survived an attack by her brother goes on the run only to be found by Hayden, a FBI agent who is hunting the Broadcast Butcher serial killer. The first half has everyone thinking the Butcher is Kate's brother but there were secondary characters who had me side-eyeing them. The second half switched gears and has the Butcher's identity a secret again and the hunt continues.
The first half is more focused on the mystery/suspense plot about the serial killer, we get povs from the killer that help bring a chill to the tone (in one scene, the killer uses their latest victims blood as lube to masturbate with). There's also povs from a police sergeant helping to search for the killer and a colleague rival of Kate's, along with Kate and Hayden's povs. I thought the secondary characters were great red-herrings in the beginning and helped ramp up the mystery and suspense but the second half and ending kept some going too long and then one in particular ended up feeling a tad ridiculous.
She’d just shaken the unshakable Hayden Reed, and if she wasn’t so damned furious at him, she’d laugh.
The romance does take more of a back seat, which I thought fit the overall structure of the story but the second half does have Hayden and Kate feeling more for each other, the bedroom scene was pretty much fade to black though. This was more of a book of friendships, Kate's friendship while being a caregiver to Smokey Joe and the Apostles, what the group of FBI agents Hayden works with are called for their talent with getting the job done in unusual ways. We get a couple glimpses of other Apostle agents and I definitely want to read their stories.
This had a strong beginning but the end really overworked itself with dragging out redherrings and creating a very convoluted villain, it's probably not a good sign when your serial killer is finally identified and my first thought was "Who?" as it took me a couple seconds to remember who they were. I'm still going to search out other books in the series because the mystery was pretty intriguing there for a while.
Tuesday, September 22, 2020
70%
*Spoilers in updates“The cat—it’s not in the profile. The Butcher does not have close attachments. He’s isolated and cares exclusively for his own pleasures. If the Butcher had a pet, it would be dominated, most likely caged. Such an animal would instinctively fight to escape.”
A clue but when the cat is brought in again later in the story, I hope it turns out to be even bigger clue (like the police officer who brought the cat to the cottage Kate is staying at better be the Butcher, because why? otherwise)
“Sometimes I think I’m chasing two people."
I thought knowing the identity of the killer by 30% was too easy, I've been keeping a hawk eye on secondary characters. That's one thing this story is doing well, the redherrings don't feel forced and the number is kept around only five to make it fun for you to keep them straight and guess.
There on the end of his fishing line wasn’t a fish to beat Neil Parker’s mackinaw record. It was a human foot.
When I would go on walks with my dog into more out of the way wooded areas, I'd always tell him, "Let's not find a dead body today". I read too much and watch too many horror movies and true crime, my mind just goes there.
Jason is dead.
Not incredibly shocking because I think the build-up was there, I'm just curious as to how all the dots are going to be connected.
Witnesses keep mentioning a woman, which I think is supposed to make you think Robyn the colleague rival is involved but I think the povs from the killer make it seem like it's definitely a he and he just dresses up as a woman.
Obedient and subservient to a fault, Jason attacked Kate three years ago, but he did it on someone else’s orders—the Butcher’s. Jason, who genuinely cared for Kate, hated himself for the attack, and he couldn’t stand to see himself after he stabbed her, so he broke the mirrors. He also folded her hands to try to make peace.
This passage makes me think Beth (Jason's possible girlfriend, who slipped up when identifying the body) is involved somehow because who else would Jason listen to?
(There is a wild theory in the back of my mind that Kate's father is the Butcher)
“You’d run, Kate Johnson, if you knew what I wanted to do with you.” The air between them arced as if a storm had rolled in.
“Maybe I wouldn’t.”
There's more of the romantic part in this romantic suspense in this part. I actually like how it hasn't been front and center because of the fact Hayden is doing a job and Kate is the victim/witness he is supposed to be protecting. Hayden does open up more in this section too but he still feels a little shadowed to me. I like Kate's character a bit more but I feel like I'm missing something from each that gets drawn out more when the two characters spend sometime together; their personalities get flushed out more while the procedural part takes a rest.
“We’re chasing one person. Not two. A master of disguise.”
I thought so!
So, the first half operated under the assumption that the Butcher was Jason and it was more trying to catch up to him, this second half is all about going back and taking a look at secondary characters. Like I said, my wild call is Kate's dad, but the author did have Hayden say, they've probably talked and/or shook hands with the killer, which to me, is the author telling us readers have seen the killer.
The whole killer's thing about masturbating with the victim's blood is so messed up in a way that I'm not sure it fits in a romantic suspense genre book.
There's been one sex scene and it was pretty much fade to black but again, I think the romance part of this fits better to the side.
Monday, September 21, 2020
30%
*Spoilers in updates
So we have a serial killer that looks to murder broadcast journalists by stabbing them in excess of 50 times, breaks all the mirrors in their homes, leaves their breasts and groins untouched, and positions their hands on their chests as if they are at prayer.
I feel like serial killers in books always have such elaborate rituals.
She’d discovered each attack mirrored hers except for one thing: She survived.
Start off introduced to Kate who looks to be a caregiver to a Vietnam vet named Smokey. Hints that she was a victim of the Broadcast Butcher.
The pov then moves to a FBI agent named Hayden who is apart of the Apostles, a group of FBI agents who think outside the box or are a tad rogue. He's the one hunting the Butcher.
“We’re looking for a male between the ages of twenty and forty. Thin or small in stature. A social misfit who may live alone or with his parents or an older relative. High school education. Few if any physical relationships with women. Not gainfully employed or has a job with a good deal of flextime. Has some kind of disfigurement or handicap, possibly unseen, such as a stutter, or visible, such as acne scars or a limp. Home and person are meticulous, and he thrives on clear, written instruction. Carries around a small spiral notebook everywhere he goes. He’s methodic and craves order.
I will never not be fascinated with how profilers can come up with specific details about who the killer might be. Understanding the human psyche so well must be wild and make family dinners fun.
He tilted the glass, allowing a few precious drops of Shayna Thomas’s blood to land on his semi-erect penis. Those few drops furthered his arousal. Power. He slicked it over himself.
I like when we get a pov from the killer, even though this look was eek. I think it helps to drive the tense and creepy tone.
“You’re telling me the man who stabbed you is Jason Erickson, your brother?”
What??? Are we learning the killer's identity already?
Ok, so a pretty good start but I have questions, there's supposedly a man following Hayden sent by the killer because he knows Hayden will find Kate, but wouldn't an agent of Hayden's caliber be able to tell he was being trailed.
When Jason is 'talking' he comments that his first kill was his mother at age 12 but then they find Kate's mother and the time of death is only about six months ago?
Some interesting side characters like Sargent Lottie and Kate's professional rival Robyn.
Why do I get the feeling that Jason being the killer or who attacked Kate isn't the full story.
Great start because I'm pretty locked in, as for the romance plot, fairly to the side but some moments of tense attraction between Kate and Hayden.
Sunday, September 20, 2020
Reading Update: Page 1
Reading for my Halloween Bingo square
and enjoying with some festive sprinkled sugar cookie bars
Have a good start to the week, everyone!
Review: Scandal & Miss Smith
Scandal & Miss Smith by Julia ByrneMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
3.7 stars
She'd done the most foolish thing a governess could do. She had fallen in love with her employer.
This turned out to be a little hidden gem. A sweetly stubborn governess who goes to London to gain their guardian's help in containing her charges. A boy on the cusp of being a man and two almost debutante sisters that want to have all the adventures. Their guardian is Lord Deverell and there is some scandal in his past that sent him away and has him hurt and maintaining distance from his family. Miss "Smith" has some scandal in her past too that has her wanting to keep her real identity a secret.
There's really nothing new here but I reveled in the back and forth of Phoebe (Miss Smith) and Deverell. Phoebe had a great backbone that made Deverell want to tease and push her to blushing. The debutante sisters were a bit much and the scandals in Phoebe and Deverell's background became too conveniently tangled weave that gets just info dropped in the end with a villain that maybe, maybe not had legitimate deteriorating mental facilities.
The story, thankfully, allows the chemistry between Deverell and Phoebe to shine and be front and center and I enjoyed the story so much because of them.
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Saturday, September 19, 2020
Reading Update: 30%
"However, if you expect me to believe that you permitted your wards to remain in London because I threatened to leave, you will be sadly disappointed. A mere governess would have no influence on you, my lord."
"You'd be surprised, Miss Smith," he said grimly.
Will I ever grow tired of the stubborn and oblivious + hanging on by their fingernails to not love composure? Not today, folks
Friday, September 18, 2020
Review: Lethal Game
Lethal Game by Christine FeehanMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The sixteenth installment of the Ghostwalkers series, Lethal Game was full of enhanced super soldiers, political plots, family, and love. Some would say I have no business jumping into a series at #16, and they could be right, but when I read the synopsis I was intrigued and wanted to give the story a chance. The author does a great job of informing any new readers to the backstory of Ghostwalkers, scientifically enhanced soldiers, without info dumping. I was completely locked in when the story started off with Air Force para-rescuers, Malichai and Rubin, set down in the mountains of Afghanistan as they help rescue a group of injured soldiers pinned down. Malichai and Rubin's powers are revealed as they telepathically speak to each other and have super strength and speed. Malichai ends up getting grievously injured and is forced to take some vacation time, this is when he meets our heroine.
He was dangerous to her in more ways than was good for either of them.
Amaryllis is also a Ghostwalker, one that escaped from Dr. Whitney (the mad scientists behind enhancing humans) and is on the run. When Malichai ends up staying at the bed and breakfast she is currently working at, they both sense something in the other. Their attraction was instant and although they both were a little wary, it was around the 30% mark that these two were pretty much already together. I missed more of an emotional growing attraction and some of the push/pull that can happen. Along with Amaryllis being on the run from Whitney and an enhanced soldier named Owen that feels Amaryllis needs to be punished for showing him up, Malichai and Amaryllis seem to have stumbled upon a planned terrorist attack that is headed by individuals in their own American government. I thought this plot was completely unneeded as it confused and clogged the story at times.
“I pay attention to detail because you count. You matter.”
Falling in love with Amaryllis and trying to ferret out the terrorist plot, Malichai is also dealing with the injury to his leg that just won't heal. This is where the author brings up past characters from the series and some past plot threads. I still never felt overwhelmed but around the last 20%, it is pretty much full on a collection of series characters and some particular angst following a past couple. Frequent readers of the series will probably enjoy revisiting them but I wanted more of a focus on Malichai and Amaryllis. They worked well together but the quickness that they got together and then lack of focus on them, made this feel less like a romance than a Ghostwalker book. The story also had a tendency to get very repetitive, a lot of character inner dialogue would then be repeated as outer; a good amount of editing needed to be done to clean this story up.
“Baby, you aren’t hearing me when I talk to you. I’ve been all over the world. In just about every country. I’ve looked for you. I’ve actively looked for you. I didn’t think you actually existed. There is no way, after finding you, that I’m going to wait to tell you how I feel. I know the real thing because I saw so many others who weren’t. You’re right for me. You’re always going to be right for me. Now, or ten years from now. It won’t matter. We fit. I told you this already.”
Amaryllis and Malichai's romance developed too quickly for me and the terrorist plot felt jammed in but the overall theme involving how humans become Ghostwalkers was interesting. With groups of Ghostwalkers living in Montana, San Francisco, and Malichai's in Louisiana, I'll have to go back to the beginning and read about how it all started. With two women who escaped with Amaryllis still out there and some fellow Ghostwalker brothers of Malichai needing their own heroines, this series looks to still have threads to follow.
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Tuesday, September 15, 2020
Reading Update: 50%
This is #16 in the Ghostwalker series! While I feel a little lost, the enhanced soldiers plot is intriguing.
Can you pluck books out of a series or do you have to go in order?
This dip is more like a meal, I actually like the celery more than the chips dipped in it.
Monday, September 14, 2020
Review: Her Night with the Duke
Her Night with the Duke by Diana QuincyMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
She was a widow, bound to no man, finally answerable to no one but herself. It was one night in the middle of nowhere. No one need ever know.
First in the Clandestine Affairs series, Her Night With the Duke introduces us to widowed Delilah (Leela) and almost betrothed Elliot, the Duke of Huntington, as they both take shelter at an Inn. Due to her tawny skin color, the Innkeeper doesn't want to give her a room and the men act less than gentlemanly towards her. With her janbiya, she demonstrates she can take care of herself but Elliot still steps in to offer to share his meal and room with her. As the night goes on, these two can't fight their instant attraction anymore and they both agree to share one night together. However, when true identities get revealed, their one night has dire consequences, in more ways than one.
There was no denying the truth any longer. She felt more than just a physical attraction for the Duke of Huntington.
I am a frequent reader of the Regency sub-genre in romance and I think that hurt my enjoyment of this; characters and lines came off cardboard cut-out and cliche. The beginning conversation between Leela and Elliot felt stilted and with some cheesy lines, I never felt the heat and passion between the two that was supposed to lead to them jumping into the bed right away. Elliot was our Duke who likes strict schedules to prove he is not a wastrel like his late brother and would never want to do anything to cause a scandal; I could never pick him out of a romance genre Regency Duke line-up. Leela was by far the more interesting character. With her English Marquess father marrying an Arab merchant's daughter, she had a more complex background. Leela was raised completely English, her mother didn't want her to acknowledge her Arab side to try and help her fit in better, married at seventeen, and then widowed at twenty-four where she decides to travel in and around Jerusalem to meet her mother's side of the family. While Leela's penchant to use Arabic words and phrases added some much needed character freshness to this sub-genre, I struggled with how it came off forced at times because of how English she was raised and how little time she spent with her mother's family. Leela talks about her travel and we get one scene with her mother's family but I still felt like the fabric of the connection to her Arabic side was missing.
“Some men enjoy flirting with danger.”
The angst in the story comes from Leela and Elliot discovering after their one night together that Leela's step-daughter Tori is who Elliot was planning on becoming betrothed to. Since I didn't feel the lust or heat between them in the beginning, I had trouble feeling the angst and struggle for them to keep apart. Without feeling the emotion between the two, this fell pretty flat for me. Leela and Tori had a good relationship but Tori's stuttered pauses whenever Elliot was in the scene made them drag and Leela's step-son character, from an attempted rapist super-villain to oh was just jealous calmly talking and working together made the character so uneven. Elliot's friend Griff does sound intriguing with society murmuring that he could have killed his parents, some tortured hero angst there.
“Following the rules certainly hasn’t proven satisfactory. Maybe everything in life cannot be tied up into a neat little package.”
This read closer to an Avon Impulse as Leela and Elliot's interactions take place more in the bedroom than anywhere else. About halfway through, Elliot makes a plea for Leela and him to be together but she refuses and the betrothal happens. Even at midway, this felt like a betrayal to the message of how strong the emotion between Leela and Elliot was supposed to be. However, at around 70% our couple gets together and then it feels like the ending was dragged out with some compulsory emotional obstacles that if they'd just sat and had a conversation could have been resolved.
I wish we could have gotten scenes with Leela's brother Alexander (he shows up once), along with more scenes with her dragoman Hashem to explore those emotional connections. Unfortunately, the romance fell flat for me in this, I found myself wanting to read more about Leela on her travels in Arabia. I missed the emotional fabric of why the characters thought and acted like they did, they felt like paper dolls moving from point A to point B. As I mentioned though, new readers to this sub-genre could have a different experience and Leela was an admirable heroine.
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Sunday, September 13, 2020
Reading Update: Page 1
Sneaking some reading in on this sports extravaganza day.
Go, Vikings, Twins, and Islanders!
Enjoy your Sunday, everyone!
This is definitely more like a dessert than breakfast, I would do only 1/4 of the sugar next time
Review: The Sun Down Motel
The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. JamesMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
4.5 stars
I am hunting the hunter, and he suspects it. The game is on.
Carly learns that her aunt disappeared without a trace in 1982 and after her mother's death, decides to investigate it. She travels to Fell, NY and winds up getting the same job and schedule that her aunt had at the Sun Down Motel. What follows is an engrossing mystery involving ghosts and a killer.
The format with the author switching chapters from Carly's pov in 2017 to her aunt Viv's in 1982 fit the story perfectly. Carly would find a clue in 2017 and then we would go back to Viv in 1982 and see how that found clue developed and the who and what involved with it. This had a very Cold Case tv series episode feel to it and I think will definitely hit the right spot with people interested in the true crime vibe that is popular right now.
The Sun Down Motel was a perfect setting to raise the hair on your arms and while the ghosts weren't outright scary, they definitely added some spookiness. The message threaded through the story of how women aren't taken seriously or listened to and how they live with the constant heaviness of how just being alone in public can be a danger will strike a cord with a lot. When the line: “I’m the one you didn’t kill,” is spoken, I felt my eyes water up out of nowhere. It felt in some small way, women victims of such crimes getting justice through this one moment.
Secondary characters were utilized perfectly but I did think the attraction Carly had towards Nick came off immature at times and really felt misplaced in the overall tone the story had (I know, me saying the one sort of romance plot wasn't needed, crazy!).
I really hope they make this into a movie or limited tv series; the story and characters would translate perfectly. If looking for a mystery that has some set you on edge factor, this one was engrossing and I recommend.
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View all my reviews
Friday, September 11, 2020
50%
She looked like any one of a million women in family photographs a generation ago, except that she was looking at me, and she was not real.
This whole scene was wild, how the crazy stuff started to hit all at once. Nick's character is still a wild card to me, I'm not sure how he fits in. Will something about his family tragedy come into play or is there to just mirror the Jamie that was pseudo in Viv's life (from what I've read so far).
In that vein too, the mirroring of Viv's roommate Jenny to Carly's roommate Heather, makes me so scared for Carly and how this girl isn't completely scared/creep-ed out too is a mystery to me.
The salesman had written his name in big, bold letters: JAMES MARCH. She flipped back in the book, remembering back to the night with the smoke and the voices. She paged back and back until she saw that same bold, black handwriting. MICHAEL ENNIS, he’d written. No one here tells the truth, Viv thought. Not ever.
Ok, so I need to do more than side-eye the traveling salesman. The scene where Viv's at his house made me want to screech at her to run. But doesn't he suddenly seem too obvious?
She’s still there, and she’s telling me to run.
Does Betty only show up when the salesman is at the hotel?
This Callum kid started off ok and then the whole smothering thing he is trying to do with Carly makes me wonder what his deal it.
“You think? I’ve lived here all my life. Every woman was afraid when Betty Graham died. Every single one. We locked our doors and didn’t go out at night. Our mothers called us ten times a day. Even my mother, and Betty was white. Because we were all Betty. For a few weeks, at least. You know?”
This was the reality: It wasn’t just these girls. It could always, always be her or someone she knew.
What would I have done? Because this could have been her, storming out of the house at eighteen after a fight with her mother. Or leaving work. Doing what women did every day.
These lines, oof.
I really am liking how a clue will get revealed in 2017 and then we go back to 1982 and get the meaning and situation of the clue, it's such a cool way to tell the story.
I am hunting the hunter, and he suspects it. The game is on.
Do I need to let go of other suspects, is it the salesman?
Thursday, September 10, 2020
Reading Update: 20%
Reading this for the Halloween Bingo square:
And enjoying some Ghostie white chocolate dipped Oreo balls
The Sun Down only looked empty. But it wasn’t.
The way the author has set the scene is perfect, I can 'see' the motel and surrounding area and 'feel' the quiet, lonely, and starting to raise the hair on my arms vibe.
It was November 29, 1982, 11:24 p.m. By three o’clock in the morning, Viv Delaney had vanished. That was the beginning.
I'm coming off a Cold Case Files binge and this story is hitting any withdrawals from that perfectly. The format to start with Viv in 1982 and then alternate with her niece Carly in 2017 is perfect and I'm loving the back and forth; the similarities and suspicious of everyone.
“I’ll do it. What could possibly go wrong?”
I can't even 'famous last words' this because, girl, Carly, wtf are you doing taking your aunt's night shift that she disappeared on?????
I've got a early call that the 36yr old male that lives with his mom and had the shift before Viv is guilty of her disappearance. But the traveling salesman has major side-eye from me.
In Carly's timeline, this Nick person is awfully curious, not to mention pale Heather in the poncho.
The ghost stuff is enticingly spooky
Wednesday, September 9, 2020
Review: Familiar Showdown
Familiar Showdown by Caroline BurnesMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
“Eleanor, his owner, says he’s a detective. That people around the world hire him to solve cases.”
This book was a bit wild, each chapter has a pov from Familiar, our sassy black cat detective. This was #22 in a series and to say the least, I was a bit lost with Familiar's background.
He's staying with Stephanie, a friend of Eleanor and his human daddy, Peter Curry, D.V.M. while they're in Washington D.C. I'm not sure how Familiar came to be a detective but this guy was investigating on the internet and With my private investigator knowledge he had figured out that Johnny, the drifter cowboy, was actually an undercover agent that had been partners with Stephanie's supposed dead fiance. Stephanie had no idea her fiance worked for the government and finds herself in danger when a drug kingpin shows up looking for a microchip that he thinks the supposed dead fiance hid on her ranch.
There's also some neighbor trouble with Stephanie trying to "gentle" a horse that the neighbor beat. There's some lying, hiding, and danger but I stuck around for the cat povs. I wouldn't recommend jumping in at #22 like I did, I have a lot of unanswered questions about Familiar and the case that Familiar is helping to work was connected with some pretty far fetched threads. The romance between Stephanie and Johnny that develops had the all the weight of a feather.
50%
"Eleanor, his owner, says he's a detective. That people around the world hire him to solve cases."
A frown passed over Johnny's face. "Really? How extraordinary."
"You don't think it's poppycock?"
"Why couldn't it be true?" Johnny shrugged. "It's as likely as some of the things I've seen."
What things have you seen that a cat being a detective seems likely in comparison?????
Tuesday, September 8, 2020
10%
This is from the pov of the CAT.
I'm in for a wild night of reading aren't I?
Reading Update: Page 1
I didn't even know I owned this book but Random Number Generator plucked it out of closet book box obscurity. The timing is perfect since it is Halloween Bingo season. I'm not one to look a gift RNG in the mouth, so I'm reading this for the 
square even though it hasn't been called yet.
Review: My Kind of Earl
My Kind of Earl by Vivienne LorretMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
His mouth curved in a slow, mysterious grin. “You’re not the only one who knows things, Jane.”
My Kind of Earl is second in the Mating Habits of Scoundrels series where three friends are trying to write a primer on scoundrels for debutantes. Their friend Prudence was caught up in a scandal and banished to the countryside, they want to help fellow debutantes avoid such a fate. New readers could easily start here as the heroine from the first is off on her honeymoon and all you really need to know is this heroine's, Jane, motivation for why she wants to research scoundrels. The hero, Raven, first made an appearance in the Misadventures in Matchmaking series (The Rogue to Ruin).
Catching his breath, Raven stared at her. He felt strangely mystified and exhilarated as if he were a lad seeing fireworks light up the night sky over Vauxhall for the first time.
Raven is a gaming hell factotum who moonlights at an upper class brothel pretending to be a gentleman to bring in more upper class gentlemen, this is where he first sees Jane as she is trying to sneak in. Jane is our heroine bluestocking who has a perfect memory and wildly curious mind. She at first came off a bit annoyingly obliviously naive while Raven was trying to save her and her reputation at the brothel but as the story focused more on her and Raven, their chemistry covered up any rough edges.
She knew he was only flirting with her out of habit, wanting to distract her. There could be no other reason. And yet, that low gravelly drawl made her wonder what, precisely, those wicked ideas were.
I loved these two, instead of insta-lust the author wrote instant awareness and what a burning delicious tingle up the spine these two gave off. The first half is just about wholly devoted to the chemistry between the two and it definitely worked. Once the reveal of what the bird tattoo on Raven's shoulder could mean about his previously thought orphan identity, the beginning steam between the two settles into more of a comfortable heat as Jane gives Raven lessons on how to act in society and he's giving her material on how scoundrels seduce. In the second half, some of Jane's eleven brothers and sisters start to make bigger entrances into the story and we get more flushing out of her personality, how her class obsessed and ignoring parents make her feel easy to be unlovable and being a pseudo-parent to her siblings has made her want to have a plan for every contingency. The brothers and sisters also provided great moments for Raven to showed he cared for Jane by his attention to them. To enjoy Jane and Raven together so much, you will have to let go of the idea that Jane should be chaperoned and for someone who is so aware of ruination, she plays it pretty fast and loose. It wasn't until around the 60% of the story that I think the narrowed focus on Raven and Jane started to lose some steam and I wanted some outside story to come in more.
The only way he could keep her, would be to claim his birthright.
The outside story to our couple's romance involves a mystery Jane is determined to solve about Raven's bird tattoo and how it could be tied into his identity. It gets a bit convoluted with involvement from Jane's uncle, traitors, and vengeful French spies but still held together. Raven is obviously scared to hope because of what answers they discover could mean to him so he gets a bit resistant and growly. All this had me rating the book a strong four stars until I got to the 70% mark and a couple things happened that made me wanting to drop the rating to two stars.
She quieted the restless sense of separation he’d felt all his life.
I mentioned how the narrowed focus on Jane and Raven started to lose steam in the second half but what really had me dropping the rating was a couple other things. When Raven discusses his past, he reveals that he was “rescued” by an older woman when he was a teen, who he slept with, and then when he got older she introduced him to other upper class women. Raven states this:
“By the time I’d reached my eighteenth year and my body had grown from nourishment and vigorous exercise”— he paused to wink—“ my features had lost their boyish softness. Her interest waned.
Raven laughs and smooths anything over by saying he was a young boy in puberty, so of course he enjoyed the attentions of a woman and Jane only thinks about how she is jealous that any other woman would have had her hands on Raven's body. I can not believe that line was said without a strong stating of how that woman was a pedophile and some form of condemnation and acknowledgment of what happened was wrong. I really think if it had been a teenage girl with an older man saying this, it would have been handled differently. This small scene, in the sense of the general overall story, really soured my stomach because of the gross perpetuating of such ideals when it comes to teenage boys and sex.
The second thing that dropped the rating was at around the 90% mark, we're in the midst of the last second angst moment before our couple eventually gets their HEA, Raven says some incredibly cruel things to Jane. I've just journey through 90% of this story with Raven and Jane learning each other and growing together to have Raven become “scared” and disregard all the work the author has done and say overly cruel things with only 10% for him to redeem himself? Needless to say, Jane forgave him too quickly and a lot of the caring previously displayed by Raven didn't hit as hard after his cruelty. Lastly, the ending was ridiculously abrupt, to the point I'm still questioning if my ARC was missing an epilogue. We get the reveal of events that led to Raven ending up at an orphanage and then boom, the ending. I don't need a five years down the road mini-novella but give me some time to not only enjoy the couple happily together but to also write a scene with them having it, I'm not sure they fully got that here.
“And to think,” he said, “all this happened because of a button.”
This started off so good with the delicious spine tingling teasing and chemistry between Jane and Raven only to lose some momentum in the second half and hit some major rough spots on its way to a very abrupt ending. I enjoyed Jane's open and honest admittance of love and Raven's growly but caring towards her. I also appreciated how the author must be a fan of the don't show a gun on the mantel if you're not going to use later school of thought, because when she shows a comfortable hidden chaise longue, she definitely ends up using it. The beginning of this felt so purposeful with the emotions and interactions between our couple but the ending had a very get it done and wrapped up feel. There's still two more friends out of the group to find their happily ever after and because this author can be so good with the chemistry between her leads, I still will be grabbing them up.
Sunday, September 6, 2020
Reading Update: 20%
Look at that gorgeous cover!
Lorret is an author that I just discovered last year but I love her stories. Can't wait to see Raven get his happily ever after :)
Quick, easy, and tasty. I added more chicken broth to thin sauce out
Review: Mermaid Inn
Mermaid Inn by Jenny HolidayMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
2.5 stars
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
“The inn is yours… but you can’t sell it for a year.”
The Matchmaker Bay series starts off with a second chance romance between visiting her great-aunt in the summer Evie and local boy Sawyer. They meet very young, grow up as friends, and when puberty hits, so does their love. Their last summer before high school graduation, Evie starts talking about skipping college to come waitress and stay in Moonflower Bay but Sawyer doesn't want her to give up her dreams for him. Sawyer decides to publicly make-out with a girl on a float during the big town parade, therefore making Evie want to leave and go chase her dreams. Ten years later, Evie's great-aunt has passed away and left her Mermaid Inn to Evie. Evie is finally forced to return to Moonflower Bay, where she gets stuck on the Inn roof and has to be rescued by the town's police chief, who just so happens to be Sawyer.
It was just that she had loved him so much. And now, she reminded herself, she was angry at him so much.
The first 30% of Mermaid Inn felt like one big set-up for the series as a whole, instead of narrowing the focus to Evie and Sawyer. It seemed to want to veer into women's fiction but there are povs from Sawyer, so I would make up a new sub-genre and call it town's fiction (this does fit strongly in the romance genre). There's the meddling elders, the themed town festival, the slightly wack woman, Maya, who becomes friends with Evie and has a “hate” you relationship with one of Sawyer's two handsome friends, and our childhood sweethearts who the whole town knows should still be together. These are extremely well tread tropes and characters and for the first half I struggled a lot; the ground work for the whole series and read before characters didn't feel fresh or excite. There was also the intense anger from Evie towards Sawyer over, yes, a huge heartbreak of hers but it happened ten years ago and was one moment in an apparent ocean of love and good memories with Sawyer. I thought Evie and Sawyer came off a bit immature, they felt very early twenties more than late twenties at times with their thoughts.
“Kiss the girl.”
It was around the 40% mark that Evie starts to thaw towards Sawyer and I thought the flow and story improved a lot from there, the story moves from setting up the series and focuses more on Sawyer and Evie. Sawyer's background had him growing up with an abusive father, his mother died in childbirth. At eighteen, he moves out with his seven year old sister, gets full legal custody, and with the help of the town he raises her. There were some good moments between him and his sister but I craved even more because of how deep the emotions between this relationship could have gotten. Evie comes from a loving home but we get very few glimpses with her and her parents and because the impetuous to get her back to Moonflower Bay is the death of her great-aunt, we don't get any great scenes between the two. There were at times I felt depth and meat to the characters was missing.
He kissed the girl. And the girl kissed him back.
The beginning was too much series set-up that frankly made it boring, the middle had better interactions between Evie and Sawyer that started to draw me into their second chance romance, but the ending fell somewhat flat because so much of the emotions from characters felt surface. The story takes place over a year but there are time jumps and it didn't feel like I had necessarily struggled and triumphed with Evie and Sawyer in their romance because of lack of depth. I'm in my late thirties and there were at times I felt like some of the characters and the tone had a manic pixie, bubbly, and Instagram (I don't know how to really describe this but if you're on Instagram you'll know what I'm talking about) vibe that just didn't always connect with me, younger readers could easily feel different. With the town set-up out of the way, the next in the series should have the freedom to focus more on the main couple and luckily, Sawyer has two hunky friends that should fill the hero spot nicely.
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