Can't wait to vacation to Rose Bend!
Monday, March 28, 2022
Reading Update: Page 1
Sunday, March 27, 2022
Review: On a Night of a Thousand Stars
On a Night of a Thousand Stars by Andrea Yaryura ClarkMy rating: 4 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.
Silence is Health
Told in dueling time periods, On a Night of a Thousand Stars, imparts the lead up to the 1976 Dirty War in Argentina, the subsequent kidnappings the military junta enacted to wipe out perceived left-wing antagonists, and the fall-out of all this chaos. The story starts off in 1998 with Paloma, the only daughter of Santiago Larrea, an affluent Argentina man that has traveled and lived around the world and is now going to be named the Argentina ambassador to the U.N. While in Argentina for the ambassador ceremony, Paloma overhears an old friend of her father's comment about how brave he was in keeping a secret house to help people escape during 1976. Paloma's father tries to brush off the thanks and never hearing this about her father, Paloma goes off on an investigative journey that leads her down a path she never saw coming.
When Paloma starts off on this path, the dueling chapters come into play and we jump back to 1973 and get her father's pov and a look at the friends and life he is living. The author does, almost, too good of a job teaching readers who know nothing about the political upheaval in Argentina during this time as the first couple 1970s chapters get bogged down with political history; it slowed the pace of the story and put the focus on a history lesson instead of learning and attaching to the characters at the start. I can see some readers revealing in all the historical names and others wanting to check-out.
When we get to the second half of the story, I thought it picked up as the focus became more personal and the 1975-76 chapters show us what is happening to all these characters we have come to care about. As each 1998 chapter shows Paloma starting to ask more questions and investigate and then the preceding chapter shows the reader what those answers are, I got caught up in the emotional storm these characters were going through. The latter second half also makes good on all the beginning talk/explaining of the desaparecidos, the general feeling of chaos and fear in 1970s, the Madres and Abuelas of Plaza de Mayo, and the HIJOs (sons and daughters of the disappeared) as the author gives a more personal look at it all through the eyes of her characters.
I thought there were some moments that felt forced, Paloma going gung-ho to even look into her father's history and the man helping Paloma seemingly convinced of things and pushing/leading her to hunt for answers, but overall, this was a well thought out story. The Argentina Dirty War went from 1976 to 1983 and it's estimated that 9,000 – 30,000 individuals were forcibly disappeared, with estimated 500 babies taken into illicit adoptions. As with fiction stories that deal with real historical events, there's answers, some left questions, reveals that lead to happiness, anger, and sadness but also love enduring, On a Night of Thousand Stars is no different.
Saturday, March 19, 2022
Reading Update: Page 1
Ready for a quiet reading weekend, sinking into this story about a daughter searching for the truth about her father's involvement during the start of Argentina's Dirty War in the 1970s.
On a Night of a Thousand Stars by Andrea Yaryura Clark purchase link
Cajun Bourbon Chicken recipe
This had too much soy sauce for me but the spice taste was great, got rave reviews from bf.
Friday, March 18, 2022
Review: The Magnolia Sisters
The Magnolia Sisters by Alys MurrayMy 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.
He was entranced. And he wasn't sure he'd ever been entranced before.
Growing up with parents that couldn't be bothered with them, had Luke Martin dropping out of school and working hard to care for his younger sister Annie. He managed to build up his own tech firm in LA and become very close to a billionaire. So when Annie falls in love with someone who lives in a small town in CA and wants her dream wedding at a flower farm, Luke will do anything to make that possible.
Harper doesn't have time for the rich guy from LA and even though their family farm is struggling, the blank check he hands her to have a wedding on the farm, only makes her more angry.
Luke's plan to work on the farm and show Harper he's more than his bank account might give him blisters but it also has Harper opening up her heart.
She wanted to hate him. She wanted an excuse to push him away and hold him at arm's length, to spend so much time despising him she had no room in her schedule for thinking anything else about him. But she couldn't. Not anymore. And she didn't know how to feel about that.
First in a series about three sisters who grew up and work on the family flower farm in a small town in CA, The Magnolia Sisters started off with Pride and Prejudice vibes. Readers get to know the Anderson family, older sister Rose, middle sister Harper, and youngest May, along with their gossipy energetic mother and quietly but lovingly dealing with it all father. Harper starts off a bit hardhearted and cutting her nose off to spite her face with her constant rejection of Luke and his money but her wall slowly starts to crumble as she spends more time with him. Luke, for his part, is instantly drawn by Harper on an almost metaphysical level but has moments of struggling mightily with her attitude on earth.
As she sat there, close enough to touch him but afraid to even breathe in case it knocked them out of this spell, a realization dawned on her. Slowly at first, but with all the rushing energy of a star bursting within her very heart.
She'd been falling for him this entire time, and she didn't even know it.
Harper and Luke are pretty brittle towards each other but at the half-way mark they start to thaw as they learn their preconceptions were wrong and they want to learn about each other. Their coming together is hampered by Luke's sister Annie engaged to marry Harper's sister's ex-highschool love. It's an obvious series baiting plot, readers never even get to see this fiance, Annie doesn't really seem into him, and much is made about how May never told the story of the night she and the ex broke up. It's there, like I said, to intrigue for future books in series, but also gave some manipulated, easy to reach for angst towards the end when Harper turns heel a bit to stick up for her sister and provide a wedge between her and Luke when her feelings scare her. The secondary characters work to fill out the world but there were times I wish we could have gotten more focus with emotional depth scenes between Harper and Luke.
This was very much a Hallmark movie in written form and when the I love yous come it at around the 75%, they were lukewarm. P & P vibey beginning, irritability between leads that masks some fear of attraction feelings, a sweet family/small town setting, and a warm romance.
Review: Major Westhaven's Unwilling Ward
Major Westhaven's Unwilling Ward by Emily BascomMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
‘You…are the best man I know. She will need a guardian. Please, promise me you will do as you said and care for her—watch over her. Find her…a husband. It pains me to ask…but I am all she has, and without me…’
March's theme for the #TBRChallenge was grumpy, and since I love me some grump, I had a plethora of choices. I went with this book that has been in my tbr since 2009, the synopsis was this: Lily is horrified to learn her late brother has placed her under the guardianship of brooding Major Daniel Westhaven! He's insufferably rude and arrogant, and clearly disapproves of her—so why does Lily find herself longing for his touch?
Battle-scarred Daniel wants nothing to do with society, and intends to swiftly fulfill his promise and find troublesome Lily a husband. Only, she brings light into his dark life—and his even darker heart. But surely a beauty like Lily would never choose a beast like him….
Insufferably rude! Wants nothing to do with society! His dark life and his even darker heart! I pegged this guy to give good grump and for the most part, he did.
This starts off in South Carolina where Major Daniel Westhaven is battling the uncouth, upstart colonists in 1781. He's alongside his friend Pevensey and as they both lay there in the aftermath of battle, Pevensey reminds Daniel of his promise to see to the care of Pevensey's sister Lily if anything should happen to Pevensey. Daniel is also injured, not sure he is even going to make it but grants Pevensey his dying wish to promise to be guardian to Lily. We then zoom almost a year and meet Lily who has just learned that the cousin who inherited the house she lives in after her brother's death, plans on selling it. Lily decides it's time to turn the charm on and find herself a husband, even though the last couple months a mysterious benefactor has been sending her money to live on.
At the ball Lily is working her magic and with some rumors of wealthy guardian helping her out, Charles Denham, a wastrel son waiting to inherit, is starting to sniff around Lily. Lily makes eye contact with a tall, dark, brooding man and can't believe how rude he is with his staring. It's all very P & P with Daniel thinking Lily is spoiled and empty headed because of how she flirts and Lily overhearing Daniel calling her vacant. They're snippy to each other with these misunderstandings until around the 40% mark where they start to thaw as they get to know one another better. With Lily learning that Daniel is her benefactor, she goes back to his home to stay with him where there's a kiss in the rain that didn't really make sense with where it was timed in the story, Lily gets a fever that softens Daniel even more towards her, and the reader learns that Daniel lost his leg from the knee down in the war.
The second half has Lily not feeling worldly enough for Daniel and Daniel not wanting to take advantage of the situation because he is her source of security (Yay for him recognizing this!) but mostly, him not feeling worthy because part of his leg is gone. His insecurity with his leg I could go along with but there was this constant him not feeling good enough to step into his father's shoes as the Viscount because he wasn't as good a man as his father. Daniel came from a loving home and the author just didn't do a good enough job explaining or making me believe why Daniel went on and on about this.
Sidenote: Daniel's highwayman turned Lord daddy and his mother's romance sounded fascinating, so I checked to see if they had their own book and surprise!they do, it's first in this Westhaven series. Kind of shocking because, usually, author's don't kill off the main romance couple from book 1 in book 2.
We get a friend of Daniel's showing up that was good series baiting (and maybe it's the books I've been reading lately but I thought I sensed some sexual tension between Daniel and Captain Connor O'Flaherty??), a secret waltz, and Charles Dunham showing back to bring some havoc with a drugging and kidnapping. The last 20% really brings in the head-scratching daddy issues, Lily being sent away, then learning about Daniel's insecurity, and then I love yous for an ending sex scene. Daniel was a mildly seasoned grump, so a passing grade.
Friday, March 11, 2022
Review: What Have I Done For Me Lately?
What Have I Done For Me Lately? by Isabel SharpeMy rating: 1 of 5 stars
The whole time I was reading this I kept thinking, “WHAT IN THE KENTUCKY FRIED SEXISM IS THIS???”
The trick with a man like Ryan was to insinuate yourself into his life slowly, nearly imperceptibly, then just when he’d gotten used to having you around, when his brain no longer sounded the “possible female in pursuit of a relationship” alarm, then you pulled out the stops. Not all the stops all at once. Slowly, a bit at a time, one, then two, then the rest, before he even knew what hit him.
This starts off with who I thought was the heroine but she's really the secondary heroine, explaining how she has stalked and hunted this Ryan guy for the last six months. She's gotten herself placed at his place of work and an apartment ACROSS FROM HIS. Christine is from Georgia, grew-up poor, and now wants to live a rich sophisticated life and see's Ryan as the key to all that. Her planning has her getting him to ask her out on a date and she thinks it's smooth sailing from there.
However, a blast from Ryan's past is about to wedge their way in. The #1 heroine, Jenny, is in town and wants to meet up with the guy who used her for sex in highschool. I think they had a little more of a relationship than that but not much. This is a quote we get about the memories: Whatever he’d dished out, she’d taken, which was plenty. He’d been cruel to her often. Practically raped her more than once. Sobbed on her, shouted at her, been a general maniac.
Yeah, my eyes bulged at that, too. Jenny's in town because of a book tour, a book she wrote about women taking what they want and doing what they want. Turns out Jenny turned herself inside-out for her husband only to have him dump her and now she's all about doing whatever the hell she wants. Ryan was the bad boy in the past and now Jenny is the bad girl with Ryan wanting to be the good boy and settle down. You can probably see where this goes. Jenny tempts Ryan at every turn and slowly breaks down his walls to get him to bang her, while poor stalker Christine tries to be everything she thinks Ryan would want to live her imagined dream life. The secondary romance comes in with the building maintenance man trying to show Christine he likes her for herself and she doesn't need to pretend with Ryan.
I sped read through this because of the sexism and more lines like this: “Damn it.” He fisted his hands on his hips as if he’d much rather be putting them to good use on her face.
The message of being yourself but also caring about other people, good, great, but holy cow was it cloaked in gross drippings of sexism and maniac storytelling. Not a hidden gem and if I have any more books in this series, I'm not sure I'll read them.
Tuesday, March 8, 2022
Reading Update: Page 1
🌷💒😠-😍
Happy reading this Tuesday, my booklover friends!
Monday, March 7, 2022
Review: You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty
You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke EmeziMy 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.
They would both live with their choices and be the ones accountable for them.
You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty was a story of grief and consequences of love. In the flavor of women's and literary fiction, readers are brought into Feyi's world as she is deciding to have sex for the first time in five years with a man she makes eye contact with at a bar. From there, introspection and memories from Feyi are weaved into her present thoughts and actions and we learn that Feyi lost her highschool sweetheart husband to a car accident, why she hasn't slept with anyone in five years. It's the start of her taking her first steps out of grief.
Feyi's an artist, one who likes to work with blood (pig's) as her medium in art and your enjoyment of this story is probably going to depend on if first, you go to art shows, and secondly, if you're the type to hold a glass of wine and discuss pieces using words like “liminal” and “oeuvre”; I fall somewhere between glass wine holding and “wtf”. Feyi was a moving character, her pain is felt and the realness of the friendship she has with her emotionally self-destructive friend Joy (Joy likes to get into relationships with women in marriages) added sincere layers to the story. However, as Joy states at one point, Feyi is messy in her journey.
The man Feyi made eye contact with the bar, ends up becoming a f-buddy and legitimate friend. Neither wants to deepen the relationship as they don't want to share their emotional baggage. In comes Nasir, one of the f-buddy's friends and he is taken with Feyi. This could have been the mess but, enjoyably, everyone handles it maturely and while Feyi likes Nasir and feels like there could be something there, she keeps telling him she wants to take it slow. Nasir lets her dictate everything and they have a friendship that involves kissing and touching. I felt like the danger on the horizon was Feyi not being able to decide if she wanted something deeper with Nasir, when he so clearly was feeling a soulmate vibe, I thought either Feyi would be pressured to fake it or she would lead him on indefinitely. Oh no, my friends, the danger on the horizon was Daddy.
Nasir invites Feyi to his home island, where they will stay at his father's house and through his father's connections, Feyi has been invited to show some of her artwork at a show coming up on the island. It's all pooh-poohing from Feyi that she's just going as Nasir's friend but the track they're on feels very romantic love, not friendship. At thirty percent Feyi meets Nasir's famous chef father Alim and she instantly feels sexual attraction/awaking towards him.
The rest of the story is Feyi getting horny over Alim and the circumstances of events that lead to a major blow-up around the 75% mark. Feyi and Alim's relationship and the giving in is where my question of art shows and your level of depth of enjoyment is going to come into play. Are you a rube or are you above such basic thinking regarding, somewhat, societal structured relationship rules? It's not quite as cut and dry as that but even with Feyi and Alim's shared pain of losing a significant other to a sudden tragic death and Alim's past of once giving up a love for his children, I couldn't help feeling there was simple selfishness to their actions, each is very aware how hurt Nasir is going to be. I thought the author did a wonderful job getting me to even question the morality of them coming together.
I'm not sure what Alim saw in Feyi beyond a gorgeous young woman that probably made him feel younger with her passion and art. Since the story is told through her eyes, I saw more reasons for why Alim attracted Feyi, but not all necessarily great reasons. He was a rich accomplished man, that was more stable and Feyi still finding her sea legs coming out of grief, this would naturally draw her. The big thing for me, though, was that Feyi starts to lie to Joy and if she truly didn't think she was doing anything wrong, she wouldn't have felt the need to lie to her bestfriend who she, previously, told everything. I also thought when Nasir acted out on his pain, in a way that was definitely not acceptable, instead of acknowledging his emotional pain, Feyi throws the death of her husband in his face as a defensive shield to any negativity towards her actions with his father.
This story will definitely get book clubs talking, Feyi herself, her grief, and the relationships she has, the handful of secondary characters that felt incredibly full and could support their own stories, and of course the discussion of what ethics or morality, if any, should be followed with acting on one's own feelings in pursuit of romantic love. Following it's tone of not cut or dry, the story leaves readers with a still stinging and hopeful happy for now.
Friday, March 4, 2022
30%
With fresh alarm, Feyi noticed a twinge of attraction unfurling in her stomach.
Ohmygod.
I started to get a little nervous about the dating fbuddy's friend but everyone handled it so maturely But now Dad is looking to be thrown in the mix???
I'm stressed but also putting the tea kettle on.
Thursday, March 3, 2022
Review: Bed of Roses
Bed of Roses by Nora RobertsMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
1.5 stars
Emmaline and her three friends own a wedding planning business and Emma is in charge of the flowers. Fun, cute idea and I did think this second in the series had less of the annoying acronyms (MOB – mother of the bride, etc.) that clogged up the first but don't worry, they still pop up. Jack came into their friend circle through one of the women's older brothers and ever since college has been one of the gang.
Emma and Jack have peripherally found each other sexy over the years but neither wanted to mess with the friend dynamics, until they decide to.
I don't really have much to say to about this one because it bored me for the vast majority, I couldn't feel Emma and Jack's chemistry at all. Emma is a “marrying” kind of gal and Jack is a “good time” boy. Emma thinks she can just sleep with Jack and not feel anything and Jack is trying to delude himself into thinking their relationship isn't getting more serious. Great trope-y plot but the feelings weren't there for me.
What I'm going to remember the most from this is towards the end, Emma has a total and complete blow-up that made her seem like a psycho. She learns Jack's had a hard day so she decides to cook him dinner at his house, has to get his keys from his assistant, and is on a mission to finally tell him she loves him. Jack shows up shocked/surprised to see her at his house, has a pounding headache, and wants a shower. Emma doesn't like how he's reacting, he's a little standoffish but remember headache and not expecting her, and when I say she loses her shit, you all can't even imagine the level of wtf she starts spouting at him. She ends up breaking up with him and storming out and Jack barely knows what happened. It was such an over-the-top third act break-up, I'm almost in awe.
Anyway, apologies are made and kisses. The real reason I decided to put any thoughts down on this was because I wanted to quote this scene, pretty much the only highlight for me in this boring, wtf Emma, story:
“I asked you once before, and you didn’t answer. I’ll ask you again. Yes or no this time. Are you in love with her?”
“Okay.” He took a long drink of beer. “Yes. I guess it took an ass-kicking to shake it out of me, but yes. I’m in love with her. But—”
“Do you want to fix it?”
“I just said I was in love with her. Why wouldn’t I want to fix it?”
“You want to know how?”
“Goddamn it, Del.” He drank again. “Yes, since you’re so fucking smart. How do I fix it?”
“Crawl.”
I'm not sure Jack is the one who needed to crawl, not alone anyway but I loved the hit of that last word, crawl.
Wednesday, March 2, 2022
Reading Update: Page 1
Happy Wednesday to you all!
(Seriously though, that title 😍)
Tuesday, March 1, 2022
Review: One Lucky Day: Head Over Heels / Lucky in Love
One Lucky Day: Head Over Heels / Lucky in Love by Jill ShalvisMy rating: 5 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.
Books three and four in the Lucky Harbor series, One Lucky Day, features some of the best of Shalvis' writing.
Head Over Heels stars one of my favorite couples, Chloe and Sawyer. The first three books in the series star three sisters that weren't raised together but come together after their mother dies and they inherit an Inn in the small town of Lucky Harbor. Chloe is the youngest sister and the “wild child” while Sawyer is the Sheriff and by-the-book. The first two books show the two developing some heated sexual tension as they circle each other and their own book delivers on all the promised heat. There's a suspense plot threaded in that has Sawyer contracted out to the DEA that gives a little danger but for the most part, this story is all about the tension and heat between Chloe and Sawyer. These two are steamy together and more alike than anyone realizes. I also like how we get emotional growth from Chloe and scenes with her sisters as their bond solidifies. Sawyer has his own friendships with the past heroes in the series and some of his own family drama with his father but I mostly enjoyed how Chloe settles him and draws out that teasing, flirting with naughtiness side of his.
Lucky in Love brings in some side characters that we briefly meet in the previous three books, hometown sweetheart Mallory and the sexy mysterious new guy in town Ty. Mallory gets her own “sisters” with Amy and Grace (their the heroines in the next two books) and they decide that it's time for Mallory to date Mr. Wrong, a chance for her to try the wild side. Mr. Wrong turns out to be Ty, he's in town because his friend Matt (he's a Lucky Harbor Park Ranger and yes, he gets his own book) invited him to stay as Ty recovers from an injury. Ty is a former Navy SEAL, currently a government contractor and is used to being on his own. Mallory and Ty meet-cute while Ty is concussed and we get a sort of blind date and a “we'll only sleep together but not catch feelings”. This story has a little bit of a more weightier feel than usual light and sexy Shalvis but I liked the change of pace, especially in a longer series like Lucky Harbor. These two take a little while to work through their individual issues but deliver the sexiness while doing it.
Review: Hunt the Stars
Hunt the Stars by Jessie MihalikMy rating: 2 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.
It was an impossible task, and one I didn't relish tackling while a Valovian general breathed down my neck.
Captain Octavia Zarola feels there's trouble on the horizon when top Valovian General Torran Fletcher approaches her with a job. It's been three years of peace between humans and Valovians but Tavi is known as the Hero of Rodeni for her efforts in the war and knows there's still a bounty on her in Valovian space. Why would a Valoff want to hire her as a bounty hunter? Told in all first person point-of-view from Tavi, Hunt the Stars, starts off the new science fiction series Starlight's Shadow about human and Valovian relations and politics. Torran claims that a very valuable family heirloom was stolen from his home and he needs bounty hunter Tavi and her team to search for it. Money has been extremely tight and while Tavi doesn't trust Torran is being completely honest with her, her ship needs repairs and updates and decides to take the contract.
Torran was a payday and nothing else. Anything more was far too dangerous.
Told all from Tavi's pov, the reader gets to know her and the humans very well but it left Torran and his crew more in the shadows. I never really felt like I knew Torran and therefore, the romance between Tavi and him didn't move past lust and I had a hard time connecting with him. The first half was slow for me as there wasn't much movement on plot, we do get some world setting and building but there were too many kitchen scenes and while I liked Luna, a pet of Tavi and her crew that is a cross between a fox, ferret, and cat, I was done reading how often Luna wanted to be feed, as it was brought up over and over. The first half has Tavi and her crew tentatively interacting with Torran and his crew as they travel to get to Torran's home in Valovian space. I felt this was stretched out for too long as I wanted more movement on story.
My body demanded satisfaction, but my head warned of danger and my heart wanted more.
The second half did deliver on story movement as some of the mystery behind what Torran hired Tavi to find and why gets slowly revealed. The story advances with more political intrigue and we get a deeper look at the world politics. The main plot is that there was a war between the Federated Human Planets (FHP) and the Valovians and even though there is peace right now, it's not completely settled between them. Having Tavi and Torran on different sides had me ready for some great tension but the one pov hurt this for me because I couldn't delve into Torran's character as much. The relationships ended up feeling lighter and surface. There seem to be many hints at future match-ups between Tavi and Torran's crew members that have me interested to see where they go (Kee the sunshine one on Tavi's crew and Varro the grumpy on Torran's is next in the series).
“My life is mine, but my heart is yours.”
I enjoyed the space setting and the author did a pretty good job filling it out with futuristic weapons, travel, space ships, and the Valoff's telekinetic “powers” to create a scifi mood. Very much at the heart though, is the politics and relationships between everyone. Tavi and her found family crew take most of the emotional spotlight but the last part of the second half have Tavi and Torran starting to act on their attraction (there is one bedroom scene but it is in the last few pages of the story). The last 20% had more of the pace I was looking for and we get action battle scenes, reveals, and more mysteries that will obviously lead into and connect future books in the series. This was a little too slow moving for me and Tavi and Torran's romance didn't quite reach the depth I wanted but with the world building done in this first book, I'm looking forward to the next in the series having the time to deepen the romance. This was an interesting world to visit and with a plot thread that still needs answers, I'll be looking forward to Kee and Varro's story.
“So, we're decided then?” I asked. Everyone nodded, and Torran squeezed my hand with a smile. I grinned. “Then let's go stop a war.”
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