Book Review - Tide & Tempest

Book Review

Tide & Tempest (Edge of Freedom #3) - Elizabeth Ludwig

Bookshelves: Adult, Romance

Rating: 4 of 5 stars (It was good)

Recommended Age: Adult

Romance, Murder

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

I honestly had no idea that this book was the third in a series. It was quite a shocker because this book does great as a stand alone. Now that I know it's a series, I might have had a few unanswered questions answered and will now be seeking out the first two in the series. I enjoyed the characters, and their immense stubbornness only irked me slightly. It was a good historical romance. There wasn't too much of the sea setting in this one. I think my favorite character was Cass, so light-hearted and carefree. This book is very clean romance. There was a good share of action and intrigue involved. I got a little lost with a couple of the smaller characters, but perhaps that's because they are set up earlier in the series. The only issue I had, and this may be because I received this as an ARC, is all the combinations of "ff", "ffi" and "ffl" were entirely missing. It is written with Irish slang so when it said "o" it took me awhile to realize letters were actually missing. Hopefully this error was fixed prior to actual print.  If you are looking for a clean historical romance with some mystery and suspense, I recommend this book and will be keeping my eye out on this author in the future.

Happy Reading!

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Book Review - The Troop

Book Review

THe Troop - Nick Cutter

Bookshelves: Adult, Horror

Rating: 4 of 5 stars (It was good)

Recommended Age: Adult

Language, Death, Torture, Animal Abuse, Mental Health, Creepy, Gory

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. Ok, so I don't do horror books. I don't like them. I have seen enough to give myself nightmares at night, I don't need to read books to create new nightmares. So when I was provided a free copy of this book for my review I didn't think I'd even finish it honestly. But then I started it, and that was it. I could not put it down. It was like looking at a horrific car crash or something you know will give you nightmares, but you still can't look away. I could not stop reading. And then I was already going to have the nightmares so I just had to finish it to see who survived, if anyone and how they did it, and how they got rid of the nightmare! The story was riveting and I would tell myself just one more chapter, but I could never stop there. 
I liked the small excerpts about scientists journals, the interviews, the change of point of view throughout. It really hooked me and at one point, I really thought how it would end because I thought something was given away, but it wasn't. The action is really what drove me through this one. 
The characters were not my favorite. There was something about each one of them that kind of bugged me, but I'm not a teenage boy, so I probably could never identify with any of them. Because of this, I wasn't heart broken as the story progressed, but it was pretty disturbing since you wouldn't want anyone to experience what they did. I thought Shelley was a little over the edge. He was full bent sociopath right there. All the tendencies. Part of me felt that he was too much. That it should just be normal typical teenage boys, but then if Shelley wan't who he was, the story would've ended differently, wouldn't it? There was some really disturbing descriptions about him abusing and murdering animals. There's some experimenting and torturing of animals. If you can't do animals suffering, I would steer clear of this book. I had to skip a scene or two because it was just too detailed. 
Aside from that there is a lot of language and just some very creepy disturbing scenes. I wouldn't recommend this for kids. But if you are a horror lover, I would definitely recommend this. It's incredibly disturbing, but certainly draws you in and holds you tight for the ride.

Happy Reading!

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Book Review - Glitter & Glue

Book Review

Gliitter & Glue - Kelly Corrigan

Bookshelves: Adult, Memoir

Rating: 4 of 5 stars (It was good)

Recommended Age: Adult

Language, Drinking, Minor Romance

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was an enjoyable memoir focusing on mother-daughter relationships and mothers as a whole. I really enjoyed this book. I liked how her views on motherhood really changed while she was in Australia. I really loved seeing how her small part in the Tanners family really changed her views into motherhood and family life. To me, the Tanners was really the best part of the book. I was somewhat disappointed to see that even though inside she had changed the way she thought about mothers, particularly hers, she still didn't really change their relationship much after that. I guess that's the stuff of fiction though. I liked how even though she and her mother didn't see eye to eye on a lot she still needed her when things got hard. It was good to see how she saw another side of her mother through their working together. The flashbacks and links of her own life to her current situation with the Tanners were done well. As a mother and daughter I enjoyed seeing another viewpoint on mothers and how perceptions can be altered through experiences or lack of them. I really liked how she tied in Evan's explanation of chess (as the queen being able to move anywhere and was the most important piece and without her, you were lost) to the role of a mother. This book was pleasantly deeper than I was expecting. There is some language, drinking and some minor romance.

Happy Reading!

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Book Review - The Burning

Book Review

The Burning (Maeve Kerrigan #1) - Jane Casey

Bookshelves: Adult, Crime, Mystery

Rating: 4 of 5 stars (It was good)

Recommended Age: Adult

Serial Killer, Rape, Language

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this one. I've took a break from mysteries and serial killer type books lately and I love that coming back I've really had some good authors reintroduce the genre for me. 

The writing was smooth and easy to read. The setting lands us in England, so if British spelling and slang bothers you, beware. It doesn't bother me, especially when it comes to most of the bad language. This is mostly from first person narrative from a detective, Maeve. There is a little bit of jumping, but not so much you get confused as to who's POV we are in. Maeve is strong and somewhat stand-offish. I warmed to her even though at first she seemed pretty cold. I really enjoyed Rob's character and wish we could've read more from his POV, but there's only one small part about 3/4 of the way through. I properly despised Gil and Louise gave me the creeps. 

Reading the summary one might think that this book is mostly focused on a serial killer and his crimes. If you are expecting that, you might be somewhat disappointed. Don't get me wrong, there is a serial killer, but it is not the main chunk of the book, more of a back burner fire that is eventually put out quickly and neatly. This book is mostly about the fifth murder which doesn't exactly fit with the others, particularly with the small tidbits of info the police didn't reveal to the press. Usually with serial killer books, you might get a copycat, but the copycat killer is found and the serial killer continues on. This is the same way, but parts reversed. Does that make sense?

Anyway, the book is pretty much police protocol, follow the detectives footsteps kind of book. There is some questioning, but I figured out the ending pretty quick. This isn't one with a major plot twist. I did like how the ending was all summed up. Everything was explained down to back story and motive. Overall I was really pleased with this book, I would've given five stars if there was a little more mystery to it and I couldn't narrow down the killer. I will watch this author in the future and other Maeve Kerrigan novels.

Happy Reading!

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Book Review - Above

Book Review

Above - Isla Morley

Bookshelves: Adult, Psychological Thriller

Rating: 4 of 5 stars (It was good)

Recommended Age: Adult

Kidnapping, Rape, Deaths

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

So it was really hard to rate this book. Because it's not really one book. It is, but it shouldn't be. It's two books put together and one I loved and the other I didn't. Had it been a second book completely I might have loved it like the first. 
I completely recommend the first half. Wow, o wow! What a psychological thriller! I couldn't put it down! I found myself vacuuming with one hand just so I didn't have to. I usually don't love these kinds of books because I am all about the happy alternate reality type of books. I didn't completely identify with our protag, but I saw my girls in her and that hit me hard. I held them a little tighter while reading this book. I was actually talking to the book often as well, proof that I was hooked. 
Dobbs was disturbingly real. I wish I could reach through the book to smack him. I was so impressed with how real this book seemed. There were some pretty deep and dark situations which would normally turn me off but I just had to know how it ended. 

I can't really review the second half without giving away some major points, I will say, I really would've preferred the end of the first half have one final chapter summing a few things up and leaving it at that. Then the second half being a completely different book, not even as a series, but with a chapter or two intro as to why they walked into the second half the way it was and have it's own book. I wasn't as driven during the second half. Found myself a little annoyed more than compassionate with the characters and when I put the book down, I wasn't as eager to pick it back up. 

I would definitely rate this for adults as there are some very serious and deep issues throughout the book.

I can't review much more without giving away most of the book, but I will definitely keep an eye out on this author. I haven't been hooked like that in a long time. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to read this one.

Happy Reading!

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Book Review - Killer

Book Review

Killer (Alex Delaware #29) - Jonathan Kellerman

Bookshelves: Adult, Mystery

Rating: 4 of 5 stars (It was good)

Recommended Age: Adult

Murder, Language, Sex and Drug References

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

So, as surprising as it might be to many, this was my first Alex Delaware novel. I had no problem jumping right into the series as this book can be read as a stand alone. I didn't feel like I was missing something by not reading the first 28 books in the series. I have read Kellerman before and I am still very much a fan. 

I have been on a young adult and fantasy kick lately and wasn't searching out a new murder mystery, but after finding this on Netgalley I knew I had to give it a try.

Killer is a good read. We start out with Dr. Delaware devoted psychologist who finds himself getting pulled into the court side of things and observing and giving his expert opinion in custody cases. He gets thrown into a case that involves two sisters having a custody battle over baby girl. One sister, Cherie, is a free spirit who plays groupie to a small time band and single mother to Rambla. The other sister, Connie, is successful, methodical, controlling and cold and has decided she would make a better mother than "Ree," and even though she has no claim, she does have a lot of money.

Dr. Delaware sides with the mother, and immediately after, all things begin to go haywire. Delaware gets an unexpected greeting from Connie which results in an ambiguous threat. Once he notifies his old pal Milo from the LAPD the investigation makes a fast turn when they discover Connie brutally murdered. 

The book unfolded methodically, there wasn't a lot of action, but there were a lot of twists and turns. I knew the way Milo was investigating just wasn't fitting and wouldn't be the ending, but I certainly did not expect that last turn. I'm glad I read this one and will definitely keep my eyes out for more Delaware books in the future.

Thank you Ballantine Books for this opportunity.

Happy Reading!

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Book Review - Wake

Book Review

Wake - Anna Hope

Bookshelves: Adult, Depressing, Historical Fiction

Rating: 3 of 5 stars (It was ok)

Recommended Age: Adult

War, Death, Grief, Language, Sex & Drug Use

I received this book from Negalley in exchange for an honest review.

I felt this book could have been more. It was a decent read, but as a historical fiction of the aftermath of the war it was rather depressing. The story was written well, however I had a hard time with connecting with any of the three women we are following. We have Ada, a mother distraught by the loss of her son, finding herself seeing him on the streets and grasping onto the chance he may still be alive. Then there's Evelyn, who is left bitter and broken after her one true love is killed. And finally Hettie whose brother returns alive, however broken and family responsibility is then placed on her shoulders. I could see the characters, but I had a hard time being in their shoes, if that makes sense. The rushed sex scenes with Evelyn seemed disjointed and could have easily been left out. It took me some time to get through this one.

I didn't think about the characters after I put the book down. I did however think more about war and it's aftermath, which may be the author's intention. I do not mind thought provoking works or deep themes, I do, however like hope tied into the ending, a shining light. If you are looking for that, this book isn't it. The ending gives a bit of closure, but that's about it, like a band-aid on a stab wound. If you are seeking a realistic depressing WWI aftermath historical fiction, this is written well.

This book contains the obvious war, death, grief, language, sex, and drug use.

Thank you Random House Publishing Group for this opportunity.

Happy Reading!

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