Book: Strangers She Knows by Christina Dodd

Strangers She Knows by Christina Dodd

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Great way to end the trilogy. The entire family has a renewed sense of appreciation for each other, and there's hope on the horizon.



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Book: Watcher in the Woods by Kelley Armstrong

Watcher in the Woods by Kelley Armstrong

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I read a digital copy of this book I received via Netgalley.

While this is the fourth book in the Rockton series, it can stand alone. I had no trouble following characters and events, even references from previous books, which I have not read.

I loved the Yukon as its own character, and the relationships between Casey and other members of the town feel genuine, even when it involves dislike or even hate. Casey's a capable LEO, and a self-rescuing princess.

I would gladly read more of this series.

The one downside, which I have to hope will be fixed in the published version, was the enormous number of typos and other errata. Normally, I might count off mentally for this, but there were so many I had to presume this was truly an Uncorrected Copy. :D



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Book: More Than Bones by Craig David Singer

More Than Bones by Craig David Singer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I read a digital copy of this book I received via Netgalley.

More Than Bones revolves around friendships, self-confidence, and knowing who one is.

Parts of MTB are completely silly, and other parts are deep and thoughtful. The secondary characters are interesting and have decent depth.

I enjoyed the resolution of the story with regard to Emily's sense of self. Definitely worth a read, particularly if you want a break from thinky books or studying. :D



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Book: Enceladus Mission by Brandon Q Morris

The Enceladus Mission: Hard Science Fiction by Brandon Q. Morris

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I read a digital copy of this book I received via Netgalley.

There was a bit too much information in this one - too much focus on minutiae and 'we did this then we did that' for my taste.

The communication thing on Enceladus was fascinating, but it lasted about twelve seconds. I would have loved more depth with regard to that. It was actually the most interesting part of the book for me.

There is a huge twist in the early bits of the following book, so if you're not ready to be spoiled, avoid reading it.



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Book: In the House of Five Dragons by Erica Lundquist

In the House of Five Dragons by Erica Lindquist

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The first quarter of this book absolutely crawled for me, and I considered more than once just giving up. In the end I'm glad I didn't.

This is more fantasy than scifi in case that's important to you.

Things I loved:
the twin worlds concept, and the fact that what is matter of fact in one world is magic in the other; the understated romance over the last three-quarters of the book; character growth for multiple characters; a couple of twists I wasn't expecting; the way the girl learned to understand what Rikard was saying, and used that knowledge to help him appear less "mad" during public appearances; who the Crest turned out to be; the odd mishmash of modern and medieval sensibilities; Rikard's journey to make his society honorable again, the way nothing was easy for Rikard, especially when I expected it to be; the action sequences.

Things I didn't love:
the first quarter of the book; the weird ways names changed depending on whether one was talking about a place, a nation, or a person from that nation; the ending (not that it was a bad ending, just that I wanted a bit more about the main characters and how their lives had changed rather than about the son) - I understood it was written that way to create a bookend feeling with the opening, but though it was a perfectly good sequence, it didn't tell me what I wanted to know about how the part of the story I cared about ended; the unveiling of the Crest's identity; that we only got to know two characters from Alterra.

When I read some of the stuff in the last few pages of the book, it became clearer to me why the first quarter of the book was so boring to me: it was setting up a roleplaying universe. For some people all that information would be fascinating. For me, it was as boring as D&D is in person. Yes. I'd rather play solitaire in the dark with actual cards.

And on a personal note, I was predisposed to dislike the son, named Gaius, because that character on BSG is far from my favorite. James Callis is a superb actor, and it's a testament to his acting that I dislike Gaius Baltar so thoroughly. Some names are just ruined forever, though. lol



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Book: Never Be Alone by Paige Dearth

Never Be Alone by Paige Dearth
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received a digital copy of Joon via Netgalley for the purposes of providing an unbiased review.

The book ends on a note of hope. That is the single best thing I can tell you.

Joon is full of triggers. If you are at all squeamish about the rough side of life, my sincere advice is to be sure you have support in place for when this book gets tough. And it does get tough. There were several times I seriously thought about stopping and moving on to another book, but Joon is a compelling character. It was impossible to give up on her because despite all odds, she never gave up on herself.

She kept living, kept loving, kept trusting, and is a shining beacon for people who feel overwhelmed by the neverending bad stuff in their lives.

If you are the kind of person who reads stories like this to remind you where you came from and how hard you worked to get where you are, I can guarantee Joon will do that for you. If you are the kind of person who reads stories like this to help you renew your heart and your compassion, Joon'll do that for you, too.

This book is not for everyone, but if you choose to read it, I believe you'll come out the other end enlightened to some degree. Paige Dearth has a way with words, and doesn't mince them. She'll be an author I return to when I need another reminder of how good life is right now, and how much worse it used to be.

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Book: Dead Girl Running by Christina Dodd

Dead Girl Running by Christina Dodd
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received a digital copy of this book via Netgalley for the purposes of providing an unbiased review.

Y'all, I don't give five stars easily, but this one deserves it.

I got introduced to all new characters I can care about. Kateri Kwinault had a cameo. The mystery about Kellen's past was equally as compelling to me as the whodunit threaded throughout the book. I wanted to know, and I was not disappointed!

There was a subtle and low-key romantic undercurrent, which I cannot describe any better for fear of spoiling you.

Best of all, the book was chock full of women being awesome!

Go. Read. I think you'll be glad you did.

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Book: After Anna by Lisa Scottoline

After Anna by Lisa Scottoline
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I received a digital copy of this book via Netgalley for the purposes of providing an unbiased review.

While I did not like this book overall, there were things I did like. Caleb was an awesome kid and he rises to the occasion toward the end of the book. Wreck-It Ralph is a phenomenal name for a cat. The long-term relationship between Maggie and Kathy spans the gamut of emotion, and is a wonderful example of friendship.

Though the craptastic formatting was irritating, and I'm mentioning it, it's not included in my reasons for disliking After Anna.

The first chapter was good. I was certainly hooked enough to continue reading. The next chapter belonged to Maggie and the goddess of exclamation points, and I wasn't even to the bottom of that page before I was rolling my eyes and wanting to tape Maggie's mouth shut.

There was an instance or two early on of infodumping on the courthouse's appearance, which may be of interest to some, but I was reading, "blah, blah, blah" instead. Plenty of awkward phrasing throughout, and so many misused and improperly punctuated words - the proofreader needs to be tossed overboard.

I didn't enjoy the split reverse timeline method of storytelling. It can be done well and ratchet up the suspense, but here it was just annoying. I was at 80% before the plot became interesting again.

There was a glaring mistake in the final rescue scene, and it took me entirely too long to get back into the story for the last few pages.

I was disappointed in the epilogue: too much time was skipped over, and I felt like the characters didn't deserve the endings they got. In particular, too much was glossed over in the family's recovery for the end to be believable to me.

I can't recommend this book unless you are a hardcore Scottoline fan who must read every book.

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In addition to the above, there are some triggery scenes in he last quarter of the book. If you have triggers involving children or sex, please ask so I can help you decide if this book is for you.

Book: The Dark Divide by D. K. Stone

From the opening paragraphs to the final word, Ms. Stone creates and maintains the perfect pace.

She starts with the right touch of history - enough to be ominous but not tiresome. Then she includes throwaway details - Hunter and his coffee mugs, Rich pumping gas to the nearest dollar, Susan burning eggs because she answered the door - to make these people come alive, make them real. She ends with a soupcon of hope.

Rich's life is still in turmoil, with the aftermath of the fire nipping at his heels, the main story opening with calling the courtroom to order, only in the Canadian way (which was an interesting contrast to the US way), and the suspense in The Dark Divide continues to ratchet higher and higher. Who will testify at the preliminary hearing? Will Rich be bound over for trial? Who will be subpoenaed on behalf of the prosecution? Who the hell is Alistair Diarmuid, and why is Lou the only person in town who likes him?

But as crucial to the future as the court proceedings are, the story here is really about Louise Newman, and about Rich Evans only as his life intersects with Lou's. And frankly, that feels appropriate. Lou's stories are less omnipresent in The Dark Divide, but more on the mark, and there are fascinating responses in her listeners. At one point, I wrote to myself, "Why does Rich not see that Lou's telling him about herself with each and every story?" Little hints are dropped here and there about Lou, her childhood, her "knowing," and for me there is some satisfaction in learning these new things, while at the same time I'm eager to know the rest of her story.

As much as Rich does, I grow frustrated with Lou's inability to tell Rich straight out what her deal is. Then I want to smack her for revealing a big thing at precisely the wrong moment. I'm equally frustrated with Rich: One of my notes says, "What bug crawled up his ass?" These two personify the old rhyme about the little girl - when she was good, she was very, very good, but when she was bad, she was horrid. When things are right between Rich and Lou, the story settles into a happy place. When things are going wrong, sometimes one after the other, it seems impossible to believe they'll come back from this. Even as I'm ready to snatch either one of them bald-headed, though, I never stop rooting for these two kids to work it out.

Ms. Stone's ability to create fables, or fable-like tales, to suit circumstances in the story, is remarkable. There's always a little something which makes me ask, "How do you DO that?" In this case, it was the story about the God of Death. A couple of hundred years ago, it would have been her voice we listened to around the fire in the dark, the atmosphere soothing or crackling with every tale from our collective pasts. She's got a gift.

Despite the fact that the overarching mystery is "resolved" by book's end, I'm beyond excited about the third book. I have no doubt it'll be as suspenseful as the first two, with plenty of surprises along the way.

Go. Read. You'll be glad you did. And if for some reason you haven't read Edge of Wild, hie thyself to your crack dealer of choice.

Giveaway: The Dark Divide by D.K. Stone

Author Danika Stone, writing as D.K. Stone, revisits her beloved Waterton in the follow-up to her fascinating mystery Edge of Wild, entitled The Dark Divide!

Waterton is a town with dark secrets, and after a summer of murder and mayhem, American ex-pat Rich Evans knows exactly how far people will go to hide them. Jobless after the fiery destruction of the hotel he once managed, Rich is charged with arson. Only one person, local mechanic Louise "Lou" Newman, believes in his innocence. But even Lou's love and support can't dispel the darkness that's spreading through the community. Dead animals appear on porches, strangers threaten the safety of the locals, and a fingerprint from the fire is linked to a decades-old murder.

The lonely border town has a new danger: a murderer willing to do anything to protect a web of secrets that links them to the arson.

As the risk of jail or death increases, Rich turns to Lou for guidance and she finds herself in an impossible position. Lou has her own secrets! Does she protect the border town where she grew up, or side with the man she loves... even if it means she can never tell him the truth about herself?

##

My giveaway opens Thursday, April 5! The package includes a signed copy of both books, a Canada luggage tag, a trio of Hallmark magnets, a flower-themed To Do pad, and anything else which strikes my fancy and is legal to ship. :D

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Starting April 15th, to celebrate the release of The Dark Divide, visit the listed blogs for blog posts, reviews of the new book, and other fun things. On Monday, April 23, return here for my review of The Dark Divide.

Sunday, April 15th: https://booksandbelleblog.wordpress.com/
Monday, April 16th: http://hermitlibrarian.blogspot.ca/
Tuesday, April 17th: http://www.emilyreadseverything.com/
Wednesday, April 18th: http://www.shootingstarsmag.blogspot.ca/
Thursday, April 19th: https://kcmmp13.wordpress.com/
Friday, April 20th: https://fangirlsince1988.wordpress.com/
Saturday, April 21st: http://www.beatricelearnstoread.wordpress.com
Sunday, April 22: https://fafasbookcorner.wordpress.com/

On Tuesday, April 24, I'll choose a winner for a giveaway package!

#mystery #waterton #thedarkdivide

Danika Stone is an author, artist, and educator who discovered a passion for writing fiction while in the throes of her Masters thesis. A self-declared bibliophile, Danika now writes novels for both teens (All the Feels and Internet Famous) adults (Edge of Wild and Intaglio). When not writing, Danika can be found hiking in the Rockies, planning grand adventures, and spending far too much time online. She lives with her husband, three sons, and a houseful of imaginary characters in a windy corner of Alberta, Canada.

Ms. Stone is represented by Morty Mint of Mint Literary Agency.

Book: Sirius: Hidden Truth by A.L. Long

Could have been entitled Sirius: Clear as Day No, and been more accurate.

Sirius: Hidden Truth by A.L. Long

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


I received a digital copy of this book via netgalley for the purposes of providing an unbiased review.

This was billed as erotic bdsm suspense. I don't remember any suspense in what I read. The subtitle is Hidden Truth, and I'm not sure what was hidden, either. The story was too short for their to be anything which remained a surprise for long.

This is one of those college girl falls for her dom professor, with every single cliche in the genre. On top of that, it was poorly written, with egregious grammatical errors. And yes, for some people, those mistakes don't impact their enjoyment of a book. Grammar, poor or otherwise, can make or break a book for me. In this case, bad grammar was just another nail in the coffin.

I cannot recommend this book unless you want to use it as a template for writing college girl falls for her dom professor in every shape imaginable. In that case, go for it.



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Book: No One But You by Brenda Novak

No One But You by Brenda Novak
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received a free digital copy of No One But You from the author for the purposes of providing an unbiased review.

This is one of my few five star reads - no, not even Brenda Novak always gets five stars!

The characterization was wonderful, the pacing was perfect, and the ending was satisfying. An all-round good read! I enjoyed this one better than the first in the series. My connection to the characters was much stronger. I look forward to the next in the series.

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Book: Finding Our Forever by Brenda Novak

Finding Our Forever by Brenda Novak

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I received a digital copy of this book from the author for the purposes of providing an honest review.

I loved the characters, the way none of them were perfect, and they were each imperfect in ways I could recognize and empathize with. The insight into the emotional struggles of an adoptee was illuminating.

I loved the way Cora's reticence to ask Elijah questions about his past actually worked to help him feel more able to share with him - she wasn't pushy, and he liked it. The progression of Cora and Eli's relationship was great, with realistic concerns on both sides.

The pace of the book was perfect, at least until the very end. At that point, once Cora's bio mom's "secret" was out, the push and pull of tell her, don't tell her was resolved much too quickly, and Cora knew exactly what to say to make everything magically okay.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE a happily ever after, and the central HEA was satisfying, but the mother/daughter "HEA" came much too easily considering the circumstances, and though the romance was good, I was left feeling a little deflated by the mother/daughter relationship.

Nonetheless, it's a Novak, so definitely worth the read. I'm looking forward to getting to know the other characters and seeing their happily ever afters, particularly Darci. Novak does know how to create a believable small town inhabited by the most interesting and unique characters.



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Book: Brotherhood in Death by J.D. Robb

Brotherhood in Death by J.D. Robb
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoy the changes in Eve's life, and the way the books have increased the focus on secondary characters. My only complaint, for the most part, is the sex. It's just...(I can't believe I'm saying this) boring.

I'd be perfectly happy if the inevitable Eve/Roarke sex scenes could be fade to black from now on. I get more fun out of the conversations they have and their references leading up to sex than I do from the smexy scenes themselves. WTF.

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Book: The Secrets She Kept by Brenda Novak

The Secrets She Kept by Brenda Novak
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received an e-copy of this book from the author for the purposes of providing a review.

The Secrets She Kept is a sequel to The Secret Sister. In this one, Josephine, a force of nature in her children's lives, is dead. Why? How?

Keith, who has been away for five years, getting and staying sober, making his own fortune, basically learning who he is without his family around, returns to the island to take care of the details. His sisters are more than capable, but he feels he needs closure, and wants to take care of things himself.

I loved that the siblings' relationship was a major part of the story. Roxanne was a "new" addition to the family in the prior book, and in this one, she's an established part of the family hierarchy. Maisey and Keith talk to her regularly.

There were mentions of Rafe and Maisey and their kids, and Roxanne's marriage has a fairly strong focus here, too. Along with that, of course, is the mystery (even if only in Keith's mind) of how Josephine died, who her new boyfriend was, and Keith re-establishing his friendship with Nancy.

The balance between all the elements was good, never leaving me feeling like anything was missing or getting short shrift. Though I enjoyed the first one, I think I might like this one a wee bit better.

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Book: Suddenly Spellbound by Erica Lucke Dean

Suddenly Spellbound by Erica Lucke Dean

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I received a digital copy of this book from the author for the purposes of providing a review.

Ivie has a wacky sense of humor, and I laughed out loud several times while reading Suddenly Spellbound.

Ivie is surrounded by a family of both blood and love, and enjoys her life, with one possible exception: her dad has been acting so weird since she changed him from a cat to a human. Long story.

So Dad asks for Ivie to swing by his work really quickly, and when she does, he pulls her into a little spell. Turns out not to be so little, and boy is her fiance pissed when he picks her up at the police station later.

After the spell, Ivie is stuck in a love triangle, but it's not what you might imagine, and the resolution of this triangle is funny and dramatic and suspenseful and sad and unexpected.

If you're looking for a contemporary romance with humor, more than a touch of paranormal, and a happily ever after...well, two out of three ain't bad. It's not exactly a cliffhanger, but there's a twist on the final pages of the book, and in the overall scheme of Ivie's life, well, it's just another day.

I look forward to reading what happens next.

On the technical side, I found few errors and no formatting issues.



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GIVEAWAY!! #EdgeofWild

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Book: Discovering You by Brenda Novak

Discovering You by Brenda Novak

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I was gifted a digital copy of Discovering You by the author for the purposes of providing a review.

This was an interesting relationship, because some aspects of it were slow burn, while others were on the fast track, but the dichotomy worked well here.

Rod and India, who have already met, ran into each other on a dark street late at night when she was coming back from an art show. The situation was tense, and India attempted to shove Rod into the "bad boy" box in her head, to convince herself she wasn't interested in him. She wasn't really fooling herself. Or me.

I loved the way the Dylan especially tucked India right into the "family" place under his wing without question, once Rod communicated his interest. I loved that Rod was unmistakably interested in India, but was willing to help her even if they never got together - insisted on it, in fact. It's a total line, and it's a romance novel, but I believed this man when he said it.

Discovering You kept me reading from beginning to end. I don't think I even took a bathroom break. lol Suspense and making neighborhood connections and reconnecting with Rod's inner child via an actual child. All good things.

The only downside was the Mack/Natasha subplot. It took up too much space. It took too much focus away from the main relationship and the nerve-wracking things happening around it. And though I care whether Mack and Natasha ever figure things out, I didn't like having so much of it worked out in this book.

Discovering You is a solid entry in the Whiskey Creek series. This book, though it builds on a reader's knowledge of characters previously mentioned, very much stands alone. It's been a while since I read the last WC book, and I had no trouble getting back into the Amos family.



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Book: Deception Island by Brynn Kelly

Deception Island by Brynn Kelly

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I'm afraid Deception Island didn't do it for me. I enjoyed the beginning of the book, but once "Laura" was kidnapped, it failed to keep my attention.

Romantic chemistry was nonexistent as far as I was concerned. I didn't care about Laura/Holly's relationship with Jack/Rafe. In fact, by the end of the book, I was much more invested in whether or not Holly would bond with Theo.

Aside from that, there were serious issues with words involving the letter "f", most of which were divided by a space after the f. This made for difficult reading, when "muffled" became "muff led" or other similar words. It was extremely frustrating.

The formatting was also messed up. Many conversations, while they were offset by individual quotation marks, were all crammed together, without paragraph changes or any other means of determining who was speaking.

Overall, between the writing itself and the formatting issues, I can't recommend this book.

ETA: I received a digital copy of Deception Island from Netgalley for the purposes of providing a review.



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Book: Edge of Wild by Danika Stone

Edge of Wild by Danika Stone

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


FULL DISCLOSURE: I had the pleasure of reading this many months ago as an alpha reader, and I was gifted a digital copy of this book by the author. I am on the street team for this book. None of that in any way impacts my opinions. DK knows I would tell her if it blew.

Edge of Wild

The story has changed so much from initial writing to now, and is a better book for the input of Stonehouse Publishing.

Edge of Wild is a mystery. It's a love story. It's a paean to the Northern Rocky Mountains and Waterton, Alberta, Canada. It's a peek into the secrets kept even, perhaps especially, in a small town. Some of those secrets are worth killing over.

Rich is a fish out of water in Waterton, and he plans to enjoy the challenge of getting a hotel up and running in an area with not enough tourist traffic. What little enjoyment he has, though, is ruined piecemeal, with problems ranging from relatively fixable issues like plumbing to much more dangerous vandalism, along with creepy discoveries both in and outside of the hotel.

Lou is appealingly odd, and befriends Rich from the start when he brings his car in for repairs. She's got a gift for fixing things, a story for everything, and a ready smile whenever Rich shows up.

Edge of Wild is very much Rich's story, and yet Lou as his touchstone is integral to the plot.

You'll encounter suspense aplenty, with several smaller mysteries contributing to the larger plot arc. Intense descriptions of the scenery made me question more than once why I wasn't living there instead of in Texas.

Edge of Wild kept me reading every evening, is on my "rereadable" list, and has me more than curious about what comes next for this small town.



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