Author: tamaramorning

Book Review: When the Stars Go Dark, by Paula McLain

Image belongs to Ballantine Books.

Title:  When the Stars Go Dark
Author:  Paula McLain
Genre:  Thriller
Rating:  4 out of 5

Anna Hart is a seasoned missing persons detective in San Francisco with far too much knowledge of the darkest side of human nature. When tragedy strikes her personal life, Anna, desperate and numb, flees to the Northern California village of Mendocino to grieve. She lived there as a child with her beloved foster parents, and now she believes it might be the only place left for her. Yet the day she arrives, she learns that a local teenage girl has gone missing.

The crime feels frighteningly reminiscent of the most crucial time in Anna’s childhood, when the unsolved murder of a young girl touched Mendocino and changed the community forever. As past and present collide, Anna realizes that she has been led to this moment. The most difficult lessons of her life have given her insight into how victims come into contact with violent predators. As Anna becomes obsessed with saving the missing girl, she must accept that true courage means getting out of her own way and learning to let others in.

This was a good mystery/thriller. I did not figure out who the bad guy was—until just a few minutes before Anna did. The foreshadowing was there, but it was so well done I didn’t pick up on it. I enjoyed the scenes from Anna’s past, in the woods with Hap the most. She’s a complex character with a lot of darkness in her life, but she struggles to help other women overcome their own darkness. This is well-worth reading.

Paul McLain is a bestselling author. When the Stars Go Dark is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Ballantine Books in exchange for an honest review.)

Sundays are for Writing #117

This was another solid writing week: three book reviews and three fiction sessions. I’m enjoying the new characters and settings in my WIP, and I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes next. (I do have a bit of an outline, so it’s not completely uncharted territory.)

Happy writing!

Book Review: Bitterroot Lake, by Alicia Beckman

Image belongs to Crooked Lane Books.

Title:  Bitterroot Lake
Author:  Alicia Beckman
Genre:  Suspense/thriller
Rating:  4 out of 5

Twenty-five years ago, during a celebratory weekend at historic Whitetail Lodge, Sarah McCaskill had a vision. A dream. A nightmare. When a young man was killed, Sarah’s guilt over having ignored the warning in her dreams devastated her. Her friendships with her closest friends, and her sister, fell apart as she worked to build a new life in a new city. But she never stopped loving Whitetail Lodge on the shores of Bitterroot Lake.

Now that she’s a young widow, her mother urges her to return to the lodge for healing. But when she arrives, she’s greeted by an old friend–and by news of a murder that’s clearly tied to that tragic day she’ll never forget.

And the dreams are back, too. What dangers are they warning of this time? As Sarah and her friends dig into the history of the lodge and the McCaskill family, they uncover a legacy of secrets and make a discovery that gives a chilling new meaning to the dreams. Now, they can no longer ignore the ominous portents from the past that point to a danger more present than any of them could know.

This was a decent read, but I wasn’t surprised at the resolution. The author tried to throw out some red herrings, but I was never in much doubt. A lot of bitterness in these people’s lives—amidst a lot of money. It was a solid read, but I was never on the edge of my seat. Lovely descriptions of the lodge and the landscape. Made me want to visit!

Alicia Beckman lives in Montana. Bitterroot Lake is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Crooked Lane books in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: The Sign of Death, by Callie Hutton

Image belongs to Crooked Lane Books.

Title:  The Sign of Death
Author:  Callie Hutton
Genre:  Historical fiction, cozy mystery
Rating:  4 out of 5

Bath, England, 1891. Mr. James Harding was a lot of things–businessman, well-to-do, probable scoundrel–but a drinker he most assuredly was not. So when Harding is believed to have drunkenly fallen to his death into the icy River Avon, Lord William Wethington is immediately suspicious. Finding Lord William’s name on a letter in the victim’s pocket, the local constabulary summons William to identify the victim. Police detectives learn that William had been one of Harding’s business clients–and undoubtedly not the only client the dead man had cheated.

William entreats Lady Amy Lovell, a fellow member of the Mystery Book Club of Bath, to help him deduce what really happened to the late Mr. Harding. Lady Amy, a celebrated mystery author herself, once called on William to help her solve a real-life mystery, and now she fully intends to return the favor. But it won’t be easy.

Practically every one of Harding’s many clients had ample reason to want to do him in. And there’s precious little time to narrow down the list: William and Amy soon become prime suspects themselves when the police discover them ruffling through files in Harding’s house. Lady Amy will have to be as clever as her characters if she’s to save William from the gallows…and herself from Harding’s real killer.

I’m really liking this series so far! The Victorian setting is a lot of fun, with Amy struggling to make her own place in the world and do what makes her happy—not what everyone else thinks she should do. William is also quite likable, and I like this unique setting for a cozy mystery series. Definitely a fun read!

Callie Hutton writes historical fiction. The Sign of Death is the newest book in the Victorian Book Club Mystery series.

(Galley courtesy of Crooked Lane Books in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review and Blog Tour: The Bookstore on the Beach, by Brenda Novak

Image belongs to Harlequin/Mira.

Title:   The Bookstore on the Beach
Author:  Brenda Novak
Genre:  Women’s fiction
Rating:  3.5 out of 5

How do you start a new chapter when you haven’t closed the book on the last one?

Eighteen months ago, Autumn Divac’s husband went missing. Her desperate search has yielded no answers—she still has no idea where he went or why. After being happily married for twenty years, she can’t imagine moving forward without him, but for the sake of their two teenage children, she has to try.

Autumn takes her kids home for the summer to the charming beachside town where she was raised. She seeks comfort by working alongside her mother and aunt at their quaint bookshop, only to learn that her daughter is facing a life change neither of them saw coming and her mother has been hiding a terrible secret for years. And when she runs into Quinn Vanderbilt—the boy who stole her heart in high school—old feelings start to bubble up again. Is she free to love him, or should she hold out hope for her husband’s return? She can only trust her heart…and hope it won’t lead her astray.

I think there was a little too much going on here to give any one thing the benefit of full development:  the missing husband, the new love interest, the mystery of Autumn’s father, what’s going on with her mother, the multiple issues with her daughter…In the end, it just came across as rather crowded and chaotic, and I couldn’t enjoy any one thing fully. Solid writing, and I loved the setting, but this ended up being just a so-so read for me.

Brenda Novak is a bestselling author. Bookstore on the Beach is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Harlequin/MIRA in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review and Blog Tour: The Last Bookshop in London, by Madeline Martin

Harlequin/Hanover Square Press.

Title:  The Last Bookshop in London
Author:  Madeline Martin
Genre:  Historical fiction
Rating:  4.5 out of 5

August 1939: London prepares for war as Hitler’s forces sweep across Europe. Grace Bennett has always dreamed of moving to the city, but the bunkers and blackout curtains that she finds on her arrival were not what she expected. And she certainly never imagined she’d wind up working at Primrose Hill, a dusty old bookshop nestled in the heart of London.

Through blackouts and air raids as the Blitz intensifies, Grace discovers the power of storytelling to unite her community in ways she never dreamed—a force that triumphs over even the darkest nights of the war.

It seems like every World War II novel I read is sad, but this one proved to be an exception. Don’t get me wrong, there are definitely sad and horrifying moments, but the overall message of this novel is hope and helping others. I thought it was a wonderful touch that initially Grace isn’t even a reader, so we get to experience her falling in love with books as she grows to love the bookshop and its patrons. This is a lovely read!

Madeline Martin is a bestselling author. The Last Bookshop in London is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Harlequin/Hanover Square Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Sundays are for Writing #116

This was a good writing week: three book reviews, and three fiction sessions—mostly new stuff, which makes me very happy. It’s time to feel my way through the new setting I’ve come up with.

Happy writing!

Book Review and Blog Tour: Just Get Home, by Bridget Foley

Image belongs to Harlequin/MIRA .

Title:  Just Get Home
Author:  Bridget Foley
Genre:  Fiction
Rating:  4 out of 5

Dessa, a single mom, is enjoying a rare night out when a devastating earthquake strikes. Roads and overpasses crumble, cell towers are out everywhere, and now she must cross the ruined city to get back to her three-year-old daughter, not even knowing whether she’s dead or alive. Danger in the streets escalates, as looting and lawlessness erupts. When she witnesses a moment of violence but isn’t able to intervene, it nearly puts Dessa over the edge.

Fate throws Dessa a curveball when the victim of the crime—a smart-talking 15-year-old foster kid named Beegie—shows up again in the role of savior, linking the pair together. Beegie is a troubled teen with a relentless sense of humor and resilient spirit that enables them both to survive. Both women learn to rely on each other in ways they never imagined possible, to permit vulnerability and embrace the truth of their own lives.

I like Beegie quite a bit, but Dessa…not so much. She is far too passive for me, letting life—and the people in it—treat her however it will without standing up for herself. Like, passive to a pathetic degree. Solid writing and description—I’ve never experienced an earthquake and I’d like to keep it that way—enough to place me firmly in the scenes, but my dislike of Dessa was a big problem for me in reading this.

Bridget Foley lives in Idaho. Just Get Home is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Harlequin/MIRA in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: Blessed Monsters, by Emily A. Duncan

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press.

Title:  Blessed Monsters
Author:  Emily A. Duncan
Genre:  Fantasy
Rating:  5 out of 5

The girl, the monster, the prince, the queen.

They broke the world.

And some things can never be undone.

I’ll admit, the blurb for this novel is a big sparse, but the novel itself is not. Like the rest of this trilogy, this is a very dark and fantastical story. Dark. Very dark. The cultures, the history, the people, are all brimming with life and magic and so vibrant they leap off the page.

But this is not a fluffy bunny story (and if there were any fluffy bunnies, they’d probably die a gruesome and tragic death immediately). Instead, it’s full of chilling sensory details (seriously, maybe read this on a hot summer day) and definitely read the other two books first. This is a compelling and engrossing novel, just don’t expect sweetness and light.

Emily A. Duncan is a bestselling author. Blessed Monsters is her newest novel, the final installment in the Something Dark and Holy series.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Sundays are for Writing #115

This was a good writing week again! Three fiction sessions, three book reviews, and also my March reading post, as well as a post about the best books I read in March. I’m very happy with this week.

Happy writing!