Author: tamaramorning

Book Review and Blog Tour: Good Girls Lie, by J.T. Ellison

good girls lie
Image belongs to Harlequin/MIRA.

Title:  Good Girls Lie
Author:  J.T. Ellison
Genre:  Thriller
Rating:  4 out of 5

The Goode School, known as a Silent Ivy, is a prestigious boarding school that accepts only the brightest young women—especially daughters of the rich and powerful. The Good School is known for its traditions, like the secret societies and the honor code—lying will get you expelled. But a new girl has come to The Goode School. And she has a secret.

No one at the school bats an eye when the hazing begins—it’s tradition, after all—it’s just girls being girls and the girls would never do things they aren’t supposed to. No matter how cruel or vicious the reality is, the teachers and the head of the school turn a blind eye—until a girl ends up dead and all the secrets of the school are on the verge of being revealed. Secrets have a way of coming to the light.

I finished reading Good Girls Lie…and I’m still not sure who the bad guy is. The author does an excellent job of getting the reader into the characters’ heads—while casting suspicion on basically everyone, which kept me completely off-balance. The creepy boarding school setting is so well-detected I could practically smell the old buildings. If you need a tidy resolution to make you a happy reader, this might be the best choice for you, but it was absolutely a compelling, engrossing read.

J.T. Ellison is a New York Times- and USA Today-bestselling author. Good Girls Lie is her newest novel.

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

Book Review: The Heart of the Rebellion, by Sian Ann Bessey

the heart of the rebellion
Image belongs to Covenant Communications.

Title:  The Heart of the Rebellion
Author:  Sian Ann Bessey   
Genre:  Historical, romance
Rating:  4.5 out of 5

With the English King Richard II dead, Rhys ap Tudor and his brother Gwilym are free to return home after three years’ service to the king. Home to North Wales, where their younger brother has been taking care of their family and lands in their absence. But the new king, Henry IV, is demanding more taxes from people already beset by poverty, and the land is ripe for rebellion.

Lady Catrin Buckley is daughter of an English lord and a Welsh mother. Catrin misses her mother so much, it’s hard for her to embrace her mother’s heritage, but when she is betrothed to a man she’s never met, a man intent on erasing every bit of the Welsh from Catrin herself, she is drawn to the Welsh people—and Rhys ap Tudor—at the heart of the rebellion against English rule.

I enjoyed The Heart of the Rebellion. It’s set against the backdrop of a larger conflict, but the close involvement with a handful of characters makes the struggle personal. Catrin’s growth from a girl occupied by her own sorrows to a woman immersed in the lives and cares of those around her is wonderful to read, and I enjoyed every page.

Sian Ann Bessey was born in England, grew up in Wales, and attended college in the U.S. The Heart of the Rebellion is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Covenant Communications via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.)

Sundays are for Writing #52

I had another solid writing week. I had three planned writing sessions, and I got them all in without a problem. Started on the second timeline in the King Arthur story, so that’s taken a bit of mental adjustment.

I’m also working through Holly Lisle’s How to Write a Novel lessons for the new planned project. I love Holly’s classes—and I’m hoping this will help me straighten some things out before I start writing.

I’ve found this weekly update post to be super-motivating for me:  I think there were only three weeks this year that I didn’t do any writing! And that is such a huge improvement from the past few years, I’ll definitely keep doing these update posts next year!

Book Review: Smoke Screen, by Terri Blackstock

smoke screen
Image belongs to Thomas Nelson.

Title:  Smoke Screen
Author:  Terri Blackstock
Genre:  Suspense
Rating:  4 out of 5

Nate Beckett is a smoke jumper. He’s always busy fighting wildfires, and he certainly doesn’t have time to come home to the town that believed the worst of him. Fourteen years before, Nate’s father and the preacher got in a very loud, very public argument, and when the preacher was murdered that night, everyone believed Nate’s dad killed him. When the church burned to the ground, everyone believed Nate did it—and rather than stay and fight, he just left.

Fourteen years ago, Nate and the preacher’s daughter, Brenna Strickland were in love—until the night his father was accused of killing her father. After that night, Brenna thought things couldn’t get worse, but now she’s fighting an ugly custody battle with her ex-husband and his younger trophy wife—and his daddy’s money and influence. Brenna turns to alcohol to cope, but when the custody battle grows heated and new information about the murder years before comes to light, Brenna and Nate must work together to find out the truth.

I thoroughly enjoyed Smoke Screen. The things Brenna struggles with are enough to drive anyone to drink—even the preacher’s daughter. Her ex-husband and his daddy were enough to make me want a drink sometimes. The growth of her character through this novel was inspiring. Nate, too, grows a lot in this book. Being the son of a convicted murderer cannot be easy, but he handles himself with class and strength through it all.

Terri Blackstock is a USA Today– and New York Times-bestselling author. Smoke Screen is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Thomas Nelson via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: Shamus Dust, by Janet Roger

 

shamus dust
Image belongs to author and publisher.

Title:  Shamus Dust
Author:  Janet Roger
Genre:  Mystery
Rating:  4 out of 5

Newman is an American PI living in London just after World War II. The city is still a bombed-out wreck—and the people are worse. Early on Christmas morning, Newman receives a call from City Councilor Drake, who tells him to meet an investigator at the murder scene of Raymond Jarrett. The investigator isn’t there, so Newman stars asking questions. Jarrett was a blackmailer and a pimp, so there are a lot of people who might have wanted him dead—but who went through with it?

With the bodies piling up and his own life in danger, Newman is determined to find the killer. But as the suspects keep turning up dead and more questions keep stacking up, Newman realizes the truth has links all over the financial district—and the wealthy have more money and less scruples than he thought.

I’ll say straight away that detective noir stories are not my usual fair. They don’t normally hold my interest. This one did. The setting is incredibly well-realized and realistic—not to mention depressing—and the characters are…quite the character(s). I prefer more connection with the main characters I read, so the distance from Newman was a problem for me, but I realize that’s personal preference. This was well-written and very gritty, and I didn’t figure out who the killer was.

Janet Roger is an award-winning author. Shamus Dust is her debut novel.

(Galley courtesy of the author in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: Husband Material, by Emily Belden

husband material
Image belongs to Harlequin/Graydon House.

Title:  Husband Material
Author:  Emily Belden
Genre:  Women’s fiction
Rating:  4 out of 5

Charlotte Rosen is 29, has a great job at an up-and-coming company, a data-driven mind, a cute dog, and a secret that not even her roommate for years knows:  she’s a widow. Since the day her world crumpled to pieces, Charlotte has done her best to move forward. Now she’s intent on going on enough dates—and gathering enough data—to find her perfect man.

What Charlotte wasn’t expecting was her late husband’s ashes to show up at her doorstep, a twist of fate that leaves her reeling—and reaching out. Now she’s determined to make sense of things, even if it means dealing with her formidable mother-in-law…or her late husband’s best friend. Then she discovers a secret so shocking it turns her memory of her husband on its head—and her search for answers leads her places she never would have imagined just days ago.

I liked Charlotte, with all her insecurities and neurotic tendencies. I can’t even imagine trying to keep something like a marriage and a husband a secret—although the way he died hit a little close to home for me. Charlotte has never really dealt with her loss and her guilt, but when those ashes show up at her door, she has no choice. The only thing that niggled at me during this read was how quickly her mother-in-law did an about-face…although I can kind of see it.

Emily Belden was a guest on The Today Show after she tiled her bedroom floor in over 60,000 pennies. Husband Material is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Harlequin/Graydon House via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.)

Sundays are for Writing #51

Well…writing didn’t go quite so well this week. I only got in two writing sessions. No book reviews written (because I haven’t finished reading anything this week.). But…I DID finish one of the timelines in my King Arthur story, so there’s that.

To be fair…writing got pushed to the side in order to facilitate me finishing up a big personal goal that I’ve put off for basically eight or nine months. But the really time-consuming part is behind me, and I should finish it this week, so yay!

 

Book Review: Starborn, by Katie MacAlister

starborn
Image belongs to Kensington Books.

Title:  Starborn
Author:  Katie MacAlister
Genre:  Fantasy
Rating:  4 out of 5

After all the danger, fighting, and wars, peace now reigns in the seven lands of Alba. But Allegria and Hallow want to rescue their friend Deo, trapped in the shadowlands of Eris. And to do that , they need the three moonstones hidden years before.

As they search for the moonstones, they realize things aren’t quite as peaceful as they seem. Their captain—lifebound for many long years—warns them against heading to Eris by ship, but they are determined to rescue their friend. Even if it means their own deaths.

The banter and snarky humor make this a fun read, but I did feel some of the action was a bit rushed. I enjoyed the read, but it wasn’t as engrossing as the first one was, although if you need a dose of snarky humor and sarcasm, this is a sure bet.

Katie MacAlister is a best-selling author. Starborn is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Kensington Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: All That’s Bright and Gone, by Eliza Nellums

all that's bright and gone
Image belongs to Crooked Lane Books.

Title:  All That’s Bright and Gone
Author:  Eliza Nellums
Genre:  Fiction
Rating:  4 out of 5

There’s a lot that six-year-old Aoife doesn’t know. She doesn’t know why it’s not okay to talk to her friend Teddy around other people—Mama says he’s imaginary, but he’s not. She doesn’t know why Momma stopped the car in the middle of an intersection crying and screaming and talking to Aoife’s brother Theo—he’s dead, even Aoife knows that. She doesn’t know if Momma will be home from the hospital in time for the Fourth of July fireworks. But Aoife does know that if she can figure out who killed Theo, Momma will come home.

Uncle Donny takes Aoife home and says he’ll stay with her until Momma comes home, but she’s not sure she believes him. She has to figure out who killed Theo, but no one will even talk to her about him, so the only help she has is her eight-year-old neighbor. And Teddy—but sometimes he’s more interested in getting Aoife in trouble than anything. Finding out who killed Theo will bring Momma home, so Aoife is determined—even if she has to do it all by herself.

All That’s Bright and Gone was an interesting read. I’m not sure I’ve read anything from a six-year-old’s point-of-view, so that was novel. And Aoife is definitely special. The way she sees the world is both charming and terrifying, but her determination to save her family is inspiring. I actually saw things as Aoife saw them—not an adult looking through a child’s eyes—and the writing brought her world to life.

Eliza Nellums Lives in Washington D.C. All That’s Bright and Gone is her debut novel.

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

Sundays are for Writing #50

This has been an…erratic writing week. Of my five planned writing days, I got my two pages on two separate days, zero pages on two more, and four pages on the fifth. So, eight pages for the week instead of ten, but considering I was exhausted and I also wrote a couple of book reviews in there, I’ll take it.