Author: tamaramorning

Book Review: The Mourning Parade, by Dawn Reno Langely

the mourning parade

Natalie DeAngelo is grieving the loss of her two sons in a school shooting. Even after a year, she still finds herself the focus of far too much attention, and lives with her memories and her despair. Then she hears about a sanctuary for elephants in Thailand, and decides on a change of scenery for a year to help with her healing.

As soon as she arrives, Natalie is caught between the animosity of a fellow vet and the rampages of an injured elephant named Sophie. Everyone else sees the elephant as a danger, but Natalie knows she’s just hurt and scared. Natalie puts all her effort into healing Sophie’s body and mind—and hopes that she just might do some healing herself.

The Mourning Parade is a fascinating book focused on enigmatic animals. The setting is rich with detail, and so vivid you can almost smell the steamy climate. The elephants are just as much characters in the novel as Natalie is, and the bond between Natalie and Sophie is incredible. I loved this book. It was emotional, but healing and inspirational, too. Highly recommended!

Dawn Reno Langley loves to write novels, essays, poetry…she just loves to write. The Mourning Parade is her newest novel.

(Galley provided by Amberjack Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: The Nearest Faraway Place, by Hayley Long

TNFAP
Image belongs to Hot Key Books.

Griff and Dylan—Thomas, like the poet—are almost back from vacation with their parents when the unthinkable happens: a horrible car wreck kills their parents and injures Griff. Now the two boys are alone in the world and struggling with grief and tragedy. Dylan is just worried about Griff, who’s not dealing well with their reality, and Dylan must make sure his brother gets through this in one piece.

When an aunt and uncle they’ve never met offer them a home in Wales, the boys end up in a world they’re not used to, still reeling from the loss of their parents. Griff bravely starts to adjust to their new reality, but he’s not the only who needs to be brave:  Dylan has to face up to something if he’s ever going to embrace his own reality.

So. This book. This book. It’s sad, I’m not going to lie. I expected that, but I did not expect the wrenching sadness of both boys, and Griff’s horrible grief. The brothers are so different, and yet the same, and the memories threaded throughout the book—the nearest faraway places—are poignant and make the reader aware how great the boys’ parents were. The writing is strong and evocative, pulling the reader right into every single emotional moment. This is well-worth reading.

Hayley Long lives in Norwich with her husband and her rabbit. The Nearest Faraway Place, available July 13th, is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Hot Key Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: Dream Me, by Kathryn Berla

dream me
Image belongs to Amberjack Publishing.

Babe is always the new girl in town. Always. So, when her family moves to Florida one summer, she doesn’t expect much, just a regular life working for the local country club and its upper-class members. But she makes friends and starts to imagine a life there. Then the headaches start, terrible, blinding ones that seem to be caused by the dreams she has every single night.

Zat is a dreamer from a far distant future where people no longer dream and Earth is dying. In his dreams, he sees red-haired Babe and longs to experience the life she embraces. Instead of leaving Earth with his family, he chooses to travel back in time and live in Babe’s dreams, but he never imagines those dreams will cause her so much pain. While Babe clings to their dream life together, Zat tries to pull away so he no longer hurts her. Soon they must make a choice between dreams and reality.

I’ve read some great books lately, and Dream Me is one of them. The whole premise is unique, since Zat only exists in Babe’s dreams, but the characters are so vivid they feel like I know them personally. Zat’s bleak existence made me feel sorry for him, and I could relate to Babe’s tough exterior, caused by her challenging life. These characters are deep and compelling, and the novel blends YA with fantasy seamlessly, with an added does of mystery—what is Zat hiding? Will they find a solution? Even the setting—the steamy Florida coast—lives and breathes on the page. If you love YA, fantasy, romance, or sci-fi, you should read this!

Kathryn Berla lives in San Francisco. Her newest novel, Dream Me, hits shelves on July 11th.

(Galley provided by Amberjack Publishing in return for an honest review.)

Books I Read in June

June was a really good reading month for me:  I read 16 books, and started two more that I stopped reading. Several of these books I thought were fantastic!

the rules of half

The Rules of Half, by Jenna Patrick. (Read to review.) Loved this! It deals with mental illness respectfully and accurately, and the characters were great:  flawed and believable.

internet famous

Internet Famous by Danika Stone. (Read to review.) I liked this a lot. I liked the MC–and envied her life–and found the whole set-up of her being a famous blogger being persecuted by a troll very interesting.

the sixth victim

The Sixth Victim, by Tessa Harris. (Read to review.) I was intrigued by the Jack the Ripper connection, but found this just “meh”.

Love, Alabama

Love, Alabama, by Susan Sands. (Read to review.) A cute romance with a history, plus a narcissistic, manipulative ex-husband, set in a small Southern town. Enjoyable.

patchwork

Patchwork, by Karsten Knight. (Read to review.) Loved this! Unique concept with likeable characters, and a neat twist on the phoenix mythos.

Silence Fallen, by Patricia Briggs. (Just because I love this series.) Yep. Love me some Mercy Thompson.

Part ofthe Silence

Part of the Silence, by Debbie Howells. (Read to review.) Another “meh” read, although I loved the Cornwall setting, and the mystery was somewhat interesting.

murder on black swan lane

Murder on Black Swan Lane, by Andrea Penrose. (Read to review.) A pretty good read, with a Regency-era murder mystery. The interactions between the two main characters were very entertaining.

girl on the verge

Girl on the Verge, by Pintip Dunn. (Read to review.) Another book I loved! A multi-cultural MC who struggles to bridge the gap between her cultures, plus a creepy-as-all-get-out “friend” who tries to be just. exactly. like. her. and take over her life.

All the Feels:  All is Fair in Love and Fandom, by Danika Stone. I read this because I enjoyed Internet Famous, and found this to be an entertaining read as well.

Being Dead is Bad for Business, by Stanley A Weiss. (Read to review). Stopped reading about 5% in due to a lack of interest in the character. He was pretty self-absorbed.

Betrothed, by Wanda Wiltshire. (Read to review.) Stopped reading after about 20% because the characters seemed too juvenile for YA, and because the whole plot felt too “done” (I’m tired of the fated lovers concept, to be honest, at least done like this, plus she only knows him from her fluffy dreams….come on.)

Dream Me, by Kathryn Berla. (Review forthcoming.). Another great read! Ironically, this, too, has the MCs knowing each other in their dreams, but this one is totally different, with one of them being from a desolate future earth who chose to try to come back in time instead of escaping with his family.

The Nearest Faraway Place, by Hayley Long. (Review forthcoming.) Okay, so….This is about two brothers who lose their parents in a horrible car wreck and have to learn to live with their new reality. I…figured out what was going on about 60% of the way through, and just didn’t know what to think. This is a good book, but it is sad/emotional, so be warned if you pick it up.

Crazy Love, by Francis Chan. (Spiritual book of the month.) Awesome read.

Across Many Mountains, by Yangzom Brauen. (From the TBR pile.) Interesting look at Tibet’s culture.

Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. (Classic book of the month.) How have I never read this before?

Pastel Orphans, by Gemma Liviero. (Cultural book of the month.) Set during the Holocaust. Not an easy book to read.

 

Book Review: Girl on the Verge, by Pintip Dunn

girl on the verge
Image belongs to Kensington Books.

Kanchana doesn’t look like anyone else in her small Kansas town, and even her friends say things that prove they don’t think she belongs. At home, her Thai grandmother tells her she’s too westernized. The only place she’s comfortable is when she’s designing and making clothes in secret. When her mother brings home a teenage girl named Shelly, Kan thinks she’s finally found a true friend.

At first, things are great, with Shelly admiring everything about Kan, including the boy she likes. But soon it’s like Shelly is trying to take over her life, including copying Kan’s appearance. So Kan investigates Shelly’s past, and finds dark secrets about Shelly—and her own family—that she never imaged.

I read Girl on the Verge in less than 24 hours. I could not put it down! I loved how Kan struggles to bridge the gap between her heritage, and the culture she lives in (Okay, I don’t love the struggle, but I love that it’s depicted.). The relationship between Kan and her grandmother is full of layers and a deep love, but secrets abide there as well. The creepiness of Shelly and her fixation on Kan grew slowly, and the ending was very well-done. Fast-paced with several twists, I highly recommend this book!

Pintip Dunn lives in Maryland and writes YA fiction. Girl on the Verge is her newest novel, on sale today.

(Galley provided by Kensington Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)

 

 

Book Review: Murder on Black Swan Lane, by Andrea Penrose

murder on black swan lane
Image belongs to Kensington Books.

The Earl of Wrexford isn’t your average aristocrat:  for starters, he has a keen scientific mind and an interest in chemistry. Secondly, he has no time for fools and doesn’t care what the rest of society thinks of him. When Reverend Holworthy publicly condemns him for his wickedness, he retaliates, and the war of words escalates, and cartoonist A.J. Quill uses the feud as fodder, drawing even more attention. Then the reverend is found dead, with chemical burns, and Wrexford finds himself the primary suspect.

Charlotte Sloane is a talented artist, but knows the public would never follow a female cartoonist, so she uses her late husband’s pen name to put food on the table…at the expense of the rich and famous she scathingly depicts. When the Earl of Wrexford figures out her identity, she’s afraid he’ll expose her. Instead, he seeks her help in solving the mystery of the reverend’s death before he swings for the crime. But the crime has roots in dark secrets, and the perpetrator will stop at nothing to see that they fail, even adding more victims to the list.

Murder on Black Swan Lane is a richly-detailed story set in Regency England. Charlotte is an engaging character, full of curiosity and a secretive past, but determined to make her own way in the world. Wrexford is fascinating, with his dry sense of humor, brilliant mind, and disdain for traditions. Together, the two of them enter a dark and twisted world full of secrets that takes them places they’d never imagined.

Andrea Penrose is a romance author who writes under several pen names. Murder on Black Swan Lane is her newest book, the first book in the Wrexford & Sloane Regency series.

(Galley provided by Kensington Books in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: Part of the Silence, by Debbie Howells

Part ofthe Silence
Image belongs to Kensington Books.

The Cornwall coast is a quiet place of haunting beauty. Not much happens there. Evie Sherman is found battered and almost dead in a field, with no memory of who she is.  When flickers of her memory return, the community comes together to search for her missing daughter, Angel. The only thing Evie knows for sure is that Angel is in terrible danger.

But the police can find no trace that Angel exists and soon start to wonder if Evie’s having a mental breakdown as scenes from the past exert their pull on the present. And as the darkness around Evie deepens, her internal warning—Trust no one—grows stronger, as she searches for the daughter she remembers when no one else believes.

Debbie Howells is a former flight instructor with an expertise in wedding flowers. Her newest novel, Part of the Silence, hits stores on June 27th.

The setting in Part of the Silence is as much a character as Evie is, and now I really want to visit Cornwall. Not by myself, since the novel is a bit creepy, though. I enjoyed the mystery of the novel, both the present-day one, and the linked one in the past, although I did not feel a connection to the characters—possibly because Evie did not trust any of them.

(Galley provided by Kensington Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: Patchwork, by Karsten Knight

patchwork
Image belongs to Karsten Knight.

Karsten Knight lives in Boston and writes YA fiction. His newest novel is Patchwork.

Renata Lake expects prom night to be full of the typical things one finds on prom night: moonlight, dancing, teenage hormones, and an epic prank by her group of friends involving throwing a dead body over the side of the boat into Boston Harbor. What she doesn’t expect is a proposal or a bomb explosion, leaving real bodies in the water before she sinks beneath the waves.

Renata wakes up in Patchwork, a ghostly world where all her memories come together in a crazy pattern, and her friends’ murderer chases her through these memories, determined to kill her—and everyone she loves—once and for all. Reliving her memories and watching her friends die over and over is enough to drive anyone insane, but Renata must rise above that if she is to figure out who the killer is, and get back to her real life.

Patchwork is a fantastic read, fast-paced and with enough twists and turns to keep the reader guessing all the way to the final pages. There’s a bit of mythology here, not enough to overpower the action and the mystery, just enough to spice it up. I wanted to read this straight through, but real life had to take priority. This is a must-read for anyone who loves fast-paced fantasy with an edge.

(Galley provided by the author via NetGalley.)

Book Review: Love, Alabama, by Susan Sands

Love, Alabama
Image belongs to Tule Publishing.

Susan Sands is from Louisiana, but lives in Georgia now. Love, Alabama is the second book in the Alabama series.

Emma Laroux had it all in college:  a shot at the Miss America title, a bright future, and a charming boyfriend she loved. But all of that disappeared because of a night she can’t remember, a night full of scandal that cost her her boyfriend and caused her to walk away from her title. Now she’s settled in her small home town, happy with her life as a pageant coach.

Except it’s been years since she dated anyone, and she’s not sure why. Sure, it would be nice to have kids, but the men aren’t exactly beating down her door. Then Matthew Pope arrives in town. He’s not happy to be back in the South, and when he sees Emma, he remembers that fateful night ten years before, when she was in trouble and he came to her rescue. But Emma doesn’t remember Matthew, and soon the past starts to haunt the two of them, interfering with the attraction growing between them.

I love book series set in the same location, where characters I loved in previous books appear in the current one, and you find out what’s going on in their lives. This is a series like that, and although I haven’t read Again, Alabama, I love the sense of family that links the two books. And the picture of small-town Southern life is scarily accurate, complete with nosy neighbors and former beauty queens with attitudes.

(Galley provided by Tule Publishing via NetGalley.)

Book Review: The Sixth Victim, by Tessa Harris

the sixth victim
Image belongs to Kensington Books.

Tessa Harris is a journalist who writes crime fiction set in the past. Her newest novel is The Sixth Victim.

Jack the Ripper stalks the street of the Whitechapel district of London, leaving women afraid to be on the streets at night. Constance Piper fears the Ripper, but she has other worries as well, like the odd things that have been happening to her, making her question all she’s ever known. If only her mentor, Emily Tindall, was around to give her advice.

But Emily is gone, returned to Oxford, they say, so Constance is on her own to deal with the sudden influx of clairvoyants, all offering to talk to the murdered girls. The gossip is about the latest horrifying remains found, and a lady tracks Constance down and asks for her help, afraid the latest victim is her missing sister. Constance agrees, and soon finds herself on the receiving end of help that makes her question everything she ever thought she knew about the world around her.

The Sixth Victim is a well-researched look into the famous serial killer of the 1800s. It depicts the squalor of Whitechapel, through the eyes of a character who wants more than the life she’s living, and who finds out that what she thought of the world isn’t quite true. At turns creepy and gruesome, the novel explores one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in history.

(Galley provided by Kensington Books.)