So many words. So little time.
Author: tamaramorning
This was a great writing week! Five fiction sessions and four book reviews: The Slowest Burn, by Sarah Chamberlain, All I Want Is You, by Falon Ballard, The Lightning Bottles, by Marissa Stapley, and A Fire in the Sky, by Sophie Jordan.
Happy writing!
Title: A Fire in the Sky
Author: Sophie Jordan
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4 out of 5
Dragons are extinct. Witches are outcast. Magic is dying.
But human lust for power is immortal.
Dragon fire no longer blisters the skies over Penterra, but inside the lavish palace, life is still perilous…especially for Tamsyn. Raised in the glittering court alongside the princesses, it’s her duty to be punished for their misdeeds. Treated as part of the royal family but also as the lowliest servant, Tamsyn fits nowhere. Her only friend is Stig, Captain of the Guard…though sometimes she thinks he wants more than friendship.
When Fell, the Beast of the Borderlands, descends on her home, Tamsyn’s world becomes even more dangerous. To save the pampered princesses from a fate worse than death, she is commanded to don a veil and marry the brutal warrior. She agrees to the deception even though it means leaving Stig, and the only life she’s ever known, behind.
The wedding night begins with unexpected passion—and ends in near violence when her trickery is exposed. Rather than start a war, Fell accepts Tamsyn as his bride…but can he accept the dark secrets she harbors—secrets buried so deep even she doesn’t know they exist? For Tamsyn is more than a royal whipping girl, more than the false wife of a man who now sees her as his enemy. And when those secrets emerge, they will ignite a flame bright enough to burn the entire kingdom to the bone.
Magic is not dead…it is only sleeping. And it will take one ordinary girl with an extraordinary destiny to awaken it.
I enjoyed the writing in this, and the culture was well-done, if a bit infuriating. I liked both Fell and Tamsyn and enjoyed their chemistry. I felt like the last quarter of the book was a bit rushed, so that detracted a little from my enjoyment, but I’d be interested in reading more, as the storyline was strong enough to carry me through and I’m interested to see what happens next.
Sophie Jordan is a bestselling author. A Fire in the Sky is her newest novel.
(Galley courtesy of Avon and Harper Voyager in exchange for an honest review.)
Title: The Lightning Bottles
Author: Marissa Stapley
Genre: Historical fiction
Rating: 4 out of 5
Jane Pyre was once one half of one of the most famous rock ‘n’ roll duos in the world, The Lightning Bottles. Years later, she’s perhaps the most hated (and least understood) woman in music. She was never as popular with fans as her bandmate (and soulmate) Elijah—even if Jane was the one who wrote the songs that catapulted The Lightning Bottles to instant, dizzying fame, first in the Seattle grunge scene, and then around the world. But then Elijah disappeared, and everything came crashing down. Even now, years after Elijah vanished, Jane is universally blamed and reviled by the public. In an attempt to get some peace and quiet, Jane rents a house in a remote part of Germany where she knows she won’t be disturbed. But on the day she arrives, she’s confronted by her new next-door neighbor, a sullen teenaged girl named Hen who just so happens to be a Lightning Bottles superfan—and who claims to have a piece of information that might solve the mystery of what happened to Elijah, and whether he is, in fact, still alive and leaving messages for Jane after all these years.
This started off a little bit slowly, but I kept reading because it was fascinating, and I’m glad I did! Okay, I do have a problem with this being called historical fiction, because it’s set in the ‘90s, and I graduated high school in 1995, so that makes me feel really old, but that’s my problem!
The setting was well-done and felt authentic to the ‘90s, and I really enjoyed all the musical references. Jane was slow to warm up to, but she grew on me. I never really felt a connection with Elijah, but I didn’t dislike him or anything. This was a solid read!
Marissa Stapley is a bestselling author. The Lightning Bottles is her newest novel.
(Galley courtesy of Simon & Schuster in exchange for an honest review.)
Title: All I Want Is You
Author: Falon Ballard
Genre: Romance
Rating: 4 out of 5
Bitter exes. Professional rivals. Just one bed.
What could go wrong?
Jessica Carrington always wanted her own happily ever after. But, until that happens, she spends her days as a small-time romance writer, penning satisfying Happily Ever Afters to soothe the heartache left by her ex-boyfriend Nick Matthews, a fellow romance writer and now her biggest rival, who has found success writing love stories without happy endings. It’s clearly what he’s good at, after all . . .
So, when their professional obligations find them snowed in – and forced to share a room! – at the same remote inn a few days before Christmas, Jess and Nick are both fuming. But what’s more fitting for two romantic writers in a slump? And when they realize the friction between them might be the only cure for their writer’s block, they decide to turn their frustration into fiction . . . and the pages start flying.
Jess can’t shake the feeling that Nick is the last guy on earth she should be falling for (again), but, as they both finally get back in their flow, is he actually all she wants for Christmas?
There are a lot of tropes happening in this one, but it was still a fun read. I liked Jessica—and her two best friends—and found her a lot of fun. Nick was also a good character and the chemistry between them was great. This was a quick, fun read with a solid dose of heat between the characters.
Falon Ballard is from L.A. All I Want is You is her newest novel.
(Galley courtesy of Penguin Group Putnam in exchange for an honest review.)
Website: http://www.falonballard.com/Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CQWVVTF5/ref=x_gr_bb_kindle?caller=Goodreads&tag=x_gr_bb_kindle-20 Title: All I
Want Is You Author: Falon Ballard
Genre: Romance Rating: 4 out of 5 Bitter exes.
Professional rivals. Just one bed.What could go wrong? Jessica Carrington
always wanted her own happily ever after. But, until that happens, she spends
her days as a small-time romance writer, penning satisfying Happily Ever Afters
to soothe the heartache left by her ex-boyfriend Nick Matthews, a fellow romance
writer and now her biggest rival, who has found success writing love stories
without happy endings. It’s clearly what he’s good at, after all . . . So, when their
professional obligations find them snowed in – and forced to share a room! – at
the same remote inn a few days before Christmas, Jess and Nick are both fuming.
But what’s more fitting for two romantic writers in a slump? And when they realize
the friction between them might be the only cure for their writer’s block, they
decide to turn their frustration into fiction . . . and the pages start flying. Jess can’t shake the
feeling that Nick is the last guy on earth she should be falling for (again),
but, as they both finally get back in their flow, is he actually all she wants
for Christmas? There are a lot of
tropes happening in this one, but it was still a fun read. I liked Jessica—and her
two best friends—and found her a lot of fun. Nick was also a good character and
the chemistry between them was great. This was a quick, fun read with a solid
dose of heat between the characters. Falon Ballard is from
L.A. All I Want is You is her newest novel. (Galley courtesy of Penguin
Group Putnam in exchange for an honest review.) Book Review: All I Want Is You, by Falon Ballard
Title: The Slowest Burn
Author: Sarah Chamberlain
Genre: Romance
Rating: 3.8 out of 4
Kieran O’Neill should be on top of the world. He’s just won a cooking reality TV show, he’s on track to open his own restaurant before he turns thirty, and he’s even got a high-paying cookbook deal. Still he can’t impress his stuck-up family, his ADHD makes planning ahead impossible and, worst of all, his ghostwriter is the most uptight, humourless woman he’s ever met. But to be seen as a serious chef like he’s always wanted, he needs to finish this book…
Ellie Wasserman is barely holding it together. She’s a thirty-year-old widow living with her needy in-laws, her little brother won’t adult without her help, and instead of working on her own cookbook, she’s ghostwriting one for the chaotic, impulsive Kieran O’Neill. Or would be, if he’d ever answer her emails. But to own her own home like she’s always dreamed of, she needs to finish this book…
As their deadline gets closer and the heat between them builds, can these two driven, lonely people let go of their past hurts and make something truly sweet together? Or will their fragile new love go up in smoke?
I found Kieran to be low-key annoying about half the time, frankly. I liked Ellie, but she spent most of the book being pretty passive about everything…why are you putting your own life on hold and letting everyone around you tell you what to do? The food scenes were fantastic—and everything sounded so good—but the rest of the novel wasn’t as engrossing. Maybe the voice just wasn’t a good fit for me.
Sarah Chamberlain lives in London. The Slowest Burn is her debut novel.
(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)
This was a solid writing week! Five fiction sessions and two book reviews, The Booklover’s Library, by Madeline Martin and Casket Case, by Lauren Evans.
Happy writing!
Title: Casket Case
Author: Lauren Evans
Genre: Romance, fantasy
Rating: 3 out of 5
In this warm-hearted debut rom-com, a young woman returns home to run her family’s casket business and falls in love with a seemingly perfect stranger. But there’s just one problem . . . he works for Death.
Nora thought she was finished with Rabbittown, Alabama, for good. But an unexpected tragedy turned her life upside down, and she’s found herself back in her tiny hometown running the family casket business.
There aren’t exactly a lot of prospects for a single woman in her thirties in a place like Rabbittown. Until Nora Clanton’s ordinary, casket-selling day is interrupted by a handsome stranger wandering into her shop and asking for directions–as well as a date.
Garrett Bishop seems like the ideal guy. He’s thoughtful, he’s kind, and he has a lucrative job as a logistics coordinator, for which he seems to have a passion. She’s not totally sure what “logistics” entails, but she knows it means long hours, lots of travel, and urgent calls in the middle of the night.
When a few of Rabbittown’s residents suddenly pass away–a heart attack here, a car crash there–and Garrett is spotted at the scenes of, well, all of the deaths, his frustratingly vague job description starts to become increasingly . . . suspicious. What is it that Garrett actually does for a living?
He’s a logistics coordinator for Death.
When Nora discovers the truth, she is unable to reconcile the wonderful man she knows with the unthinkably cruel job he loves. Will she ever be able to understand how he can do what he does, or will she have to lay her best chance at love to rest?
This was an interesting premise, but it felt so slow! And yet, it also included insta-love with no explanation, so that part felt fast. Nora was so passive she got on my nerves. She’s dissatisfied with her life, yet unwilling to take any sort of action at all. And Garrett seems way too good to be true. I never figured out what they saw in each other—or why they got together. The execution of this idea underwhelmed me a bit.
Lauren Evans lives in Atlanta. Casket Case is her debut novel.
(Galley courtesy of Random House in exchange for an honest review.)
Title: The Booklover’s Library
Author: Madeline Martin
Genre: Historical fiction
Rating: 5 out of 5
In Nottingham, England, widow Emma Taylor finds herself in desperate need of a job to provide for herself and her beloved daughter, Olivia. But with the legal restrictions prohibiting widows with children from most employment opportunities, she’s left with only one option: persuading the manageress at Boots’ Booklover’s Library to take a chance on her.
When the threat of war becomes a reality, Olivia must be evacuated to the countryside. In her daughter’s absence, Emma seeks solace in the unlikely friendships she forms with her neighbors and coworkers, as well as the recommendations she provides to the library’s quirky regulars. But the job doesn’t come without its difficulties. Books are mysteriously misshelved and disappearing, and her work forces her to confront the memories of her late father and the bookstore they once owned together before a terrible accident.
As the Blitz intensifies in Nottingham and Emma fights to reunite with her daughter, she must learn to depend on her community and the power of literature more than ever to find hope in the darkest of times.
This was such a lovely read! I do love World War II historical fiction, but Martin’s characters are always so well-done and vivid that I end up drawn into the story just because I’m so interested in the people. I loved the library, and I think being a book concierge would be a fun job! This is a great read, and I highly recommend it.
Madeline Martin is a bestselling author. The Booklover’s Library is her newest novel.
(Galley courtesy of Harlequin/Hanover Square Press in exchange for an honest review.)
This was a solid writing week, despite chaos at work and a friend in the hospital. I got in five fiction sessions, and one book review, The Bookshop of Hidden Dreams, by Karen Hawkins.
Happy writing!
Title: The Bookshop of Hidden Dreams
Author: Karen Hawkins
Genre: Romance
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
When an antique tin of love letters is found hidden in her family home, noted historian Tay Dove rushes home to Dove Pond to investigate. Tay is still reeling from a romantic betrayal, so she’s relieved to refocus her energies on her latest project: a biography of her great-great-grandmother Sarafina, a star reporter who began her career in Dove Pond in the late 19th century before abruptly leaving town.
Tay believes the letters could be the key in solving what happened, but they only add to her questions—especially when they reveal a forbidden love affair with William Day, a wild youth who took part in a notorious train robbery. Some answers might be found in eighty-year-old Rose Day’s bookshop, which doubles as a town archive, but Rose is curiously resistant to give Tay access. Just when Tay thinks she’s reached a dead end, she finds an unlikely ally in Rose’s grandson, Luke, a fellow puzzle lover. Together, they set out to uncover what really happened all those years ago…and find the truth behind a love story that could be more precious than gold.
I do love the Dove Pond Books! I enjoyed the first two more than the third one, but I think this one I just as good as those first two. I love the small-town feel of Dove Pond, and the Dove family is just so much fun. I like the dual timelines in this story and found myself engrossed in both of these, although knowing only one of them could have a happy ending. Love this newest installment in this magical series!
Karen Hawkins is bestselling author. The Bookshop of Hidden Dreams is her newest novel.
(Galley courtesy of Gallery Books in exchange for an honest review.)
Tomorrow Is Another Day 