Category: book review

Book Review: Namesake, by Adrienne Young

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press.

Title:  Namesake
Author:  Adrienne Young
Genre:  YA
Rating:   5 out of 5

Trader. Fighter. Survivor.

With the Marigold ship free of her father, Fable and its crew were set to start over. That freedom is short-lived when she becomes a pawn in a notorious thug’s scheme. In order to get to her intended destination she must help him to secure a partnership with Holland, a powerful gem trader who is more than she seems.

As Fable descends deeper into a world of betrayal and deception she learns that her mother was keeping secrets, and those secrets are now putting the people Fable cares about in danger. If Fable is going to save them then she must risk everything, including the boy she loves and the home she has finally found.

I have read—and loved—everything Adrienne Young has published, and I was so excited to read this. And it did not disappoint! I read it straight through in one siting, and I couldn’t wait to find out what would happen next! Lots of action, intrigue, betrayal, adventure, and a bit of romance makes this unputdownable!

Adrienne Young is a bestselling author. Namesake is her newest novel.

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

Book Review: The Memory Collectors, by Kim Neville

Image belongs to Atria Books.

Title:  The Memory Collectors
Author:  Kim Neville
Genre:  Fiction, magical realism
Rating:  4.0 out of 5

Ev has a mysterious ability, one that she feels is more a curse than a gift. She can feel the emotions people leave behind on objects and believes that most of them need to be handled extremely carefully, and—if at all possible—destroyed. The harmless ones she sells at Vancouver’s Chinatown Night Market to scrape together a living, but even that fills her with trepidation. Meanwhile, in another part of town, Harriet hoards thousands of these treasures and is starting to make her neighbors sick as the overabundance of heightened emotions start seeping through her apartment walls.

When the two women meet, Harriet knows that Ev is the only person who can help her make something truly spectacular of her collection. A museum of memory that not only feels warm and inviting but can heal the emotional wounds many people unknowingly carry around. They only know of one other person like them, and they fear the dark effects these objects had on him. Together, they help each other to develop and control their gift, so that what happened to him never happens again. But unbeknownst to them, the same darkness is wrapping itself around another, dragging them down a path that already destroyed Ev’s family once, and threatens to annihilate what little she has left.

This was an odd book. Maybe quirky would be a better word, but either way, it’s unusual. It’s different, but the way Ev and Harriet see the world, the way their minds work, made for fascinating reading. No matter what Harriet tries to tell herself, she’s a hoarder. And reading about the hoarder house was moderately terrifying. Marie Kondo she is not. This book is also not light reading—there are heavy, sad topics and dark emotions all throughout, but it is also very intriguing.

Kim Neville lives in Canada. The Memory Collectors is her debut novel.

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

Book Review: The Sweet Taste of Muscadines, by Pamela Terry

Image belongs to Random House/Ballantine.

Title:  The Sweet Taste of Muscadines

Author:  Pamela Terry

Genre:  Southern fiction

Rating:  5 out of 5

Lila Bruce Breedlove never quite felt at home in Wesleyan, Georgia, especially after her father’s untimely demise when she was a child. Both Lila and her brother, Henry, fled north after high school, establishing fulfilling lives of their own. In contrast, their younger sister, Abigail, opted to remain behind to dote on their domineering, larger-than-life mother, Geneva. Yet despite their independence, Lila and Henry know deep down that they’ve never quite reckoned with their upbringing.

When their elderly mother dies suddenly and suspiciously in the muscadine arbor behind the family estate, Lila and Henry return to the town that essentially raised them. But as they uncover more about Geneva’s death, shocking truths are revealed that overturn the family’s history as they know it, sending the pair on an extraordinary journey to chase a truth that will dramatically alter the course of their lives.

I love the voice in this! Granted, Southern fiction is one of my absolute favorite genres, but the voice is phenomenal. The author does a wonderful job of portraying life in a southern town—with all its vivid, memorable characters—as well as the beauty of Scotland and its people. Honestly, I cannot say enough good things about this. Just go read it!

Pamela Terry is a lifelong Southerner. The Sweet Taste of Muscadines is her debut novel.

(Galley courtesy of Random House/Ballantine in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: The Bounty, by Janet Evanovich; Steve Hamilton

Image belongs to Atria Books.

Title:  The Bounty
Author:  Janet Evanovich; Steve Hamilton
Genre:  Mystery/thriller
Rating:  3.5 out of 5

Straight as an arrow special agent Kate O’Hare and international con man Nick Fox have brought down some of the biggest criminals out there. But now they face their most dangerous foe yet—a vast, shadowy international organization known only as the Brotherhood.

Directly descended from the Vatican Bank priests who served Hitler during World War II, the Brotherhood is on a frantic search for a lost train loaded with $30 billion in Nazi gold, untouched for over seventy-five years somewhere in the mountains of Eastern Europe.

Kate and Nick know that there is only one man who can find the fortune and bring down the Brotherhood—the same man who taught Nick everything he knows—his father, Quentin. As the stakes get higher, they must also rely on Kate’s own father, Jake, who shares his daughter’s grit and stubbornness. Too bad they can never agree on anything.

From a remote monastery in the Swiss Alps to the lawless desert of the Western Sahara, Kate, Nick, and the two men who made them who they are today must crisscross the world in a desperate scramble to stop their deadliest foe in the biggest adventure of their lives.

I’m a huge fan of the Stephanie Plum series (well, a huge fan of the first 10 books, then a slightly lesser fan of the rest of them—and I haven’t read the last two.) and I think I read the first book in this series as well.

I enjoyed this read, but it seemed pretty cliched and predictable, like an over-the-top action movie that ends just as you expect it to. I never felt any of the characters were truly in danger, and no matter how seemingly impossible whatever obstacle the characters faced was, it always seemed to have a simple solution—one based more on luck and chance with a bit of deus ex machina thrown in for good measure (I’m looking at you, big guy).

Janet Evanovich is a bestselling author. Steve Hamilton is an award-winning author. Their newest book is The Bounty.

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

Book Review: Good Eggs, by Rebecca Hardiman

Image belongs to Atria Books.

Title:  Good Eggs
Author:  Rebecca Hardiman
Genre:  Fiction
Rating:  4 out of 5

When Kevin Gogarty’s irrepressible eighty-three-year-old mother, Millie, is caught shoplifting yet again, he has no choice but to hire a caretaker to keep an eye on her. Kevin, recently unemployed, is already at his wits’ end tending to a full house while his wife travels to exotic locales for work, leaving him solo with his sulky, misbehaved teenaged daughter, Aideen, whose troubles escalate when she befriends the campus rebel at her new boarding school.

Into the Gogarty fray steps Sylvia, Millie’s upbeat home aide, who appears at first to be their saving grace—until she catapults the Gogarty clan into their greatest crisis yet.

This kind of had the feel of a Fredrik Backman novel, and I love his novels! Millie and her thought processes are hysterical! She’s not quite as funny as Stephanie Plum’s grandmother, but it’s close.

I frequently wanted to thump Kevin on his head, but at least his heart is in the right place. Aideen was moderately annoying, but then again, she’s a teenager, so that’s not a surprise. I enjoyed this novel a lot, although I could see the issues with Sylvia coming. This was a very pleasant read!

Rebecca Hardiman Lives in New Jersey. Good Eggs is her debut novel.

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

Book Review: Falling Down Under, by Errin Krystal

Image belongs to Trash Dogs Media, LLC.

Title:  Falling Down Under
Author:  Errin Krystal
Genre:  Romantic comedy
Rating:  4 out of 5

London socialite Georgia Bailey just lost everything—the estranged father who abandoned her after her mother died, the rock-star boyfriend whose career she built from nothing, and her multi-million-dollar fortune.

Now penniless, she’s forced to return to her grandparents’ vineyard in rural Australia and the waitressing job she left behind. But fitting back into her former life isn’t going to be easy, and things aren’t quite the way she left them.

Her teenage sweetheart, now barely speaking to her, is the hot, grumpy chef she has to work for. Her childhood pet is a full-grown kangaroo that won’t stop sunbathing in the parking lot. And the vineyard, as it turns out, is in serious financial trouble.

But Georgia already lost one family this year. She’s not about to lose another one—not if she can help it.

This was a quick, fun read. It’s billed as a romantic comedy, but…I’d say it’s more “light reading” than “comedic.” I had mixed feelings about Georgia:  while I felt sorry for her struggles, it was a bit hard to feel completely sympathetic, as she’d been pretty crappy to people and totally self-absorbed. I ended up liking her, as she grew into a more normal person—not just a party-girl heiress.

Her stepmom and step-sister were pretty cliched and one-dimensional, and the rest of the secondary characters—who will, I’m sure, feature in later books in this series—were likable enough. If you’re looking for a light read—or a beach read—this would be a good choice.

Errin Krystal lives and writes in Australia. Falling Down Under is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Trash Dogs Media LLC in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: The Last Garden in England, by Julia Kelly

Image belongs to Gallery Books.

Title:  The Last Garden in England
Author:  Julia Kelly
Genre:  Fiction, historical
Rating:  4 out of 5

Present day: Emma Lovett, who has dedicated her career to breathing new life into long-neglected gardens, has just been given the opportunity of a lifetime: to restore the gardens of the famed Highbury House estate, designed in 1907 by her hero Venetia Smith. But as Emma dives deeper into the gardens’ past, she begins to uncover secrets that have long lain hidden.

1907: A talented artist with a growing reputation for her ambitious work, Venetia Smith has carved out a niche for herself as a garden designer to industrialists, solicitors, and bankers looking to show off their wealth with sumptuous country houses. When she is hired to design the gardens of Highbury House, she is determined to make them a triumph, but the gardens—and the people she meets—promise to change her life forever.

1944: When land girl Beth Pedley arrives at a farm on the outskirts of the village of Highbury, all she wants is to find a place she can call home. Cook Stella Adderton, on the other hand, is desperate to leave Highbury House to pursue her own dreams. And widow Diana Symonds, the mistress of the grand house, is anxiously trying to cling to her pre-war life now that her home has been requisitioned and transformed into a convalescent hospital for wounded soldiers. But when war threatens Highbury House’s treasured gardens, these three very different women are drawn together by a secret that will last for decades.

I enjoyed all three timelines in this novel. I’m not sure I’ve read anything by this author before, but I’ll definitely be on the lookout in the future. Emma’s timeline, the present-day, was probably my favorite, as she experiences a lot of character growth and she seemed like she’d be a fun person to hang out with. Venetia was dealing with so much living on the edge of high society—those people were awful—and this didn’t end like I thought it was going to. Beth’s timeline featured things I’d never heard of, keeping me interested and invested in the characters. This is definitely a solid read!

Julia Kelly is a bestselling author.  The Last Garden in England is her newest novel.

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

Book Review and Blog Tour: The Jigsaw Man, by Nadine Matheson

Image belongs to Harlequin/Hanover Square Press.

Title:  The Jigsaw Man
Author:  Nadine Matheson
Genre:  Thriller
Rating:  4 out of 5

On the day she returns to active duty with the Serial Crimes Unit, Detective Inspector Anjelica Henley is called to a crime scene. Dismembered body parts from two victims have been found by the river.

The modus operandi bears a striking resemblance to Peter Olivier, the notorious Jigsaw Killer, who has spent the past two years behind bars. When he learns that someone is co-opting his grisly signature—the arrangement of victims’ limbs in puzzle-piece shapes—he decides to take matters into his own hands.

As the body count rises, DI Anjelica Henley is faced with an unspeakable new threat. Can she apprehend the copycat killer before Olivier finds a way to get to him first? Or will she herself become the next victim?

Nadine Matheson lives in London. The Jigsaw Man is her debut novel.

I enjoyed this novel, although the first half felt very slow to me. Olivier is creepy beyond words, and the crime scene descriptions were a little much for me, but entirely believable. I liked Anjelica, and would definitely read more about her. The reader is solidly in her head and emotions throughout the novel, bringing every detail to life.

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

Book Review and Blog Tour: Her Dark Lies, by J.T. Ellison

Image belongs to Harlequin/MIRA.

Title:  Her Dark Lies
Author:  J.T. Ellison
Genre:  Thriller
Rating:  4 out of 5

Jutting from sparkling turquoise waters off the Italian coast, Isle Isola is an idyllic setting for a wedding. In the majestic cliff-top villa owned by the wealthy Compton family, up-and-coming artist Claire Hunter will marry handsome, charming Jack Compton, surrounded by close family, intimate friends…and a host of dark secrets.

From the moment Claire sets foot on the island, something seems amiss. Skeletal remains have just been found. There are other, newer disturbances, too. Menacing texts. A ruined wedding dress. And one troubling shadow hanging over Claire’s otherwise blissful relationship—the strange mystery surrounding Jack’s first wife.

Then a raging storm descends, the power goes out—and the real terror begins…

The idea of this much wealth kept throwing me off as I was reading, but excellent description and characterization. For me, there was never any mystery over who was really behind everything. I was intrigued by how everything would play out, but the reveal about Claire’s background felt very clunky and deus ex machina, since the entire novel had never dropped the slightest hint. And…we never really find out the truth about what truly happened to the first wife…

J.T. Ellison is a bestselling author. Her Dark lies is her newest novel.

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

Book Review: Game of Cones, by Abby Collette

Image belongs to Berkley.

Title:  Game of Cones
Author:  Abby Collette
Genre:  Cozy mystery
Rating:  3 out of 5

Bronwyn Crewse is delighted that Crewse Creamery, the ice cream shop her family has owned for decades, is restored to its former glory and serving sweet frozen treats to happy customers in the picturesque small town of Chagrin Falls, Ohio. But when a big city developer comes to town intent on building a mall, a killer with a frozen heart takes him out.

After literally stumbling across the body, one of Win’s closest friends becomes the prime suspect, and to make things worse, Win’s aunt has come to town with the intention of taking command of Crewse Creamery. Even though Win has a rocky road ahead to help her friend and keep her ice cream shop, it’ll take more than a sprinkle of murder to stop her from solving the crime and saving the day.

This wasn’t a good fit for me. Win seemed befuddled at best, if not completely clueless, and her three friends seemed to have one glaring personality trait…and nothing else. The leaps of “logic” in their “investigation” were random and sometimes nonsensical, and I had a difficult time suspending my skepticism, despite the solid writing and the quaint charm of Chagrin Falls.

Abby Collette is a bestselling author. Game of Cones is her newest novel.

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