Tag: reading

Book Review:  Safecracker, by Ryan Wick

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press.

Title:  Safecracker
Author:   Ryan Wick
Genre:   Mystery/ Thriller
Rating:  3.8 out of 5

Safecracker Michael Maven’s latest job should be simple: steal a rare coin from a New York apartment. Then the coin’s owner comes home with a beautiful woman. So he hides. Then she murders him. So he hides a bit better. Then she tries to take the coin herself, which is the last straw. While Maven narrowly escapes being killed himself, he’s then coerced by her boss, a sadistic drug lord, into a far more complicated, far more dangerous job.

If Maven fails to crack the safe of a rival cartel boss in Miami, his friends and family will die. If he succeeds, they still might. Which means he not only has to somehow pull off an impossible heist, but also outwit two crime bosses as well as the woman, his reluctant new partner.

This wasn’t a bad read at all, although I was pretty neutral about the MC. There’s a lot of blood and violence, and I was never that invested in the stakes of the story, but I did finish it fairly quickly (another point in its favor). I think it reached for Ocean’s Eleven, but fell short.

Ryan Wick is an author, director, and screenwriter. Safecracker is his debut novel.

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

 

Book Review:  Bad Girls Never Say Die, by Jennifer Mathieu

Image belongs to Macmillan Children’s Publishing/Roaring Book Press.

Title:  Bad Girls Never Say Die
Author:   Jennifer Mathieu
Genre:   YA
Rating:  4 out of 5

  1. Houston, Texas.

 Evie Barnes is a bad girl. So are all her friends. They’re the sort who wear bold makeup, laugh too loud, and run around with boys. Most of all, they protect their own against the world. So when Evie is saved from a sinister encounter by a good girl from the “right” side of the tracks, every rule she’s always lived by is called into question. Now she must redefine what it means to be a bad girl and rethink everything she knew about loyalty.

I loved The Outsiders, so I was excited to read this. I found it to be a solid read, even if not on the level of The Outsiders (of course). I loved how all the girls had their idea of the “other” girls totally flipped as they realized their similarities. It’s always difficult to read things set in the past when women had fewer options, but I liked how Evie comes to realize she does have choices, she’s not forced to live with society’s expectations.

Jennifer Mathieu lives in Texas. Bad Girls Never Say Die is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group/Roaring Brook Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review:  Girls Before Earls, by Anna Bennett

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press.

Title:   Girls Before Earls
Author:   Anna Bennett
Genre:   Romance
Rating:  4 out of 5

WHAT A GIRL WANTS

 To survive her difficult childhood, Miss Hazel Lively relied on two things:a tough outer shell and a love of books. Now, at the age of twenty-eight, she’s finally realized her life-long dream of opening a school for girls. She’s hoping that the wealthy families who flock to the shore for the summer will entrust their daughters to Bellehaven Academy―and help pay the way for less fortunate students. All Hazel must do is maintain a flawless reputation and raise a good deal of money. It’s a foolproof plan…till a sinfully handsome earl strides into her office.

 WHAT AN EARL NEEDS

 Gabriel Beckett, Earl of Bladenton, has had a monstrous headache since the day his teenaged niece became his ward. She’s been expelled from two London boarding schools and is doing her damnedest to scare off his potential fiancée. But Blade has a plan of his own―enroll his niece at Bellehaven Academy, where she’ll be out of town and out of his hair. He just needs to convince the buttoned-up headmistress with the soulful brown eyes to take on his niece.

 LEAD TO AN IRRESISTIBLE DEAL

 When Blade makes a generous offer to the school, it’s impossible for Hazel to refuse. But she has one non-negotiable condition: the earl must visit his niece every other week. Soon, Blade discovers there’s much more to Hazel than meticulous lesson plans. In moonlit seaside coves and candlelit ballrooms, their sparring leads to flirtation…and something altogether deeper. But the passion that flares between them poses a threat to Hazel’s school and Blade’s battered heart. They say a good thing can’t last forever, but true love? Well, it just might…

 This was a good fun read. It isn’t heavy or depressing, just plain fun. I like how Hazel didn’t compromise her priorities or values, even for Blade, and his willingness to do the right thing, even when he didn’t want to. The girls were the best part, though. I liked seeing them grow and blossom as they learned and became friends.

Anna Bennett is an award-winning author. Girls Before Earls is her newest novel.

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

Book Review:  The Girl in the Ground, by Stacy Green

Image belongs to Bookouture.

Title:  The Girl in the Ground
Author:   Stacy Green
Genre:   Mystery/thriller
Rating:  3.8 out of 5

She was beautiful: shiny blond hair, crystal blue eyes and the widest smile Nikki had ever seen. She thought back to what she had seen in the ground, the dirt that caked the white bones. All that remained of her now was the silver locket that was still around her neck…

 When construction workers unearth a girl’s skeleton in Stillwater, Minnesota, Special Agent Nikki Hunt is called to the scene by her boyfriend Rory. Nikki knows instantly that the girl was murdered, but she is shocked when Rory immediately recognizes her. The victim was his childhood sweetheart, Becky, and he was the last person to see her before she went missing twenty-four years ago.

 With the love of her life now a potential suspect, Nikki is forced to take a step back from the case. But then her colleague Liam finds lies in Rory’s statement – it appears that Becky may have been carrying Rory’s child when she was killed. Despite this, Nikki still thinks he could be innocent, and knows she must find the real killer herself if Rory stands any chance of walking free.

 When Nikki finds a potential link to two pregnant girls who were found murdered years before it’s clear that this is the most twisted killer that she has ever faced. And then another girl goes missing from Stillwater. Can Nikki unearth the truth and protect the man she loves? And will she find the missing girl in time to save her life?

I read this entire book before I realized I was ambivalent about Nikki. I didn’t dislike her, but I didn’t actually care about her, either. This was a solid read, but I don’t know that I’d pick up any more books in the series. That is clearly just my own personal issue, not a testament to the writing quality. There’s a lot going on here, and sometimes I felt like the connections didn’t quite make sense, but it did keep my attention.

Stacy Green lives in Iowa. The Girl in the Ground is her newest novel.

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

Book Review:  His Road to Redemption, by Lisa Jordan

Image belongs to Harlequin.

Title:  His Road to Redemption
Author:   Lisa Jordan
Genre:   Romance
Rating:  3.8 out of 4

A veteran in need of a fresh start will get more than he bargained for…

 Veteran Micah Holland’s scars go deeper than anyone knows. An inheritance from his mentor could be a new beginning—if he shares the inherited goat farm with fiercely independent Paige Watson. Now the only way they can keep the farm is to work together. But first Micah must prove he’s a changed man to keep his dream and the woman he’s falling for.

This was a sweet, fast read. I felt like the point-of-view was a little more distant than it should have been—it was more telling how the characters felt/acted than showing—but it was a decent read. I liked how involved both of the main characters were with their families, and their desire to want to help others.

Lisa Jordan has written for Love Inspired since 2011. His Road to Redemption is her newest novel.

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

Book Review:  After the Plague, by Imogen Keeper

Image belongs to Mindless Muse Publishing.

Title:  After the Plague
Author:   Imogen Keeper
Genre:   Romance, fantasy
Rating:  4 out of 5

99% of the population dies due to a strange unnatural virus, leaving 1% grieving, scared, desperate, capable of anything, plunged into a world without laws, and no one to enforce them anyway.

 Frankie has zero skills to survive, but when she loses the love of her life, she discovers an untapped well of hope and courage inside herself – to find the others, the left-behind survivors who must now rebuild in the face of gathering clans, rising dictators, and everpresent danger.

 When Yorke, a lone soldier, who never wanted a family, finds Frankie, he has a single burning conviction: if anyone will make the rules in this strange new lawless world, it will be them.

 Before the apocalypse they were strangers. Now their lives will forever be entwined.

I read all three of these stories—Broken, Lost, and Found—pretty quickly. I enjoyed both Frankie’s and Yorke’s points-of-view, as well as the characters themselves. This was an interesting dystopian viewpoint, too:  far enough in the future to change daily life (like the prevalence of solar-powered homes so the characters can find one to stay in pretty easily), but not so different that the reader doesn’t feel completely at home. I’m also intrigued by what the red-haired woman who has taken over the White House is up to, so I’ll likely read the fourth volume in this series, Safe, very soon.

Imogen Keeper lives outside of Washington, D.C. After the Plague is her dystopian saga.

(Galley courtesy of Mindless Muse Publishing in exchange for an honest review.)

 

Book Review:  The Witching Tree, by Alice Blanchard

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press.

Title:   The Witching Tree
Author:   Alice Blanchard
Genre:   Mystery/thriller
Rating:  4 out of 5

As legend has it, if you carve your deepest desire into the bark of a Witch Tree, then over time as the tree grows, it will swallow the carvings until only a witch can read them.

 Until now.

 Detective Natalie Lockhart gained unwanted notoriety when she and her family became front and center of not one, but two sensational murder cases. Now she’s lost her way. Burned out and always looking over her shoulder, Natalie desperately thinks that quitting the police force is her only option left.

 All that changes when a beloved resident–a practicing Wiccan and founder of the town’s oldest coven–is killed in a fashion more twisted and shocking than Natalie has ever seen before, leaving the town reeling. Natalie has no choice but to help solve the case along with Detective Luke Pittman, her boss and the old childhood friend she cannot admit she loves, even to herself. There is a silent, malignant presence in Burning Lake that will not rest. And what happens next will shock the whole town, and Natalie, to the core.

I’ve read the first book in this series, but I missed the second. I did enjoy this one, but it felt far too much like an advertisement for Wicca or I would have rated it higher. Seriously. You cannot tell me every single person in a group is good/peaceful/gets along with everyone (or, alternately, bad/racist/horrible/whatever adjective of choice) and expect me to believe you. If I leave out the pro-Wicca-all-of-us-are-peaceful-angels slant (which accounts for a good third of the book), this was an enjoyable mystery and thriller. But as is, the town of Burning Lake comes off a little too good to be true.

Alice Blanchard is an award-winning author. The Witching Tree is her newest novel.

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

Book Review: Nursing Her Amish Neighbor, by Marta Perry

Image belongs to Harlequin.

Title:   Nursing Her Amish Neighbor
Author:   Marta Perry
Genre:   Romance
Rating:  4 out of 5

Seeking a break from her nursing duties, Miriam Stoltzfus returns home to Lost Creek—and encounters her most difficult patient yet. Her childhood neighbor, Matthew King, is suffering after an accident left him injured and his younger brother dead. But he doesn’t want anyone’s help. Can Miriam guide him through his grief to prove he’s still the strong, confident man she remembers?

I enjoyed this sweet Amish romance. I’m always fascinated by reading stories set in Amish communities, and this one didn’t feature any of the sometimes harsh (to outsiders) rules that I’ve read about in the past. Miriam and Matthew are both relatable characters struggling with their own burdens, and I loved how they helped each other through their difficulties.

Marta Perry lives in Pennsylvania and South Carolina. Nursing Her Amish Neighbor is her newest novel.

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

 

Book Review:  The Last Dance of the Debutante, by Julia Kelly

Image belongs to Gallery Books.

Title:   The Last Dance of the Debutante
Author:   Julia Kelly
Genre:   Historical fiction
Rating:  4.5 out of 5

When it’s announced that 1958 will be the last year debutantes are to be presented at court, thousands of eager mothers and hopeful daughters flood the palace with letters seeking the year’s most coveted invitation: a chance for their daughters to curtsey to the young Queen Elizabeth and officially come out into society.

 In an effort to appease her traditional mother, aspiring university student Lily Nichols agrees to become a debutante and do the Season, a glittering and grueling string of countless balls and cocktail parties. In doing so, she befriends two very different women: the cool and aloof Leana Hartford whose apparent perfection hides a darker side and the ambitious Katherine Norman who dreams of a career once she helps her parents find their place among the elite.

 But the glorious effervescence of the Season evaporates once Lily learns a devastating secret that threatens to destroy her entire family. Faced with a dark past, she’s forced to ask herself what really matters: her family legacy or her own happiness.

This was such a good read! I loved reading about the debutantes, but all the pageantry sounded awful, frankly. Lily was a wonderful character. I enjoyed seeing how she went from a student to a society girl before realizing who she truly wanted to be. The glamor of being a deb didn’t enthrall her for long, and she learned to stand on her own feet and make her own decisions—and friends—as she learned the truth about her past.

Julia Kelly lives in London. The Last Dance of the Debutante is her newest novel.

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

Book Review:  The Women of Pearl Island, by Polly Crosby

Image belongs to Harlequin/Park Row.

Title:   The Women of Pearl Island
Author:   Polly Crosby
Genre:   Fiction
Rating:  DNF

When Tartelin answers an ad for a personal assistant, she doesn’t know what to expect from her new employer, Marianne, an eccentric elderly woman. Marianne lives on a remote island that her family has owned for generations, and for decades her only companions have been butterflies and tightly held memories of her family. 

But there are some memories Marianne would rather forget, such as when the island was commandeered by the British government during WWII. Now, if Marianne can trust Tartelin with her family’s story, she might finally be able to face the long-buried secrets of her past that have kept her isolated for far too long.

I read about 25% of this but just couldn’t connect with any of the characters, so I had to stop reading. The writing is good, it just wasn’t a good fit for me right now.

Polly Crosby lives in Norfolk. The Women of Pearl Island is her newest novel.

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