Tag: romance

Unnatural Deeds, by Cyn Balog

unnatural-deeds
Image belongs to Sourcebooks Fire.

Cyn Balog is a young adult author. Her newest novel is Unnatural Deeds.

Victoria Zell has never fit in. Not that she cares. She and her homeschooled boyfriend, Andrew, are inseparable, so Victoria doesn’t care about anyone else. Until Zachary Zimmerman shows up in her homeroom:  he’s gorgeous and popular, everything Victoria is not. Within the first hour, he convinces her to cut class, and now Victoria can’t get enough of that rush.

Even though Vic is loyal to Andrew, she is drawn to Z. But Z has secrets, and soon Vic is lying to everyone as she tries to unravel those secrets. Except Z isn’t the only one with secrets, and Vic’s past will come back to haunt her in its destructive rampage.

This book…I thought I knew where it was going. Seriously. All the signs pointed one way, and then we ended up completely off the map. I never saw the ending coming. Like, at all. Z and Vic are both great characters, and you’ll find yourself drawn into their mystery as they struggle to untangle it. You should definitely read this book!

(Galley provided by Sourcebooks Fire.)

Did I Mention I Miss You? by Estelle Maskame

did-i-mention-i-miss-you
Image belongs to Sourcebooks Fire.

Estelle Maskame is the author of the Wattpad sensation Did I Mention I Love You? trilogy. Did I Mention I Miss You? is the final book.

Eden hasn’t spoken with Tyler in over a year. After he left her, she started a new life at a school in Chicago, and tried to forget about Tyler. Now she’s just angry at him, and she never wants to speak to him again. But back in Santa Monica for the summer, it’s hard to forget Tyler when she’s surrounded by things that remind her of him.

And she’s not the only one who returns to Santa Monica. Tyler has made a new life for himself, and he wants Eden in it. Eden is confused by this new Tyler, and she’s not sure if she can ever forgive him. But when family conflict draws them together, Eden must decide if Tyler is worth everything he’s put her through.

Okay, I’ll admit it:  cheesy high school movies are a guilty pleasure of mine. Think Ten Things I Hate About You and Save the Last Dance. I also love reading books like that, and the DIMILY trilogy fits nicely in there. It’s been fun seeing Eden and Tyler change and grow throughout the books, and this is an enjoyable ending to a series I liked.

(Galley provided by Sourcebooks Fire via NetGalley.)

A Whole Latte Murder, by Caroline Fardig

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I do not own this image. Image belongs to Alibi.

Caroline Fardig is the author of the Java Jive Mysteries series. The newest novel, A Whole Latte Murder, hit shelves last week.

Juliet’s life has been looking up. Business at Java Jive, the coffee shop she runs, is booming. Her romance with hot cop Ryder is heating up. And she hasn’t found any dead bodies in weeks. Then Ryder gets promoted to homicide, and Juliet’s happiness turns to fear, as she contemplates his involvement with the worst kind of criminals.

Worse yet, girls are going missing in Nashville, and the city is on edge. Chelsea, Juliet’s neighbor, is especially nervous, and Juliet tries to calm her fears. But when Juliet finds Chelsea dead, she ends up right in the middle of Ryder’s first homicide investigation, a situation neither of them are happy about. Then Pete, Juliet’s best friend, winds up in the mix as one of the coffee shop employees goes missing. Now Juliet and Pete want to help find her, and all Ryder wants is Juliet to stay out of the way. What’s a girl to do when a killer’s on the loose?

The Java Jive books are a fantastic series of books. Light-hearted and funny, with plenty of pitfalls and antics, they are sure to have the reader laughing. A Whole Latte Murder is no exception, as Juliet continues to be a magnet for trouble and her curiosity keeps landing her in hot water. A fun, entertaining murder mystery!

(Galley provided by Alibi via NetGalley.)

The Scent of Salt and Sand, by P.C. and Kristin Cast

 

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I do not own this image. Image belongs to Diversion Books.

 

P.C. and Kristin Cast are a mother-daughter writing team. They wrote the NYT best-selling House of Night series. The Scent of Salt and Sand is a novella in their Escaped series.

The walls separating Tartarus have fallen, and now monsters from Greek mythology have escaped to the mortal world. The Sirens are part of the escapees. Bound for centuries because of their bloodlust, greed, and murders, the Sirens now run Siren Tours for tourists to Alcatraz, where they find their prey.

It’s Melody’s first time in the mortal realm, and she doesn’t want to be there. She’s different from the other Sirens:  she doesn’t like blood, she has no interest in murder, and she hears specters in the water. Then she meets Dean, who becomes her assigned target, and falls in love. Can she keep Dean safe from her monstrous family, or has their love doomed them both?

So…I like P.C. and Kristin Cast. I enjoy their writing, which has a decidedly young adult slant. I’ve met them both, and they’re very bubbly and funny. I’m a fan of P.C.’s Goddess Summoning series, as well as The House of Night. I have not read either of the books in this series. I enjoyed most of this novella. The Sirens have always fascinated me, and their move in the real world is well-done. However, I really didn’t care for the ending of The Scent of Salt and Sand. At all. I intend to read Amber Smoke, but I’m pretty undecided about reading any more about the Sirens.

(Galley provided by Diversion books via NetGalley.)

Getting it Right, by Elizabeth Jane Howard

getting it right
I do not own this image. Image belongs to Open Road Media.

 

Elizabeth Jane Howard was a model and actress turned novelist. She published Getting it Right in 1982, and it was made into a movie a few years later.

Gavin Lamb is a 31-year-old hair dresser in London. He still lives at home. He’s shy beyond measure. And he has a fear of interacting with people. He likes Mozart and Tolstoy, but women scare him, even his overbearing, neurotic mother, who wants to control every facet of his and his father’s lives.

Then Gavin gets forced to attend a party, and his life changes forever when he meets two women:  the colorful Joan, rich and married; and Minnie Munday, a party-crasher who claims to be royalty. Gavin has never seen so much crazy in one place, but these two women will teach him about finding true love.

Getting it Right is an interesting read about sometimes-colorful characters. I didn’t realize it was published in in 1982 when I was asked to review it, so the setting took me a few minutes to assimilate to. Gavin initially reminded me of Ignatius J. Reilly in A Confederacy of Dunces, but he grew so much as a character that that comparison faded from my mind.

(Galley provided by Open Road Integrated Media via NetGalley.)

The Last Road Home, by Danny Johnson

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I do not own this image. Image belongs to Kensington Books.

Danny Johnson is a Vietnam veteran, and a writer of Southern fiction. His first published novel is The Last Road Home.

Raeford “Junebug” Hurley has had a hard life. At the age of eight, his parents die, and he goes to live with his grandparents on their tiny farm. There he meets Fancy Stroud and her brother Lightning, children of black sharecroppers, and they become fast friends, almost unheard of in 1950’s North Carolina. Tobacco farming is hard, desperate work, and Junebug is grateful for Fancy’s support when things grow even harder, and soon they are more than friends.

A moneymaking scheme gone bad and a visit from the KKK have Junebug and Fancy setting out in search of different dreams. She, a place free from the casual bigotry and hatred that infuse every day in the rural South. He, looking for a place he feels at home, a place where his darkest secrets will be safe. The connection between Junebug and Fancy is strong, but will it be strong enough to withstand war and thousands of miles of distance?

The Last Road Home is a deep, emotional book about friendship and love in the midst of hardship and hatred. This is not an uplifting, breezy novel, but one with unexpected depths that delves into the darkness inside us all. The ending was not what I had hoped for, but it was true to the story. This is well-worth reading.

(Galley provided by Kensington Books via NetGalley.)

What I Read in July

Seems like I didn’t do a whole lot of reading in July.

Lady Midnight, by Cassandra Clare. (Loved it!)

chronicles

Chronicles of a Last Summer, by Yasmine El Rashidi. (Read to review.)

and I darken

And I Darken, by Kiersten White. (Read to review.)

The Dragon Round

The Dragon Round, by Stephen S. Power. (Read to review.)

an elegant facace

An Elegant Facade, by Kristi Ann Hunter. (Read to review.)

Far from the Madding Crowd, by Thomas Hardy. (My classic for the month. This one was so-so to me.)

Daring Greatly, by Brune Brown. (My spiritual book for the month.)

Trixie Belden and the Mystery Off Old Telegraph Road, by Kathryn Kenny. (This one was from my TBR pile. I loved this series when I was younger, and it’s interesting to re-read them now. So…innocent.)

 

An Elegant Facade, by Kristi Ann Hunter

an elegant facace
(I do not own this image. Image belongs to Bethany House.)

Kristi Ann Hunter is a multiple-award-winning author who lives in Georgia and loves games and music. She also loves “teeny bopper movies and cheesy RomComs.” Her newest novel is An Elegant Façade.

Lady Georgina Hawthorne has done everything in her power to ensure her debut Season goes off without a hitch, including spending three long years cultivating both her image and her knowledge of society’s intricacies. Her careful reputation, from always wearing white to being the Incomparable of her Season, are all aimed at one thing:  catching a husband with enough money and power to protect her should her secret be found out.

Colin McCrae has money and connections, but he’s missing a pedigree. Smart and observant, he is invited into the world of the upper class, but he isn’t accepted there. As Colin begins to wonder about his place in the world, he meets Lady Georgina, and finds himself irritated by a woman consumed only with her appearance and others’ opinion of her. But Georgina is desperate to protect herself and her shameful secret, a secret that not even her family knows. As cracks begin to form in her charade, Colin gets a glimpse of her true self, and wonders about the hidden depths of Lady Georgina Hawthorn.

An Elegant Façade seems, on the surface, to be just another fluffy Regency romance, but that is not the case. Georgina is a strong, brilliant character, but she hides her flaws, as most of us do, terrified someone will find out her secret. Colin is a down-to-earth character, but a true here:  clever, observant, discerning, and of course, handsome. The interactions between these two feel like watching a movie, being both vivid and realistic. This novel is well-worth reading

(Galley provided by Bethany House via NetGalley.)

And I Darken, by Kiersten White

and I darken
I do not own this image. Image belongs to Delacorte Press.

Kiersten White is the New York Times bestselling author of the Paranormalcy trilogy and Mind Games. Her newest novel, And I Darken, is the first in a new trilogy that asks “What if Vlad the Impaler had been female?”

Lada Dragwlya is a princess, but she’s far more interested in strength and survival than in finding a husband. When her father barters her and her gentle younger brother Radu away for safety, Lada learns that being ruthless is the key to true power. Trapped in the Ottoman Empire, far from her beloved Wallachia, Lada learns to hide her emotions so she and Radu will not become mere pawns in the hands of the sultan, and vows to fight her enemies to her dying breath.

Then they meet Mehmed, lonely son of the sultan, destined to rule the Empire, but friendless and at the mercy of those with real power. Radu feels that he’s made a true friend, and Lada wonders if Mehmed is someone she can finally show her emotions to. But Mehmed is the heir to the Ottoman Empire—which Lada has sworn to fight against, and the place that Radu now considers home. Will love and loyalty prove stronger than vows and vengeance?

And I Darken is a dark, brutal book about a fierce girl who must grow into her strength amidst war and intrigue. Lada is not an easy character to like, but her indomitable will and passion carry her through as she finds her true self. There is plenty of action in this story, but it is the characters themselves that the reader will truly find riveting.

(Galley provided by Delacorte Press.)

Fire Danger, by Claire Davon

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(I do not own this image. Image belongs to Samhain Publishing.)

 

Claire Davon began writing as a teenager, then life got in the way for a while. She has since shoved life out of the way and started writing urban fantasy, paranormal, and contemporary romance. Her newest novel, Fire Danger, is the first book in the Elements Challenge series.

Rachel Quinn doesn’t remember much of her early years, only vague memories of her parents and faint images of fire. Since her parents died years ago, Rachel has never been able to ask anyone about these visions of fire, and she withdraws into herself, afraid of her memories and the blackouts she has.

Then she finds herself cornered by a pack of werewolves—werewolves!—and rescued by a man with wings, and something comes to life inside of Rachel. She isn’t human, which she never knew was an option, but she doesn’t know what she is—or who—until the gorgeous Phoenix helps her find out. Phoenix is in the midst of his Challenge, the battle with his Demonos counterpart, but Rachel and her mystery add a deeper meaning to this Challenge than Phoenix has ever seen. Phoenix and Rachel must find out the truth about what she is, and stop the Demonos’ plot to destroy the human race.

Fire Danger begins with Rachel’s attack by werewolves and Phoenix’s rescue, and the pace never slows through the course of the novel. The many layers in this novel twist together with danger as the relationship between Phoenix and Rachel grows deeper.  An entertaining read set in an intriguing version of our own.