After the Crescent Strike by A.L. Sowards

Spectacular Start to New Series A. L. Sowards is a great author and she’s really done a spectacular job this time. This prequel to a series does exactly what a prequel is supposed to do—make you anticipate the release of book 1! I cannot wait!! This is a historical medieval novella, set during the war between the Turks and the Serbs. I love the writing style. From page one, I was captivated by the characters and plot. There are moments that are sweet and others […]

December 28, 2024 | 0 Comments

The Art of Us by Julie Wright

Realistic Teen Issues Handled with Compassion and Respect Julie Wright has a real talent for capturing the teenage voice. The focus is on Ireland, Cal, and Mara—seniors in high school finding their way through a complex world while trying to keep their secrets hidden. The story addresses abandonment, homelessness, betrayal, violence, abuse, perfectionism, and several other issues that teens have to deal with. What did I think? I loved this book. It hit all the feels and twisted my heart in so many ways. I […]

December 18, 2024 | 0 Comments

Trials of the Trash by Tyler Whitesides

Trash Transformers for Middle-grade Readers Landon, Jade, and Sabra, along with their magical pets and teachers must work together to fight the Megalajunk and Thingamajunks—evil beings made out of trash and junk from the landfill. The story is funny, the thingamajunks are fantastically unique, and the ending is a surprise. (Okay, really. Got a 10 or 11 year old who likes Transformers? This tells you all you need to know about the book.) There’s some fantasy violence as the kids fight the monsters with brooms […]

September 5, 2024 | 0 Comments

Rakes and Roses by Josi S. Kilpack

Jerk to Hero? A case in Character Development Josi Kilpack is a wonderful writer and always includes deep insights into character and motivations. I didn’t think I’d care for this story as much as the other ones in this series because we’ve encountered Harry in previous books. He was a jerk. When I started the book, I did not care at all if Harry made a love match—especially with Sabrina because, in my opinion, she was too good for him. But then Josi’s writing led […]

May 5, 2020 | 0 Comments

What It Seems by Emily Bleeker

Another Psychological Thiller I am a big Emily Bleeker fan. I’ve read all her books and really liked them. I have to admit that this is my least favorite of her books, but I still liked it well enough. The main character is Tara/Angela—a 20 year old who has been raised in a horrendous, abusive, intolerable situation which just broke my heart. Her mother is awful. (Like angry, psycho, sadistically awful.) Part of me kept thinking this would never happen in real life. Except it […]

March 17, 2020 | 0 Comments

My Top Ten 2019 Reads (+ 20 More Great Ones)

I thought maybe I’d create a Top Ten list of books that I read in 2019. But I read 143 books this year—and almost all of them are 4-5 stars (because if they’re less than that, I usually don’t finish them). How do I narrow it down to 10? It was hard, but I did it—and here they are, followed by a bunch of honorable mentions listed by category. 1. Nevermoor & Wondersmith by Jessica Townsend Middle Grade/Young Adult Fantasy Some fantasy violence, suspenseful situations. […]

December 31, 2019 | 1 Comment

Mistaken Reality by Traci Hunter Abramson

Saint Squad/Guardian Crossover Abramson has two closely related series. First, the Saint Squad, about a Navy SEAL team where most of the members belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon). Each book in this series has both a suspenseful military mission and a developing romance. The Guardian series is about a top-secret program that works in the shadows to protect members of the most elite government organizations. Again, this series has both suspenseful missions and budding romance. In this book, we […]

November 24, 2019 | 0 Comments

Daisies and Devotion by Josi S. Kilpack

Marry for Money or Love? This is a tough question when you’re on the fringes of regency society and you don’t really have a lot of money. Sometimes you have to make the hard choice—and sometimes you get both. The premise of this series is that a wealthy uncle is attempting to set his nieces and nephews up with an inheritance—if they find an appropriate marriage partner and act respectably. Some of them are already respectable but others, not so much. Timothy has always tried […]

November 10, 2019 | 0 Comments

Minnie Kim: Seoul Demon by Ali Cross

Loving this Series This is book three in the Minnie Kim: Vampire Girl series. I am loving the entire series. It’s cute. It’s fun. But there’s also drama and suspense. There are vampires, after all. [br] [br] In this book, Minnie and her parents have a tentative truce—making Minnie hope she can win back their love and acceptance of her vampire status. They travel to Korea to meet family and to help them with a ghost problem. [br] [br] The ghost isn’t the only problem […]

September 7, 2019 | 0 Comments

Terminal by Michaelbrent Collings

A spooky fog, an anonymous tormentor, and the worst of human nature… If you don’t like horror, then just skip this review. Because this book is a case study in human behavior when under extreme and life-threatening pressure. And it’s not pretty. (Think Lord of the Flies.) [br] [br] There are 9 people trapped in a bus terminal by a spooky, freaky fog. If that isn’t bad enough, then “The Other” starts messing with their electronics and their minds. They are told that only one […]

August 12, 2019 | 0 Comments

Secrets Never Die by Laurie Lewis

I can’t rave about this book enough! Okay, first off, one of my favorite types of books are suspense novels written kind of like British TV shows. They introduce a bunch of characters, and you don’t know how they relate at first. You don’t know who the bad guy is or what’s going on, but then as you read more you find the pieces fitting together until you finally get a complete picture and—if written well—a satisfying reveal which you only figure out seconds before […]

July 30, 2019 | 2 Comments

The Lady in the Coppergate Tower by Nancy Campbell Allen

Another great steampunk fairy tale! This is the third steampunk fairy tale romance from Nancy Campbell Allen. We start in London but this time we travel to Romania and you know what that means—vampire legends and dark magic! Hazel and Sam’s romance weaves through this story of revealed family secrets, intrigue and betrayal, with a healthy dose of steampunk. [br] What did I think? I loved all the steampunk elements—they added to the story without getting bogged down in the tech. The characters were well-written […]

July 26, 2019 | 0 Comments

The Lady and the Highwayman by Sarah M. Eden

Three Stories in One! I loved this book! First off, Sarah M. Eden is a great writer. She has lovable and relatable characters, strong plots, and great settings. So any story of hers is going to be good. But this one is a romance where both characters are Penny Dreadful writers—and we get to read both of their stories as well! Penny Dreadful stories began in the mid-1800s, were often serialized, usually shorter stories (what we would call novellas) and focused on action, adventure, and […]

July 20, 2019 | 0 Comments

Stone of Inheritance by Melissa McShane

Great Second Book in the Series! This is book 2 in The Company of Strangers series. We pick up a few months after book 1, with the group of scrappers becoming closer and learning more about each other. In this adventure, they need a particular magical knife to help with the ritual that will free Alaric’s people. They are outbid at an auction, then forced by the woman who purchased the knife to go reclaim a powerful artifact that belonged to her family. [br] [br] […]

July 8, 2019 | 0 Comments

What the Wind Knows by Amy Harmon

Historical Time Travel Romance Amy Harmon is a one-click author for me. I don’t even bother to read the description on Amazon. She has a new book, I buy it. But when I realized this was a time-travel romance, I was prepared to be disappointed. I’ve read a few and didn’t like them. But I should have known if anyone could do it well, Amy Harmon could. It was AMAZING! Before I finished the book, I’d probably would have described it as a historical romance, […]

July 5, 2019 | 0 Comments