New Releases

Review: Echo Lake by Carla Neggers

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I love the descriptions of the setting in this most recent Neggers’ Swift River Valley novel. Snowy paths, an icy lake, views of the woods from the old farmhouse. I felt like I was there! Wine by the fire, cheese from the local dairy… I live for this stuff. Neggers does such a great job making it authentic – and I live in New England so I can vouch for that!

The plot was interesting too – long lost daughter meets long lost father, successful diplomat retires to backwoods town, hometown troublemaker makes something of himself and returns to town to the surprise of many, sole sister of five brothers wades through their protectiveness to prove herself. And there’s a romance that ends in a happily ever after. 🙂

The problem with so many good plots is that the story as a whole seems unfocused. I prefer one main plot and one or two subplots… Echo Lake had five plots fighting each other for the spotlight. It was disconcerting.

So the characters….
The alpha hero is the silent-est strong, silent type I’ve ever read, and his love interest is okay with that. The retiring diplomat is a little sappy. The house-sitter’s character isn’t quite clear to me! The five brothers are mostly in the background but well-written.

The main character, Heather, is a strong young woman, can rock sequins as well as sweatshirts, and stands up to her family when needed.

All in all I liked Echo Lake and will read the next in the series, but I’m hoping subsequent books are a bit more focused.

-calliope
buy ECHO LAKE

Review: Never Never by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher

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01neverHow odd to be made of flesh, balanced on bone, and filled with a soul you’ve never met.

OH.MY.GOSH. What did I just read??? My mind is still reeling from this experience. Colleen and Tarryn are officially the dynamic duo.

Synopsis
Best friends since they could walk.
In love since the age of fourteen.
Complete strangers since this morning.
He’ll do anything to remember.
She’ll do anything to forget.

Charlie and Silas can’t remember themselves or the people around them. They have no idea what’s going on. But as the days progress they are finding glimpses into their lives that show them that they may not be what they thought they were. They make choices that they hope will soon bring some clarity to their situation, but in the end I was still yelling. I needed them to figure this out.

“I may not remember anything about her, but I would bet her smile was my favorite part of her.”

This book was one twisted roller coaster ride, with the emphasis on twisted. I have never yelled so much while reading a book. But I loved it. I had so many ideas, on where this story was going, but I was way off. And when I finished I just sat back and thought, “Holy crap!! What? Where? How? Who?”

When I first heard that Colleen and Tarryn were writing a book together, I was curious. Colleen is know for her HEA with a hefty dose of angst and Tarryn for her twisted and emotional, makes-you-wanna-throw-your-kindle-against-the-wall kinda books. So when you put them together, hold on to your butts. If I were to read this story, without knowing who wrote it, I never never would’ve guessed it was written by them. But after reading this, I can totally see glimpses of both of them in it. Well done, girls. Now I am waiting on pins and needles, for the next book.

What it really comes down to is: Buy it. Read it. Love it.

~Melpomene

Buy Never Never right NOW!!!

Review: Dubiosity by Christy Barritt

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Barritt rocks at setting up the suspense in Dubiosity. I was on the edge of my seat the whole ride.

Savannah is taking a break, grieving a personal loss, but she can’t let go of the investigative reporter side of herself. Add Clive, the mysterious newcomer who needs a place to stay, and we’ve got amateur sleuthing in the making.

But the mystery is no joke. Migrant workers are disappearing – and dying. Savannah and Clive come at the crimes separately, but their investigations bring them to the same place. I did guess the culprit mid-story – but it was only a guess. And I was pleasantly satisfied when my guess was confirmed. 🙂

Dubiosity mixes a little romance in with the suspense, and a little God-guidance, too. I liked the variety, the characters, and the wide-eye-inducing scenes.

Christy Barritt, I’ve read a few of your books, and this won’t be the last!

-calliope
buy DUBIOSITY

Review: All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

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18460392I’ve read many “Wow” books in my lifetime, a great number of them in the past year alone. So it’s common for me to read a new book that makes me want to recommend it to people, to push it on others even. But when a story still has me thinking about it weeks later, and ALMOST makes me cry, well that’s a pretty big deal.

So where to start with this amazing book? At its very heart, it’s a love story, the story of Theodore Finch and Violet Markey. But love is never easy, and each is dealing with their own issues. Theodore is obsessed with death, and he spends his days thinking of ways to die. Each time, however, life interferes and gives him a reason for living. That “reason”, one day, comes in the form of Violet. She’s grieving the death of her sister. With Theodore’s help, she begins to move on and to actually think of the future. As she’s moving forward, though, Theodore is spiraling downward. Will love be enough to save them both?

This book jumps right in to a very real, very “taboo” subject. Suicide and mental illness in young people are a far too common occurrence, one that is often swept under the rug out of shame or denial. We cannot continue to file it under the category of “normal teenage angst” hoping it will go away by itself. Normal teenage issues do tend to resolve themselves while mental illness does not, often with very real and very tragic consequences.

I still think about this book several weeks after finishing it. It was that good. It’s a story of grief, of hope and resilience. It’s the story of young love and how far it can carry you as well as its limitations. Pick this one up and settle in with a box of Kleenex close by (maybe!).

~Thalia

Buy It Now:All the Bright Places

Review: Love Gently Falling by Melody Carlson

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Love Gently Falling is a love story – but not just a typical romance. In this wintery tale, Rita returns home from her west coast stint as a hairdresser to the stars. She learns to appreciate her family, finds the opportunity to strengthen an old friendship, and befriends a former classmate.

I liked that as the book progressed, Rita gradually changed her mindset from focusing on worldly and material bounty to appreciating relationships and lovingly serving others.

Johnny was a perfect gentleman, generous of heart, encouraging, and candid. He may have showed a little sap here and there, but for the most part he was a good example for Rita to follow.

My favorite parts of the book were when Johnny was really loving Rita as another human being, before a romance even began.

Would that we all would take an opportunity to serve others, today and everyday.

-Calliope

buy LOVE GENTLY FALLING

Review: The Collector by Nora Roberts

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Oh my goodness I have read so many mediocre books the past two weeks that I ended up in a book slump. Thankfully a beautiful friend lifted me out of it when she gifted me The Collector.

This romantic suspense was the perfect combination of sweet, thrilling, corrupt, and amateur sleuthing. Right up my alley.

Writer Lila and artist Ashton befriend each other after a horrific murder. While they work together to solve the mystery and get the bad guy, they fall in love. But Lila is independent, a free spirit. Ashton comes from a large, interdependent family and pushes his “helpfulness” onto Lila.

While the romantic tension puts a cramp in their relationship, it doesn’t stop Lila and Ash from exacting revenge on the murderer. Their perseverance is a little implausible at times, but very exciting!

The only thing I didn’t like about this book was Ash’s bossiness. It came off as mean, even though he really cared about Lila. I ended up not liking Ash at all. And that’s sad for me, because an alpha hero is often the best part of a novel!

All in all, The Collector was a welcome addition to my December reading. Great writing, an exciting plot, luxurious descriptions, and international travel all created the perfect base for this romantic suspense.

-Calliope

buy THE COLLECTOR

Review: Jacked by Tina Reber

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01jack Holy suspense and romance, Batman!! My goodness!! Tina Reber has done it again. Truly. Let me calm my nerves, after that ending, and perhaps I can put my thoughts down.

SYNOPSIS

We all have skeletons in our closets.

Doctor Erin Novak was only sixteen when she was accused of a crime she didn’t commit. Since that moment, she has made it her life goal to pursue emergency medicine, pouring her heart and soul into assuring another innocent life isn’t lost to the hands of the wicked.

We all have secrets we’ve never shared.

Detective Adam Trent has lost control of everything, starting with losing his partner to a punk with a gun and then everything else to the crushing guilt. Now a member of the elite Auto Theft Task Force in Philadelphia, it’s his job to be one step ahead of the criminals stealing expensive cars in the city. Too bad the television cameras keep getting in the way of his investigation.

We all have pasts that we can never escape.

A stolen car, a tragic chase, and a traffic stop crosses the fates of these two, tying them together in ways that are unimaginable. As their love and trust grows, so do the enemies that threaten their survival, testing the strength of their commitment. Can true love endure half-truths, past pains, and secrets never meant to be shared?

Some things are just out of our control.

This story was a breath of fresh air. I gotta tell ya, I was not expecting this at all. After reading Love Unscripted and Love Unrehearsed, part of me wondered how Adam Trent was going to be. I mean, I loved Ryan, don’t get me wrong. But we met Adam’s brother, Kyle, and he was kind of a jerk. But Adam was far from that. No guy is perfect, but he is trying the best he can.

Adam is the face of a new show about auto theft. He’s a bad ass cop, who just wants to do his job and go home. But having cameras in his face, make his life a bit more difficult. And one evening, a decision was made that caused a chain reaction, that would change his life forever.

Erin is a spunky ER nurse, with a secret she’s kept for many years. It’s a part of her that gives her the drive, and has shaped her goals in life. She’s happy with her friends and content with her life, until one evening it was completely flipped upside down.

Adam, is all man. He likes what he likes and he when he meets Erin, he is determined to get close to her. She is weary of getting close, after a string of bad luck with guys. But Adam isn’t taking no for an answer. He’ll woo her slowly.

Just standing next to her seemed to calm me, as if she were coated in some sort of magical aura that made me feel as though I wasn’t so lost and alone in the ugliness of life.

Adam has seem his share of ugly. The loss of his partner was the breaking point for him. But when he meets Erin, it’s like everything just clicked. He describes her as, “an angel sent to heal my broken soul.“ I like that Adam is real. If he’s hurt, he’s not afraid to show his pain, whether by tears or words.

As they grow closer, past insecurities start to creep up and they have to work even harder to earn each other’s trust. But once that trust is there, losing it makes earning it back twice as hard. But Adam has his ways, and let me tell you, his are very very hot.

I just loved these characters. They’re not perfect, but together, they are. They just fit. All it takes it that one person, who truly knows you, then BAM!

Tina Reber knows how to twist my gut and my heart. She knows how to make me cry and make me laugh. I have a feeling that the Trent Brothers are going to destroy me one by one.

The best thing about this book, besides the suspense and romance, is that portions of the proceeds goes to The Sweeney Alliance, which provides support to those who are “first responders” and who deal with unimaginable stress and horror daily – Fire, Police, EMTs, etc. As a firewife myself, I hear some of the stories and I can’t imagine experiencing them first hand. To have an organization that helps with them deal with those stresses, I want to support that. So I will definitely be grabbing a few paperbacks, when they’re available, and gifting them to some of my girls. Helping our men by buying books, sounds like a perfect combination!

~Melpomene

Buy Jacked (Trent Brothers Book 1)

Review: Christmas at Carriage Hill by Carla Neggers

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I think 2014 was the first year I read anything by Carla Neggers, and I’ve become a fan. I was happy to see that Neggers wrote a Christmas novella, set in the part of Massachusetts where my mother grew up.

Christmas at Carriage Hill is a contemporary romance with an old-fashioned feel. There’s an impending wedding, New England snow, ice skating, English scones, and a military man who won’t let go of his true love.

Alex and Ian dated, broke up, then ran into each other while traveling abroad for a wedding. While the plot wasn’t thoroughly fleshed out and the secondary characters were a little flat, those are acceptable in a novella. I appreciated the great scenery, the main characters, the recipes, and the happily ever after. The power of nostalgia got to me, too, as I remember visiting the Quabbin as a child.

I enjoyed this light, uplifting, Christmassy novella by a favorite author… and it’s a steal at 99¢.

-calliope

buy CHRISTMAS AT CARRIAGE HILL

Prison Noir edited by Joyce Carol Oates

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*1This is a collection of short stories edited by Joyce Carol Oates. The authors of the stories are all prisoners in the United States prison system.

If you’re a fan of short stories, this is well worth your time. If you’re not a huge fan of that genre but are interested in the correctional systems, again this is well worth your time.

Some of these stories are *really* good! They are so good that it is easy to forget that they were all written by inmates. Having said that, what the hell does that even mean? Like it is unheard of that an inmate can actually write….psssffffttttt…..

It really made me stop and think about society’s narrow-minded view…..about my own narrow mindedness….I’m not exactly sure what I was expecting when I started this book. What I expected the stories to be like….however, it wasn’t what I was expecting….

I can only be reminded of a line from Charlie Chaplin’s great dictator speech “You are not cattle. You are men.”

Yep…pretty much sums it up for me. Regardless of how they got there…or why they are there….Prisoners are not just numbers. They are not just some faceless shadow on a wall that we dare not look at….

These stories demand that we take a look at them….they demand that we look eye to eye….sure, you might not like what you see….if might not change your feelings one way or the other….but damnit…you will at least see them…..

Until next time…

Urania xx

ARC provided by Edelweiss for an honest review

Buy it now Prison Noir edited by Joyce Carol Oates

Review: The King, by Tiffany Reisz

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01king “…a king must have a kingdom.”

WOW! Let me say, that whatever expectations I had for this book, were completely blown out the the water. This was so much more than anything I could’ve imagined. There are so many layers to Kingsley, you have no idea.

Synopsis
Cunning. Sex. Pure nerve. Only this unholy threesome can raise him to his rightful place as a rule of Manhattan’s king kingdom.

Bouncing from bed to bed on the Upper East Side, Kingsley Edge is brilliant, beautiful and utterly debauched. No carnal act of chemical compound can relieve his self-destructive heartache—only Søren, the one person he loves without limit or regret. A man he can never have, but in whose hands Kingsley is reborn to attain even greater heights of sin.

Kingsley’s plan to open the ultimate BDSM club—a dungeon playground for New York’s A-list—becomes his obsession. His expertise in domination can’t subdue the one man who wants to stop him. The enigmatic Reverend Fuller won’t rest until King’s dream is destroyed, and so the battle lines are set; it’s one man’s sacred mission against another’s…

Since I loved The Red Years, I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to get into the White Years. Without the Mistress it would appear boring. HAHA!!! Boy was I wrong!! There is still the same amount of saucy parts as well as the loving parts. This one also has a nice dose of heartbreak and loss.

This story is about a king and how be builds his kingdom. It is about love that withstands the test of time. It’s about a young man who will to anything for his family, even if they’re not blood related. This story is about how be built his BDSM club, just so Søren could be himself. King has always loved Søren and he would do anything for him.

After stumbling around for years, with no real plan for his life, Søren comes back into his life, and suddenly he knows what to do now. With the help of his new assistant, Sam, he sets forth to create his kingdom.

I loved Sam. It was almost like she put on this planet to help King. Everything she did, was for him. She was funny and quirky. She was sexy and sweet and knew how to keep King in his place. No matter what was happening, she was there for him, willing to do anything to make his dreams happen. They bonded over their horrible pasts and moved on together. I’m glad she was able to keep him going and not fall for him, like so many others seem to do.

As we catch glimpses of King’s past, my heart broke. No man should go through what he did. I was so glad Søren was there for him, during the scary times. He loves King, even if he won’t tell him. You can see it.

“I did my part by coming back to you,” he said. “God did his part to keep you alive long enough for me to get here. Now you do your part and make yourself worthy of this second chance you’ve been given.”

I’m glad we got to see Grace and Fionn. I totally forgot about them!! Sad, I know. But I hope they’ll be in future books. I hope Søren will go to them also. That would be fantastic.

~Melpomene

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Buy The King: The Original Sinners Book 6

Get caught up, with the first five books.

The Red Years
The Siren: The Original Sinners Book 1 (Original sinner seires)
The Angel: The Original Sinners Book 2 (Original sinner seires)
The Prince: The Original Sinners Book 3 (Original sinner seires)
The Mistress: The Original Sinners Book 4 (Original sinner seires)

The White Years
The Saint: The Original Sinners Book 5