Review: Sister Eve, Private Eye by Lynne Hinton

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I read a lot of amateur sleuth mysteries. Sister Eve is a little younger than the usual sleuths I read, and she rides a Harley, and she’s a nun, AND her dad is a former detective. Refreshing and appealing!

I loved Eve (Evangeline) and her candor. She reminded me a lot of myself: A little brash, a little naive, a little impulsive. When she suspected a certain guy as the perpetrator of the crime, she just drove down to his house and jumped the fence. She had no backup plan. She didn’t even have a primary plan! Her haste made for some funny moments and even a possible meet-cute. (I see romance in every novel!)

I enjoyed Hinton’s other characters, too: the injured and stubborn dad, the greasy film producer, the martyr sister, the pretty young actress…
But the plot just didn’t come together smoothly for me. Storylines are aesthetic… Liking a plot line comes down to your personal taste. I think this one just didn’t do it for me — the whole film world turned me off. I didn’t like the deviousness and quirks of the characters in the film industry. Even pretty Megan annoyed me when she didn’t stand up for herself.

The crime SOLVING, though… That was my cup of tea. Sister Eve and her friends who just happen to have information to help her solve the case… Eve’s brainstorming sessions with her dad… The police on the fringe of the true investigation… All very well worth the read.

My favorite part? Eve taking another leave of absence from the convent, because that means she might have another crime to solve soon.

-calliope

buy SISTER EVE, PRIVATE EYE

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: Mocha Sunrise by Julie Carobini

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Best friends Livi, Bri and Gaby love each other like sisters, including telling it to each other straight even when the truth hurts. When Livi is mentally tortured by her antagonistic cousin/roommate, Bri and Gaby give Livi good advice – that she fails to follow.

Then Caleb enters the picture. Though he’s fighting his own demons, he forms a trifecta with Bri and Gaby to defend Livi. They push Livi to get out of her rut, push through, face her fears, make some decisions.

I like that Julie Carobini writes this story based on friendship, and maintains that main plot even while other things are happening to Livi – getting arrested, having job problems, meeting a new guy. I read a lot of contemporary romances, and none seem to hold the friendships in as high a regard as the romantic relationship. Mocha Sunrise focuses on the strength of friendship even while the best friends have romance in their lives.

I totally loved seeing Livi and Caleb find themselves as individuals and come together as a couple. Their transformations were amazing – from two uncertain and uneasy characters to honest and discerning people who were so authentic that I shed tears for them. 🙂

I appreciated Carobini’s hopeful and uplifting messages delivered by Caleb. And as I read Mocha Sunrise I felt a sense of peace and joy. How appropriate for this Christmas season.

-calliope

buy MOCHA SUNRISE

Review: Sweet Damage by Rebecca James

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51slwSQHDkL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_This was one creepy and suspenseful book from the beginning until the very end. If you like scary, on the edge-of-your-seat stories, grab this one and settle in for the ride.

Tim Ellison’s an easy going fellow, happy in life for the most part. Surfing, working at his dad’s restaurant, pining over his crush on friend Lilla…he finds plenty to fill his days. But when things get a little too crowded crashing on Lilla’s floor, he’s forced to look for a new place to live. He can hardly believe his luck when he finds an affordable room in a fancy house in a posh neighborhood. Forget the fact that his new roommate is downright creepy, never leaves the house, is seriously depressed, and is likely sitting on the wrong side of sanity. But as he gets to know Anna, he discovers there’s more beneath the surface. And as he becomes closer and closer to her, strange happenings begin to occur.

It’s hard to give more of a review without giving away too much of the story, so I’ll leave it at that. This is a good story, quick and easy to read but hard to put down. There are plenty of twists and turns in this psychological thriller to keep you turning pages long after it’s bedtime.

~Thalia

Buy It Now: Sweet Damage: A Novel

Review: The Kiss Before Midnight by Sophie Pembroke

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Molly is the baby of the family, and her siblings always took her for a flake. So the year she finally moved out and got a job in London on her own merit was supposed to be the year of her dreams.

Instead, Molly spent the year thinking about family friend Jake, and the kiss he shared with her last New Year’s Eve. Jake spent the year thinking about it too.

It was so much fun to watch Molly and Jake dance around the kiss they shared the year before. Sophie Pembroke wrote in the perfect amount of flirting, holding back, candor, humor, and misunderstanding.

This was a lovely story around Christmas time… Joyful, uplifting, romantic, full of family love, and ending happily ever after. 🎁🍷🎄❄️
-calliope

buy THE KISS BEFORE MIDNIGHT

Review: The Job by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg

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What a fun caper!

The Job is about FBI Agent Kate O’Hare’s plan to catch a criminal – using criminal/informant/love interest Nick Fox and a slew of other assistants, including Kate’s dad.

The whole thing has an Ocean’s Eleven feel to it, which I love. You’ve got good guys and bad guys and really smart guys all working together to con the baddest, meanest son of a gun criminal. There are inside jokes, flirting, clever one-liners, loads of pretense, and witty conversations.

Yes, the plot is light and somewhat predictable. Yes, you must suspend your disbelief a few times. But really, it’s all so worth the fun of joining O’Hare and Fox on a smart mission to take one more bad guy off the streets.

This was number 3 in a series. Sign me up for number 4.

-calliope

buy THE JOB

Review: Julie and Julia by Julie Powell

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*1Well, since Thanksgiving is tomorrow (although being in the United Kingdom now we don’t celebrate this one :-/ ) and since this is a novel about a food blogger…and well….I am a kinda sorta blogger myself….I reckoned it was a good idea to post this review now….

If you check out the reviews for this book they are all over the place….I reckon this means that you either love this book or you hate it…Well, not me…I really enjoyed it….I didn’t love it…but in no way did I hate it….I thought it was charming. Julie was bit of a drama queen, but I loved her. I understand her sarcasm perfectly! It started as a blog and of course if you read any blogs you can understand how witty, engaging and entertaining her blog must have been. This is a movie that I have actually seen for once and I thought the movie and the book went along quite well together. Amy Adams was a perfect fit for the role and I had no problem imagining her as I read this book. If you’ve ever wanted to start out to do something fun and it rolled into something that totally stressed you out and encompassed your entire life…yet you were too stubborn to back down and throw in the towel…or you cared too much…..If you became so obsessed with it that you sometimes forget the other “going ons” in the *real* world….well this is a book you can relate to….I laughed out loud at times and I totally cringed at other times….and I sincerely felt her frustration and the “I’M. AT. THE. END. OF. MY. ROPE. AND. I. JUST. WANT. TO. LAY. DOWN. AND. CRY. PLEASE. DON’T. TALK. TO. ME. FOR. AT. LEAST. 5. DAYS. I. CAN’T. BE. BOTHERED”…..

If the book lets you down at points, well one must only remember that this started as a blog and with momentum and life it rolled into a movie and a book….If it had started out as a book, then turned into a movie and then finished with a blog, well it would have been written in a totally different style I think….

This book gives me hope that it’s true…we all have a book in us just waiting to be written down….

Until next time…

Urania xx

Buy it now Julie and Julia by Julie Powell

$1.99! What a deal!

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I’m doing a little online shopping and I’m tempted by the great price drops on kindle books. Here are four fantastic looking reads that caught my eye – at bargain prices! –calliope

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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

Review: Maybe Not by Colleen Hoover

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01maybe SURPRISE!!!!! Colleen Hoover has done it again. Well, that’s not really a surprise. The surprise is that she managed to keep this a secret for so long. This book is proof that Colleen can do no wrong.

Synopsis
When Warren has the opportunity to live with a female roommate, he instantly agrees. It could be an exciting change.

Or maybe not.

Especially when that roommate is the cold and seemingly calculating Bridgette. Tensions run high and tempers flare as the two can hardly stand to be in the same room together. But Warren has a theory about Bridgette: anyone who can hate with that much passion should also have the capability to love with that much passion. And he wants to be the one to test this theory.

Will Bridgette find it in herself to warm her heart to Warren and finally learn to love?

Maybe.

Maybe not.

Now, I loved Warren, when I read Maybe Someday. He was the comedy relief that was needed, during that high emotional book. After reading this, I was in love with him. In my heart, I always knew there was more to him than just the goofiness we saw. And I was right. He was all heart, with a smidgen of sass.

Warren was comfortable with his life. He went to school, had a job, and was the manager of the Sounds of Cedar. His life was good. He was content. That is, until Bridgette walked in. That boy was in no way prepared for what she would do to him or how all these feeling about her would change him.

She’s so confusing. She’s so frustrating. She’s so damn unpredictable. She’s nothing I’ve ever wanted in a girl. And absolutely everything I need.

Bridgette is this angry mean girl, on the surface, but once you chisel at her defenses a little, you realize you were totally wrong. She’s just a girl who wants to find her place and be loved, just like everyone else. But she is determined to keep those walls up. She will let no one find a way in. Not even this crazy, smooth talking, roomie.

Every human has a weakness and I think I discovered what hers is. Me.

I went in with thinking that this was going to be non stop hilariousness. Boy was I wrong. I was pleasantly surprised at how much my heartstrings were being tugged on. Don’t get me wrong, the pranks were there. Heck, the very first page had me smiling. But this book was filled with so much more than that. The feels were flying non stop. And I may have even teared up once or twice.

Maybe Not is the perfect combination of comedy and romance, and whole lot of heart.

“The only difference between falling in love and being in love is that your heart already knows how you feel, but your mind is too stubborn to admit it.”

~Melpomene

Buy Maybe Not: A Novella

Get caught up and read Maybe Someday first. You’ll thank me for it.