Book Review

Review: Sister Eve and the Blue Nun by Lynne Hinton

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I adored the first book in this series, and I love Sister Evangeline’s character so much that I keep reading the next in the series. Blue Nun is number three, and although there was too much history and Blue Nun factual information (like a documentary!) for me, I still enjoyed the terrific characters and dialogue. 

In this book, Sister Eve returns to the convent for a long weekend, only to happen upon a murder. Like any literary amateur sleuth, Eve ignores police instructions to stay out of the investigation, and she gets herself into a bit of trouble here and there. Thankfully there’s her private eye dad and a handsome police detective to save Eve as she catches the bad guy and solves the case! 

-calliope

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Review: Like the Red Sky at Morning (Forget Me Not #2) by Brielle Sky

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If you go back to my review of the first book and have now read both, I would just like a moment to gloat that I was, in fact, correct about my predictions.

Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way…teehee…

I did enjoy this book. Perhaps not as much as the first one…wait….maybe I need to clarify that…I HATED what was going on in the first book (My review of Book 1) but the fact that it made me so angry and feel so passionate about what was happening really made me appreciate the book. I didn’t feel outrage and anger during the reading of this novel, so I’m sad to say, it didn’t move me as much…but don’t think I didn’t enjoy it! I did enjoy it.

***Spoilers without spoilers*** If I had any complaints it would only be that I don’t necessarily see how Isaac could know the things he knew about the man Max was dating at the end and just leave it at that…regardless of the past or anything else…

I also wish that this book had been wrapped up nicely in this 2nd installment…It’s pretty obvious to me that there will be a third book (provided this one does well and I hope it does) to finally wrap up the ending. If not we’re all doomed to loose countless nights worrying about people that might or might not come back to ruin the HEA ending…

I saw everything coming in this book…even if Max didn’t…I saw the betrayals that many she considered closest to her were committing…all throughout both books…does that make it any less of a good book? Perhaps….

However, did it make me enjoy it less or wish I hadn’t bothered with it? Not at all! I really enjoyed this book and I am still waiting on Brielle Skye’s next book! I’ll be sure to crack it open almost as soon as I get word about it…just as I did this one…There’s not many books that don’t spend some time on my TBR piles (I just have so many great choices!!!! It’s not the books’ fault!!!!) However, Ms. Skyes books have never resided there…they are always quickly read…as I’m sure the next one will be…

Until next time…

Urania xx

ARC provided by the author for an honest review

Buy it now Like the Red Sky at Morning by Brielle Skye

Review: Summer at Rose Island by Holly Martin

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“A perfect, feel good summer romance” is part of this title, and it sure fits. This is a light, appealingly predictable read with a fresh storyline. 

American Riley comes to the English coast to live in his dad’s former home – a lighthouse. When he meets Darcy, a London transplant, he can’t help but fall for her… 

…Until Darcy’s new job threatens the existence of his lighthouse home. 

I loved Darcy and her interest in marine biology! I didn’t like the author/narrator calling her a nerd or a geek, though. Unnecessary. 🙂  Darcy’s swims in the ocean were awesome… and her lack of grace out of the water, hilarious!

And I liked that Riley was American, but as an American myself he was written a little awkwardly. I felt like the author stereotyped Americans as cowboys but knew that and so reined in some of the stereotyping but not all of it. 😦 I appreciated that Riley was always a gentleman, chivalrous and humble to the end. 

I thought the sub plot of George and Libby was fun, if a bit overdone here and there. And including the dogs in the storyline was terrific. They were written in very naturally and helped move the plot forward at some points. Martin also addressed some global issues in a thoughtful and realistic way: autism, rare shark extinction, support of marine research, and historical building preservation. 

If you’re looking for an easy, quirky British romance with an ocean theme, this is a steal at $2.99. You’ll fall in love with Riley’s lighthouse, Rose Island, and a certain marine biologist and her cowboy. 

-calliope

Buy SUMMER AT ROSE ISLAND

Review: Doomsday Book (Oxford Time Travel #1) by Connie Willis

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24983What the hell! How many rewards did this book win? How many of my most reliable reading mates loved it? Have I lost my mind? Have I lost my book mojo? SOBS!!!! I JUST DON’T GET IT!!!!!!

This under 600 page novel read like it was just under 6000 pages! I didn’t think it would EVER end! It just went onandonandonandonandonandonandonandon.

I loved the bits we spent with Kivrin in the past. However, to get there we seemed to be going back in time in slow motion…for every step they took in the “current” future time where Kivrin came from, it just seemed to be on a slow motion loop. We covered the same stuff over and over in tiny little bits of detail that were fed to us like we were wee babes unable to digest a full meal.

2oo pages would have made a difference between a fantastic read and a “eh” read…sadly the numbers were not in this books favour this time….

Arrggggghhhhhhhhhhhh! I usually LOVE long books as well….

so frustrating…

Until next time…

Urania

Buy it now Doomsday Book by Connie Willis

Review: On the Road by Jack Kerouac

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2552Okay, confession, I don’t even know what “beat lit” is….and if this is an example, I don’t want to know any more.

If I understood “beat lit” would it make me love this book? Appreciate it more? I don’t think so. I didn’t find it well written. I didn’t find it interesting. I didn’t find it anything except me glad to finish it. I saw lots of sex, some more sex, some sex with adults and minors, some drugs, some thieving, more sex, lies, disregard of promises and responsibilities….rinse and repeat…

Please don’t tell me it was the generation. Please don’t tell me it was a rebellion against society and the government. Please don’t tell me I don’t understand. It might have been different if all of what was portrayed was mutual and done with honesty between both parties…but to me it just stank of the selfishness of some parties on various levels….

If you’re more enlightened than me and you know it, feel free to bask in that knowledge whilst I bask in the knowledge that I didn’t enjoy any of this book…

Call if my own personal rebellion of the “American Classics and Beat Lit”…

Until next time…

Urania xx

Buy it now On the Road by Jack Kerouac

Review: The Little French Guesthouse by Helen Pollard

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Emmy and Nathan take a trip to the French countryside to work on their relationship. But then Nathan gets, um, distracted. And then it all goes in the toilet and Emmy needs to find a better way to spend her holiday. Like maybe hanging out with the cute gardener, Ryan.  Or making friends with the older and wiser French maid. Or going into town and finding herself. 

I loved the food, the friends, the comraderie, the French phrases, the cute accountant Alain, and the eye candy in the garden. This is exemplar chick lit — light and sassy and easy, but with a substantial storyline, fleshed out characters, and sharp dialogue. 

My most favorite thing about this book is the Amazon listing that says it’s the first in a series. Yes! 

*happy dance… awaiting number two*

-calliope

Buy THE LITTLE FRENCH GUESTHOUSE (only 99¢ for kindle!)

Best of My Love by Susan Mallery

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Shelby and Aidan have self-improvement goals, and they’ve decided to form a mutually beneficial friendship with each other to put themselves on a successful path. They don’t anticipate the whole of Fool’s Gold egging on a ROMANTIC relationship between the two. And they certainly don’t foresee Mayor Marsha putting in her two cents. 

I love all the Fool’s Gold heroes – who wouldn’t? They’re perfectly perfect for their ladies, and they’re swoon-worthy to boot. Mallery did something special with Aidan, though. Shelby got to know him as a friend, totally platonically, before ever diving into something more. Whether something romantic worked out for Aidan and Shelby or not, you’ll have to find out by reading the book. Shelby’s a great catch, so there’s definitely some sort of love story — just wait! 

-calliope

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Review: Island in the Sea: A Majorca Love Story by Anita Hughes

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Juliet is a record label executive who gets sent to Majorca to light a fire under Lionel’s songwriting behind. While she’s there she enjoys the seaside, the luxurious food, the shopping, and the sun. Best of all, Juliet meets Gabriella, who turns out to be a good friend, a beautifully talented singer, and the salt of the earth that helps Juliet stay grounded. 

I scoop up Anita Hughes’ novels because of the lush food, extravagant shopping and stunning locales. The Island in the Sea love stories are icing on a cake that’s a feast for the senses. 
-calliope

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Review: Cooking Up Trouble by Judi Lynn

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This book has a terrific premise – city slicker moves in next door to country girl – and the couple has excellent chemistry. I was totally caught up in the fun banter between Ian and Tessa, and I loved loved loved the cooking scenes! Overall, it’s good chick lit with a happily ever after. I enjoyed it. 

However, some technical issues frequently stopped me in my tracks. Commas appeared between words that a computer might recognize as two adjectives, but really they’re not:  

“He put two, double beds on the second floor.”

and

“She gave him the right-size, ice cream scoop.”

It drove this proofreading, copy-editing grammarian NUTS, as it happened on almost every page. 😳

I also had to suspend my disbelief quite a bit to get past the forced circumstances in which Tessa and Ian bump into each other or find themselves alone in each other’s company. Another contrivance I struggled to get past was the open relationship Ian’s fiancé wanted. Based on Ian’s character, I would’ve thought that to be a deal-breaker. Lastly, I thought it was unbelievable for a new male neighbor to just pop over to the female neighbor’s house every single day for dinner. They just met! I am a woman and there’s no way I’d welcome a strange guy into my house for dinner. Maybe it’s different for a Mill Pond rancher than for this born and bred Yankee. 

Because I enjoyed the cooking, chemistry, and setting so much, I’m inclined to pick up book two in the Mill Pond series. I just hope an editor takes a heavier hand. 🙂  

-calliope 

Buy COOKING UP TROUBLE