Suspense

Review: Always on My Mind by Jill Shalvis

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20131021-222044.jpg Jill Shalvis’ Lucky Harbor line of romance novels win my heart every time, and Always on My Mind doesn’t disappoint. As a matter of fact, Shalvis threw in some crime/suspense as a bonus, and I loved it!

Leah and Jack have had a thing for each other FOR-EVER. Due to guilt and work issues and being too chicken to “risk their friendship,” they’re not honest with each other about their true feelings. Enter the “let’s pretend” concept that eventually morphs into a very real happily ever after.

I liked Shalvis’ authentic “guy” scenes where the firefighters are busting chops and being competitive — but always having each others’ backs when needed. The scenes with female friends having girl talk didn’t seem as natural, but were still fun to read.

Jack is of course the hero in this novel, but before he can save Leah from herself, they both have to figure out who is committing some local crimes. Jack and Leah have the help of some local amateur sleuths, and I was entertained by their capers.

Shalvis gives us enjoyable subplots – a grandmother and a middle-aged mom each embark on budding romances, a bakery and other small-town businesses evolve, and Jack and Leah’s friends are set up for what I hope will be the next installment of a Lucky Harbor love story.

Always light and fun, Lucky Harbor romances include likable characters and loyal friendships. Four big shiny stars for Always on My Mind!

–Calliope

Buy it now Always on My Mind

Pre-order the next Lucky Harbor book, coming in February Once in a Lifetime
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Review: Being Me, by Lisa Renee Jones

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I had IF I Were You for a few months, but never read it. I thought it was gonna be like 50 Shades, so I wasn’t in a rush. Then I received an ARC of Being Me. So I figured I Had to give it a shot. And boy was I surprised!! I really had no idea what the story was about. I don’t like reading book reviews or descriptions, cuz they tell me too much. So I was totally and completely shocked!!

The first book I was trying to figure out what was gonna happen. I had to give up. I had no idea what was going on. Just when I thought I knew, I was slapped in the face. The sexual tension between the characters was awesome.

And to top it off, THERE WAS A CLIFFHANGER!!!! I screamed at the end. If I didn’t have the next one to read, I think I would’ve just died right there.

The second book was WAY more intense than the first. It had everything I love in it, sex, emotion, love, and a great deal of angst. Perfect!

Sara is still obsessed with Rebecca’s journals and starts to learn things about herself, just from reading them. You see a bit of her past and why she’s the way she is.

Her relationship with Chris, the super sexy artist, is smokin’ HOT. The scenes are so filled with sauce, I was feeling the emotion. The ways he takes her……*fans face* You see a little bit more of what makes Chris tick. But he is so complex we’ve only scratched the surface.

Her boss, is still sexy, but she thinks he knows more about Rebecca than he lets on. He also tries to help her in ways that muddle up her perception of him.

The twists and turns this book makes, was so wild I could barely keep up. The last 25% of the book was so shocking all the way around. I never saw it coming. But in the end it starts to make sense.

I can’t wait to read the last installment. I just have to know how they all continue on with their super screwed up lives. 🙂

After I read this, the author released Rebecca’s journals, which are in ebook form only. They take place between book 1 and 2. I highly recommend reading them also. It adds way more to the story.

~Melpomene

Buy now If I Were You (Inside Out Trilogy)

Buy now Being Me (Inside Out Trilogy)

Buy now Rebecca’s Lost Journals, Volume 1: The Seduction

Buy now Rebecca’s Lost Journals, Volume 2: The Contract

Buy now Rebecca’s Lost Journals, Volume 3: His Submissive

Buy now Rebecca’s Lost Journals, Volume 4: My Master

Review: Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight; Narrated by Khristine Hvam

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15776309 I saw this book on a list of books to read before they make it into the theater. I was curious and when I saw it was narrated by my favorite narrator – Khristine Hvam -I checked it out of the library right away.

Kate Baron gets a call from her daughter, Amelia’s, private school explaining that she’s been suspended. By the time she arrives there her daughter is dead, has committed suicide by jumping off of the roof of the building. Kate is devastated and cannot believe that her well behaved and high achieving daughter would ever do such a thing. When she receives an anonymous text message Kate begins the arduous process of attempting to reconstruct Amelia and exactly who her daughter was.

What she discovers during this process is both overwhelming and surprising. During her journey to find the truth of her daughter we get to relive the last 6 weeks of Amelia’s life. We get to see how bullies, love and jealousy all played a large part in the reconstruction of Amelia.

This is told from multiple points of view and multiple points in time as well as in different ways – blog postings, text messages, emails and traditional first person POV as well. Personally, I really enjoy when books use these different ways to tell a story as long as they use them right, and McCreight definitely did. I think that this is also where narration can come in and make a book even better than when simply read.

What I found so great about this book were the many layers of story that it holds. Kate is dealing with being a single, working mother and after Amelia’s death she tries to cope with intense regret and guilt over feeling as if she wasn’t around enough. Amelia is struggling to come of age and to find who she is – whether that is with a new group of friends or a friend who makes her feel badly about herself yet has always been there.

On top of those main storylines are secrets. Everywhere. It’s difficult to know which secret had the potential to bring about the answers that Kate is desperate for. The characters in this book aren’t super likeable but that didn’t bother me – it was very well written, especially for a debut novel.

I’d highly recommend this book – 4 stars for the book and 5 stars for the narration.

~Clio