Category: book review

The Rogue is Back in Town Book Review

The Rogue is Back in Town Book Review

In Book 3 of The Wayward Wallflower series, The Rogue is Back in Town, Lord Samuel Travis is back and let the games begin!

The Rogue is Back in Town Book Review

About The Rogue is Back in Town

Equal parts scoundrel and seducer, he’s returned to London determined to mend the rift with his older brother. All Sam must do is take possession of a tumbledown town house. A seemingly simple task, except the house is occupied―by an infuriating, whip-smart beauty who refuses to do his bidding.

Miss Juliette Lacey’s wallflower days are over. She has a plan to turn her eccentric family into the toast of the ton―but the devilishly handsome rake trying to oust them from their home thwarts her at every turn. How can one man be so vexing and make her simmer with desire?

As her attraction to Sam deepens, Julie’s problems grow―she may have, once upon a time, secretly shared a kiss with his honorable older brother. Suddenly, Julie’s caught between a rogue and a marquess, between passion and respectability. Torn between two brothers, what’s a girl to do?

My Thoughts

I have truly enjoyed the Wayward Wallflower series, these ladies are not your damsel in distress nor are they your typical proper London young lady. They are brave, bold, unique and not afraid to speak their minds. They know what they want and are determined in their convictions. They are also fully supported by their family and close friends in these convictions which is what makes them an outsider by society standards but amazing in any one else’s eyes.

In this story we have Juliette as our main character. She runs the home of her eccentric Uncle who took her and her sisters in when they were left alone in the world. While she is definitely young by any standards, she has given up on the thoughts of marriage especially after having her heart-broken by a man whom she thought was quite honourable.

Enter in Sam, who has one huge reputation with some of it earned and some of it not. His brother has given him one last task to redeem himself – evict the residents of a town home he has inherited. This home is Juliette’s Uncles, which they believe was gifted to them on their marriage. What he fails to tell Sam, is that he has an infatuation with Juliette and kissed her the season before and left no promises.

As the plot develops, we see a new side of Sam and realize that things are not always as they seem. Those who seem honourable are actually out for blood and are hiding dark secrets. They would do anything to ruin anyone that steps in their way. Juliette begins a race against time to find the deed to the town house and prevent her Uncle’s and her own life from crumbling apart. Sam has a huge decision to make – side with family or discover and honour the truth.

This was a well written and developed romance novel – the plot was very unique and fit the characters perfectly. This is one suspenseful romance you wont want to miss!

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Anna Bennett started swiping romances from her mom’s bookshelf as a teenager and decided that books with balls, dukes, and gowns were the best. So, when she had the chance to spend a semester in London she packed her bags―and promptly fell in love with the city, its history, and its pubs. She dreamed of writing romance,but somehow ended up a software analyst instead.

Fortunately, a few years and a few careers later, Anna found her way back to writing the stories she loves and won the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart®. She lives in Maryland with her husband and three children,who try valiantly not to roll their eyes whenever she quotes Jane Austen. She is the author of My Brown-Eyed Earl.

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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Twofer Murder Book Review

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Twofer murder? What’s a twofer murder?

Twofer Murder

About Twofer Murder

Twofer Murder is a treat for fans of best-selling author Lauren Carr’s fast-paced mysteries! Lauren’s latest novel contains the main characters from her three successful series: Mac Faraday, Lovers in Crime, and Thorny Rose mysteries. The guys go away for a fishing weekend only to get caught up in the murder of a journalist investigating fraud at a timber company. Meanwhile, the ladies are spending the weekend in the presidential suite at a posh resort where Jessica Faraday is to accept a lifetime achievement award for her late grandmother at a murder mystery writers conference. But before they have time to get their facials, they get wrapped up in their own real mystery when an up and coming author ends up dead!

Lauren Carr’s Twofer Murder is a 2-for-1—making it a must-read for any mystery fan!

My Thoughts

Lauren Carr is by far one of my favourite authors to read. Her books are always fantastic with a great plot, full of suspense and completely different than anything I have read before. This book is all that plus more with a double murder and mystery! You get two for one in this novel and it is worth every moment.

In this novel, our favourite characters are all back but this time they are on a girls and guys trip away from home. The boys have gone on a fishing adventure (which in itself is quite hilarious as several of them are not your typical outdoorsmen and get up to quite a bit of trouble just fishing!) and find themselves caught up in a murder, fraud and an old fling. I personally liked their murder mystery the most in this novel. It has so many different layers that I never really saw the ending coming, which is my favourite part of the way that Lauren writes. Their murder mystery involves fraud in a timber company that has seen thousands of dollars being stolen from residents along with an affair that could destroy several people.

The girls have gone to a super posh hotel for a very exclusive writers conference where Jessica is set to accept a lifetime achievement on behalf of her late grandmother. When they arrive, they are greeted not very kindly by the man who was accused of murder and who was humiliated on television by her late grandmother. He is out for revenge! While there an up and coming author (whose story is very similar to the murder that he was accused for), turns up dead.

This was an amazing story that was rapidly evolving. I could not put this one down, I had to know what was going to happen and I was reading long into the night! This is a definite must read.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Lauren Carr is the international best-selling author of the Mac Faraday, Lovers in Crime, and Thorny Rose Mysteries—over twenty titles across three fast-paced mystery series filled with twists and turns!

Book reviewers and readers alike rave about how Lauren Carr’s seamlessly crosses genres to include mystery, suspense, romance, and humor.

Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. She lives with her husband, and three dogs on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV.

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The Giveaway!

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Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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Colorless Audiobook Review

Colorless Audiobook Review

In Domengrad, there are rules all must live by: Fear the Gods. Worship the Magicians. Forsake the Iconoclasts.

Colorless Audiobook Review

About Colorless

To Annabelle Klein, the rules laid down by the Magicians are the mere ramblings of stuffy old men. As far as she’s concerned, the historic Iconoclasts, heretics who nearly destroyed the Magicians so long ago, are nothing but myth. She has much more important matters to worry about.

Heiress to a manor mortgaged down to its candlesticks and betrothed to her loathsome cousin, sixteen-year-old Annabelle doubts the gods could forsake her more.

Then Annabelle is informed of her parents’ sudden and simultaneous deaths, and all of the pigment drips out of her skin and hair, leaving her colourless. Within moments, Annabelle is invisible and forgotten by all who know her.

Living like a wraith in her own home, Annabelle discovers that to regain her color she must solve the mystery behind her parents’ murders and her strange transformation.

Meanwhile, hundreds of the Magicians’ monks, with their all-black eyes and conjoined minds, have usurped control of Annabelle’s family manor. An Iconoclast is rumored to be about—a person who they claim goes unseen, unheard, and lost to memory, yet is the greatest threat to all of Domengrad. For the first time in a hundred years, the monks plan to unleash the dire wolves of old.

Their only target: Annabelle.

My Thoughts

In this novel we are transported to a fantasy world of magic, religion and myths. The audiobook opens with a little bit of background information and the death of our main character, Annabelle’s parents. Their death marks a huge turning point in her young life, a parent passing away is awful enough for a young child but in her case it becomes even worse. Annabelle begins to lose all of her colour – it literally drips off of her. To top it off anything she touches loses its own colour – her furniture, paintings – everything she holds dear. Slowly everyone forgets her and it is almost like she has never existed. What I found amazing was that animals could still recognize her presence and a few special people who want to help her.

The monks in this story are maddening and creepy. They make you feel angry and wish they would just leave Annabelle alone. She is fighting for her life against the monks and you want to be able to defend her every step of the way. You are constantly on the edge of your seat the whole book waiting to see what happens next for her.

I listened to the audiobook of this novel and I really enjoyed the narration of the characters. It was easy to identify by voice alone who was speaking and the narration really helped to bring the characters alive. The monks voices especially! They leave you with this yucky feeling and that you want to lash out at them on Annabelle’s behalf.

This was a fantastic audiobook although the beginning left me a bit confused as I tried to follow the history, I would have loved to have known a bit more about the history and religious beliefs in the beginning but it doesn’t affect your understanding of the novel throughout.

You can purchase a copy of this audiobook on Audible and Amazon.

Rating: 4/5

About the Author

Rita Stradling is the author of Ensnared, Making Bad Choices, The Deception Dance series, the Dakota Kekoa series and The Fourteen Day Soul Detox Novella Serial. She has a BA in Art History and a particular love for modern and medieval art.

Rita lives with her husband and son in Northern California.

She has an insatiable novel addiction and mostly reads young adult and adult: romance, paranormal, urban fantasy and high fantasy.

About the Narrator

Lauri Jo Daniels has had her nose in a book since before she started kindergarten and has been reading stories out loud to anyone who would listen ever since. Her mom has always said that from the moment she was born she has never shut her mouth, so it just makes sense that she would make a living with her voice.

It was this love of reading that inspired her to major in English Lit and later to become a Young Adult Librarian and it was this career that introduced her to the wonder of audiobooks. She began dreaming of narrating them one day herself. Today that dream has become reality.

​Lauri Jo has a very versatile sound and a knack for character voices, both skills that truly bring a story to life. Those skills and her passion for storytelling have made her dream a reality.

When she’s not busy trying to organize the chaos of 2 teenagers and 6 animals at home, Lauri is producing material from The Huffington Post, Slate, and Playboy for SpokenLayer’s news podcast, SpokenEdition, voicing Alexa flash briefings for Biden’s Briefing, and narrating news and short stories for Medium Members while working on her next audiobook masterpiece.

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The Giveaway!

Colorless Giveaway: $20 Amazon Gift Card or Colorless Swag

Disclosure: I received a copy of this audiobook in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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A Wedding At Two Love Lane Book Review

A Wedding At Two Love Lane Book Review

In A Wedding At Two Love Lane, never say never to love!

A Wedding At Two Love Lane Book Review

About A Wedding At Two Love Lane

Greer Jones has made a real name for herself at the elegant matchmaking agency Two Love Lane. For a lot of reasons―including a past engagement she broke off―practical tech expert Greer is more interested in the business of love than the experience of it, but she can’t help but covet a gorgeous wedding gown that’s the prize in an upcoming cocktail-party contest. In a moment of brazen inspiration, Greer asks a handsome Brit she’s only just met to accompany her to the party. He agrees―and Greer believes her date is a starving artist. Little does she know the truth.

Ford Smith, as he calls himself, is actually Stanford Elliott Wentworth Smythe, the Eighth Baron of Wickshire. Fresh off a breakup with a money-grubbing siren who deceived him all the way to the altar, Ford has no desire to fall in love―especially with Greer who, like the desired wedding gown, is beautiful but only skin-deep. But soon Ford realizes that there’s more to Greer than meets the eye. Her professionalism is matched only by her passion for life and love. . .and, best of all, she has no idea that he’s to the manor born. Could it be that true love is priceless after all?

My Thoughts

This novel was by far my most favourite in this series. You have Southern drama, a British baron, the most amazing wedding dress and a whole lot of schemes!

You can’t help but love Greer – she is a woman who knows her mind and is not ashamed of it at all. She has been planning the wedding of her dreams her whole life, regardless of the fact that she had no groom. She receives flack for this but she still continues on. In the beginning of the novel, we find that she had refused a marriage proposal from her long time boyfriend, which personally I find amazing. She knew in her heart marriage to him was not right and instead of going along with the flow, she trusted her heart and ended the relationship (this is important to the plot later on!). Greer does not quite fit in with the other Southern belles and I love her character for her uniqueness, her loyalty to her friends and her desire to find true love.

She meets Ford, a handsome artist with a background that he is not quite willing to reveal. He allows everyone to believe that he is a starving artist and a very talented artist. From the moment he meets Greer he is drawn to her. He originally wants to just paint her but realizes (very slowly I might add) that there is something special about her.

Their feelings and beginnings of a relationship play out in the background of a crazy contest to win the wedding dress of Greer’s dreams. The pair come together in a staged engagement in order for Greer to win the dress but instead of winning the dress, they learn many valuable lessons along the way including forgiveness, healing and hope for the future.

This was an amazing novel from start to finish that had me laughing, shaking my head and keeping my fingers crossed for the best!

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

USA Today bestselling author Kieran Kramer is a former journalist and English teacher who lives in the Lowcountry of South Carolina with her family. She’s a game show veteran, karaoke enthusiast, and general adventurer.

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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Veronica and the Volcano: STEM for Girls Book Giveaway

Veronica and the Volcano

Girls + Science = WIN! Veronica and the Volcano  combines earth science with incredible action!

Veronica and the Volcano

About Veronica and the Volcano

Veronica and the Volcano by Geoffrey Cook is an exciting adventure story for grades 3 – 5 about a brave, curious young girl named Veronica, who lives on the side of a volcano. Eruptions are a part of life, as she watches from the protective shields of her home or from her family’s well-equipped Lava Car.

When Veronica leaves on a quest to find rare white volcano pearls on the far side of Mount Mystery, she leads her father, her best friend Maddy, and her friend’s dad, the blustering Captain John, into a series of incredible adventures. But when the colossal volcano erupts, fears wins an election, and Veronica must square off against a fear-mongering villain: the Man-in-White.

Cook’s story blends science with science fiction, straddling the world of the believable and fantastical and combining the latest earth science with incredible action. While writing, Cook extensively researched volcanoes, even visiting one. The most important volcanoes in the book are all based on real-world volcanoes like Krakatoa, Crater Lake, Mt. Pelee, and Tambora.

In Veronica and the Volcano kids will root for Veronica every step of the way, and while they are cheering her on, they’ll learn as well. Complementing STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) curriculum, the book is filled with educational elements about volcanoes, geysers, caves, and the wonders of physics. A glossary in the back provides an at-a-glance list of the facts in the book.

Artist Gabrielle Shamsey lavishly illustrated the book with many dozens of wonder-filled and vivid images of volcanoes, caves, eruptions, and more.

My Thoughts

Veronica and the Volcano was an exciting adventure from start to finish.

The novel takes place in a very interesting world built upon volcanoes, where lava eruptions are a normal part of life and so are special homes designed to withstand the heat and special cars that can even drive in lava (for limited amount of time!). It is in this setting that we have our main character Veronica who is off on a quest to find pearls from Mount Mystery. She has a special connection through her Grandmother to pearls and wants to find some for her Mother. Veronica is a very special young woman, she is fully of curiosity, kindness and brave.

She decides to embark on this journey with her best friend but they are not allowed to go without their Fathers (who also happen to have very differing beliefs about their historical past and technology in general). This is when the excitement really begins! They face many obstacles and near death experiences but it is through their wit and amazing technology that they escape.

Near the middle to end of the book, death is mentioned as well as a prophet like figure who demands the sacrifice of all of the first-born daughters of the town. I did not find it frightening and also liked how Veronica thought outside of the box to come up with a solution to oust the lies of the prophet and save the young girls.

Veronica and the Volcano is a well written novel with excellent illustrations included. Young girls and boys alike will love the excitement and unique plot of this novel as it takes you on an amazing adventure unlike one they have ever heard of before.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Geoffrey is a serial entrepreneur and public company CEO. He is the CEO and co-founder of The Meet Group (NASDAQ: MEET) and previously founded EssayEdge and ResumeEdge from a Harvard dorm. He runs 5 mobile apps with 10 million monthly users, so he is always thinking of new ways to use technology to engage a global audience.

Geoffrey started telling Veronica and the Volcano stories to pass the time with his daughter Madeline on the twenty-five-minute drive to school every morning. She enjoyed his stories, and so he wrote them down.

Veronica and the Volcano is available on Amazon and at selected independent bookstores. Find out more at geoffreycook.com and connect with the author on: Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

The Giveaway!

My US and Canadian readers, 18 years of age and older can now enter to win one copy of Veronica and the Volcano via the Rafflecopter form below – good luck!

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Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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