Hannah G
This gets an extra star just for being a tip-top comfort read. This was so much fun to go through and Diana was a lot of fun to get to know. It's clear from early in the book that she is willing to inconvenience herself for her friend's happiness and that's the crux the whole story gets built on. I loved that facet of it! Great plot device. I was laughing a lot at some of the things in the story and hoping for the best.
This was my first time reading one of Amy Lynn Green's books and I was totally sold on trying anything she writes by the third chapter. I love how scrupulously historically accurate this is, splashing me straight into the 1940s and keeping me there the whole time. Even the dialogue catches the correct flavor of the times and feels delightfully authentic, just as though the book itself was written in that time frame.
Maggie and Catherine are very different heroines and both have distinct character growth arcs. As the whole USO group is pitted against itself for a career prize, they have to sort out just how far they are willing to go to gain that prize.
It was great to have a book that was more focused on the two ladies than on a single aim of romance. One does have a likely suitor and the other an unlikely, but that's kept mostly to the side of the main goal of them growing and maturing as women.
Recommended for all ages and especially for history lovers. Content: war; description of a pinup figure on a plane nose
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free reading copy. A favorable review was not required.
Loved both Zane and Tessa as characters even though both are flawed—but they are aware God is working on parts of their lives and they try to be humble about that, so they feel very real to the reader. We've had them as side characters for the rest of the series and I was definitely ready to get to the bottom of their story.
The suspense story of the book is based on having to protect to President when he comes to town for a visit to a private estate. They have to sort through garden variety threats to figure out which ones are real and which aren't, and the clues for the real one are very subtle indeed. It definitely kept me flipping pages as time ran out before the visit!
A second-chance romance which had me really rooting for both characters. They had parted ways because it would be too long before they were free to marry, but neither had forgotten the other. It was pretty fun watching them pick up right where they left off and feeling their joy as they realized they were both still looking for the right person and that marriage would be so much more possible right now than before. If only they can survive the next few weeks and solve the murder case before they get killed...!
I was really enjoying that plot and then the ending barreled at me like a brick wall...kinda! The pieces were just starting to come together when everything suddenly fell into place, the mystery was solved, and the story wrapped up. I wanted more, especially to see what happened to the remaining siblings in question, and to enjoy a little more growth in the Micah/Melinda romance!
Hoping there is another book planned in this series. I'm really enjoying the beach settings and the nods to Golden Age mystery styles.
Really intense mystery-thriller from Colleen Coble! This is one of my favorites of hers so far, with interesting characters and a family arc for the MC which is worthy of a good contemporary women's fiction as well. I loved the woman-and-her-grandmother relationship in this one and couldn't get enough of it. I also loved how central her baby Noah is to the plot and how he's clearly her number-one priority and comfort.
The romance is step by step and I loved that the guy went to his older married partner for advice on relationship and marriage questions instead of just trying to judge based on his own emotions.
Carly's relationship with her sisters is incredibly complex. They seem to want to be together but they're demanding and self-centered; yet there's clearly a strength below the surface they haven't tapped into. I loved the unpredictability of these relationships and I was glad I didn't predict the outcome correctly.
Overall, a nicely layered story that I couldn't put down and will definitely be rereading.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free reading copy. A favorable review was not required.
Overall it was an engaging story but it felt like too much was packed into such a short book. It seemed that things ended up not being very layered and occurred out of left field, leaving less room for actually feeling the emotions of the story, including the romance. I loved the dog most of all, though!
Heavier on the thrills than on the problem solving, but I rounded up on the rating because the motivations and twists were unique and not just another LIS story. Less formulaic is always nice in little easy reads like this which fall into cookie cutter shapes so easily. This one goes beyond that handily, even if I did have to suspend my belief a bit in the explosive final showdown of the last 50-ish pages. Belle and Jonah are likable and intriguing characters.
3.5 stars
This has been on my tbr for years and has just kept sliding down. When I started it, it was cute, but new-adult genre really isn't my thing. However, the writing was so good and the characters so real that I kept excusing this and excusing that and liking it anyway. Then the last third got so dramatic that I simply couldn't put it down.
Recommended for age 18+ because of a number of scenes scantily dressed
Tried three times to read this one and finally skimmed a little, read the ending, and gave it up.
First of all, we're supposed to believe Polly is a newspaper reporter but hasn't finished school. The narrative is written very choppy, which matches an under schooled person, but also makes her come across as immature and childish. Since papers of the day were written on an 8th grade reading level, it made it very difficult to believe she could ever match the quality expected.
Second, the focus of the plot is “woman in a man's world” which was kinda funny to belabor since she's out west where women had so much more freedom. To drive this point home, the psycho attacker is given a motive of “women should be home before dark” for his crimes.
The drama of the crimes is very repetitious, same sort of shock and awe on each one, which quickly left me skimming.
Then I read the author's note. Wait, what? She convicted a man in the story who was cleared of the crime in real life? Using a real man's name and then admitting he couldn't have done it? Um....that really crosses a line for me. That's just wrong.
Other major changes were made, especially ones that were completely needless. Changing the paper's name “for simplicity” though the story takes place before the name change. Changing a warm chinook that made history into a cold storm to create a cold basement for the heroine to shiver in? Sorry–that's so dumb. Basements in Colorado in March would be cold regardless because of soil temp. You don't change history to create a scene that literally would be the same scenario if history was adhered to. Then, changing the pace of the crimes and using real names for some, but mixing up who died and who didn't. For what point? Giving the guy multiple victims in a single night instead of one every few weeks entirely changes the psychology of the crime.
Ultimately, this was frustrating. This was a real cold case and the ending was completely fabricated into something that couldn't have happened on any level. Just go write fiction. Don't try to tie it to a crime and then undo everything known by changing the most important part: how the crimes stopped, and who was responsible.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free review copy. A favorable review was not required. Review is based on a purchased paperback copy.
3.5 stars
A suspense thriller that has a couple of neighbors doing their best to stay alive after he spots a burglar and arrives in her home in time to stop a paid assassin from taking her out. But the assassin isn't going to give up easily and the retired policeman sticks at her side to protect her. Does it connect back to the kidnapping she can't remember from when she was a child?
Not a lot of clues to follow, so it's more suspense than mystery, but with likable characters and a believable romantic arc (fairly rare in most of these LIS books).
3.5 stars
A pulse pounding thriller...
An astronaut wakes up on the side of the road with amnesia and a gun beside her. It's up to her and her FBI former flame to keep her alive long enough to figure out who attacked her.
I'll admit there were a number of too-convenient/logical stretches in the plot but I had fun reading it and enjoyed the ending so I rounded up instead of down like I normally would.
4.5 stars
Delightful fast-paced story that kept me flipping pages easily. But now I have to wait for the rest of the story? Ugh! I want to know the rest now!
I've always had a bit of a morbid fascination for how easy it once was to shove an inconvenient relative into an insane asylum and basically give them a prison without any trial. This is an epic escape story as Eugenia and her daughter flee along the Oregon trail to the homestead a former servant has located for them.
The romance is understated, which I quite liked, with the thrill of the run being the main driver of the story. It's a well balanced narrative of some of the things encountered along the trail in its later days after the rail route went in, some of which are sad, but most of which are interesting/informative.
Quite the twist at the end with Yvette
A contemporary story with a gentle thread of mystery. Cassie, a single mom, brings her daughter with her back to coastal Oregon when the aunt who raised her has a stroke. There she stumbles smack into secrets her aunt was keeping. In another POV, her former classmate Nora is grappling with finding the half sisters she never knew she had, and preparing for the birth of a third daughter.
I loved the writing style and the emotional connection to the characters. 4-year-old Lark stole my heart right away and Cassie had me soon after. The story wasn't long enough for me...these characters could have easily kept me reading for 500 pages.
I'd love to have a sequel with Nora's story spelled out more. She had so many things going on in her life and I'd have gladly read another 100 pages or so about her. I also really wanted to know Aubrey and Mrs. Collins better and maybe even more people in this small town.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free reading copy. A favorable review was not required. This review is based on a finished paperback copy I purchased.
Ugh, this one suffers from some serious issues. Mostly, a total disconnect with the advertised story (the title, cover(s), and synopsis all failing to portray the story), and a mishmash of historical assumptions that have little basis in actual history. The timeline is all over the place too, with some serious historical errors.
–Trail of Tears was claimed to have affected Cherokee removed from Pennsylvania...um, yeah, Cherokee weren't native to PA. It was also claimed to have been “recent” in 1900 (it happened primarily in the 1830s) and a family was mentioned to have stopped along the way to Oklahoma for a while and been hidden from removal (Arkansas population wasn't removed as their land was part of a separate treaty, but many headed to OK later on as the free land was offered and the tribal headquarters was founded in Tahlequah.). A large crux of the side story concerns a character who tried to prevent Pennsylvania Cherokee from being sent to Oklahoma. Again, no Cherokee there (until present day), and no Pennsylvania tribes were sent to Oklahoma.
–women's corsets took a beating: Ugh, when will this trope die??? A lady either wore some form of underwear or she was a heathen, either stays or a corset, until women burned their bras in the 1960s. And you can't just go borrowing them from a friend at the drop of a hat, as all women had to be custom fitted at a corsetier since they were all of different shapes. Tight lacing wasn't practiced by most women and if she hadn't worn one, she couldn't have borrowed dresses from other women who did, either, as her chest would have been flat as a fritter after a life of working with no support.
–the romance was nonexistent...not generally a problem for me, but when I got told this was a book about falling in love, I kinda expected to see more than 3-4 pages of it, and fancy that, all she had to do to make him love her was wear dresses for a few weeks and keep house for him...ugh.
–the woman who ran for her life on a priceless horse...but somehow she wasn't hugely rich in her home back east? Comfortable but not wealthy? And then she just flees through the night for weeks on end with no money or food and miraculously survives?
–name dropping: time changed from 1900-1901 at some point during a story that took place during a single season and then some random dude name drops having spent time on tour with Roosevelt while he was president (but Teddy took office in 1901 so why did the guy leave his cushy Washington job if so?)...this is a good way to really pull me out of a story from sheer unlikelihood.
–Farmers without weather: this is smaller, but it really made me laugh because as an Arkansan, weather is everything. Hot and cold, rainy or dry. If it's not frequently rainy, it's drought season and everyone's worried about herd forage. Seriously couldn't muster up one rainy day in the entire book? Haha.
–Unfinished business: it just...ended? Like that? I still have so many questions. I suspect the author has no answer to them.
Probably won't ever try a historical by this author team again. Maybe will try the suspense I own but I'm not in a hurry to do so.
Such a fun romp of a story...errrr....well, not so much for the hero and heroine, but definitely for me as a reader! There's a strong thread of suspense in this one as Samantha constantly faces dangerous accidents which begin to look less and less accidental as each of them becomes more noticeably focused on her. Then there's Asher, who is so busy trying to help his stepmother make ends meet that he ends up trespassing and also toys with overstaying his vacation, risking his job as a cowboy in another town.
I loved both characters, though we spend more time with Samantha as she works through a lot of family history and tries to figure out why someone's after her.
As usual with Karen Witemeyer books, I'm right there for the scenery and the authentic historic portrayals and the sparkling, jump-off-the-page characters. I loved the level of suspense in this one and the bad guy had me guessing. A secret from her family's past had my jaw dropping too!
Witemeyer is one author I'd gladly read a 1,000 page novel from and now I'm pouting because I'm caught up on her books again.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free reading copy. A favorable review was not required.
4.5 starsAnother unique storyline, with someone carrying out an elaborate heist against an international criminal and framing someone else for the crime—a quiet hometown girl who would never dream of such a thing. The international criminal kidnaps the teen sister of an ex-detective and shows him the evidence, telling him he must get the necklace back or his sister dies. What follows is a tense story with Tabby in the crosshairs through no fault of her own, but the frame job was a good one and the good guy isn't the only person after her for the priceless necklace.Can the good guy save the fair lady and his sister, or neither?Note: has Chelsea and Dylan from [b:Legacy Reclaimed 48611369 Legacy Reclaimed (The Legacy #3) Robin Patchen https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1572258204l/48611369.SY75.jpg 73947641] as side characters
Freebie I grabbed because it looked like it was all about adoption, which is a subject I enjoy. However, it's instead an introspective present-tense narration of Molly at two different ages, self-centered and snotty Molly, and I'm simply not interested in wading through an entire book of being in her head while she wallows around and tries to figure out what life is about.
4.5 stars
A spooky mystery with a strong dash of Gothic flavor to it, with an old inn full of secrets, complete with walled off rooms and skeletons in closets. Eek! Definitely one you want to read with the lights on. I also really liked the MCs and didn't see the baddie coming until about 50 pages beforehand. Definitely a keeper.
4.5 stars
An unusual premise for a mystery. A woman who was previously accused of murdering her boyfriend's little sister hears that similar kidnappings have been taking place again and decides to risk everything to come back and do anything she can to find out where the newest victim has been taken, and hopefully catch the guy who did it.
There are a few spots where her ability to disappear in the past and yet to hear news of the town in the present seem to stretch the believability factor a bit too far, but I rounded up to 5 stars anyway because the story was so unique and kept me guessing.
That perp is one slick, sick dude for sure! A lot of stuff that didn't make sense was all clear at the end when the bad guy is revealed.
2.5 stars
I had trouble getting into the story and keeping straight the plethora of characters. It felt like I was constantly being distracted from one thing to see what another character was doing “Here, look over here” style, and that made it hard to stay focused. Also, the length is too short for the scope of the crime, which resulted in too much telling and not the amount of showing I prefer; so the tale stayed a bit distant and formulaic.
I loved the big twist near the end and would have liked a little more time to see that relationship developed rather than just “they are working through it” and dismissed out of hand.
I'll still read the next in the series to see if it's a little better balanced in terms of pacing and number of characters.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free reading copy. A favorable review was not required. This review is based off a finished paperback copy I own.
Um...wow. That was intense. Serious “Mission-Impossible” style chase around the globe, when a tame businessman who actually works for the CIA finds out his serious girlfriend's in the hands of an international terrorist. She has no clue about his secret work, but he too has no clue about her past. Finding her is just the first step, as she's got a lot links to some seriously shady people. And how does her identical twin sister fit into the big picture of things? Is she friend or foe?
There were a bunch of situations I had no clue how they'd get out of. I couldn't put it down and really can't wait for the next story in the series.