Author Archives: Sadie

a claim to murder banner

Book Review: A Claim to Murder, by Jean G. Goodhind

I accepted an e-copy of  Jean G. Goodhind‘s A Claim to Murder for review.

A Claim to Murder Book Cover

Life couldn’t be sweeter for Honey Driver, floating around the Med on her own private yacht, with her dishy detective husband Steve.

But dark clouds are gathering on Honey’s perfect horizon. And the forecast looks like murder!

When Honey’s love boat sinks in a freak accident, she has no choice but to return to rain-drenched Bath. But now that Honey needs him, her insurance broker, silver-tongued Norman Glendower, is nowhere to be found.

He’s not at his luxury offices in town and he’s not answering his phone.

Honey could kill Norman for leaving her in this fix. But what if someone got there first?

Behind the gates of leafy Regency Gardens, the exclusive complex where Norman lives, something is terribly amiss. Norman’s mewling cat leads a curious neighbour straight to his dead body!

He’s been bludgeoned and left for dead on the pristine tiles of his designer kitchen. Which of his many enemies was the one to strike the fatal blow?

Honey’s on the case — with a killer watching her every move . . .

my review

I’m going to preface this review with the caveat that I’m not a massive reader of mysteries (cozy, British, or otherwise). This one came across my TBR largely by accident. But I gave it a good go, and I didn’t hate it. That’s faint praise, I know, but the most honest expression of how I feel.

I didn’t hate it. I liked that the characters are older but still active and with internal lives of their own, and honestly, I liked them well enough. But I was bored for a lot of the book. I didn’t feel the loss of a quarter of a million dollar investment was adequately mourned, and very little seemed to actually happen, investigation-wise, until right at the end. And then I thought the narrative treatment of a well-pulled-together, influencer-type woman to be clichéd. It has just a little too much of a whiff of shaming women who are proud of or use their looks for their own (as opposed to the patriarchy’s) gain.

All in all, this was middle of the road for me. But it might be a bigger winner for someone who especially likes cozy, British mysteries.

a claim to murder photo


Other Reviews:

blood sings banner

Book Review: Blood Sings, by Denisa Mih

I was recently lucky enough to win a giveaway on Instagram that included a copy of Denisa Mih‘s Blood Sings.

blood sings cover

An heir…
Destined for a throne soaked in blood, Aurora Tepes must navigate the intrigues of court and the brutality of battle. As heir to the Crown Republic of Transylvania, she is bound by duty to protect her people, wielding her sharp mind and mastery of blood manipulation—
no matter the sacrifice.

A century of war…
Beyond the walls, a conflict meant to be without casualties stains the hills with innocent blood while the powerful turn a blind eye.
But Aurora cannot.
Armed with the magic of her ancestry and revolutionary technology, she joins the Outliers—the oppressed, deemed inferior by the Republic—on the frontline, vowing to bring justice once she claims her crown.

A desire for more…
Dark secrets, deadly creatures, and new alliances test Aurora’s convictions as she confronts the savagery of her nature and an uncertain future that could unravel everything. But when she meets the longest-lived Outlier, a mysterious moon-haired captain whose magic holds world-changing secrets, destiny and duty collide.

my review

This was OK. I enjoyed it well enough. I don’t regret reading it or anything. But I also felt like everything was just skimmed over or surface-level. There were time jumps in places I would expect to see what happened on-page, for example. But mostly it was just kind of the overall tone of the novel. Where I wanted to understand the complex world and multi-species intersections thoroughly, I didn’t. Where I wanted to see a relationship bloom, it just appeared on the page. I liked the characters, but I neither got to know them well nor saw much in line of character growth. And there were a lot of them to keep track of, all of whom eventually got a second set of names, which meant I only had a loose grasp of who was who.

All in all, I’d read book two if it were out. But, honestly, by the time it comes out early next year, I suspect I won’t even remember having read this one.

blood sings cover


Other Reviews

reckless banner

Audio Book Review: Reckless, by A.J. Merlin

I received a free Audible code for A.J. Merlin‘s Reckless through FreeAudibleCodes. And, honestly, I probably owe the author an apology because I received the code when I was doing a ton of diamond paintings. But then I got accepted into graduate school and all of those opportunities evaporated. So, this book has been waiting in the wings for a while. But I’ve started walking now, which means time to listen again.

Maned wolf shifter Alek Sawyer is a pro at landing on her feet. From being dropped into foster care as a child, to tripping over her hopeless romantic tendencies as a teenager, she’s an omega with no need of an alpha or a pack. With a curvy figure and a mean right hook, she’s also not the omega that most alphas expect her to be.

But Hades, Roman, and Wilder aren’t ‘most alphas.’ When Alek is unexpectedly and irrevocably drawn to the exhibitionist panther, the quiet but firm coyote, and the secretive dire wolf, she can’t help but be reminded of the fairy tale romance she’s always wanted. But when things start heating up, she starts to realize her day dreams are drifting to some darker corners than she remembers. Corners with collars and cuffs and a strong dominating presence.

But her new romance isn’t all kinky games and bdsm parties. Her new alphas come with secrets of their own and lead lives that Alek has never considered for herself. At the end of the day, will their sudden and powerful connection be enough to keep them together?

Or will their pasts, or Alek’s own skeletons, force them apart?

my review

This is a great big “Meh” for me. And I cannot tell you how disappointed I am about that. Because the book has all of the elements to be a winner, but it just never quite manages it. It has the ingredients for interesting characters, but they remain shallow cardboard cutouts (the men especially). It has a lead-up for a strong romance, but the characters basically only come together for sex, so even that never appears. It has the structure for an interesting plot, but it never quite develops. The writing is mechanically fine, but never memorable. Same for the narration. Nothing is wrong with it (other than the alphas not sounding particularly alpha-like), but nothing stands out. The book almost says something noteworthy by being such a clear analogy with alpha/omega standing in for men/women in a patriarchal society, and how women are treated. But pulls back before actually saying it, such that it ends up just feeling like a cheap plot device rather than a meaningful comparison. There are so many almosts here. But ultimately that’s all.

reckless photo


Other Reviews:

Reckless by A.J. Merlin – Book review