Category Archives: books/book review

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Book Review: Murder in Highbury, by Vanessa Kelly

A copy of Vanessa Kelly‘s Murder in Highbury showed up in the mail one day from Between the Chapters. I think I must have won it, but I was never quite sure how. LOL

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Less than one year into her marriage to respected magistrate George Knightley, Emma has grown unusually content in her newfound partnership and refreshed sense of independence. The height of summer sees the former Miss Woodhouse gracefully balancing the meticulous management of her elegant family estate and a flurry of social engagements, with few worries apart from her beloved father’s health . . .  

But cheery circumstances change in an instant when Emma and Harriet Martin, now the wife of one of Mr. Knightley’s tenant farmers, discover a hideous shock at the local church. The corpse of Mrs. Augusta Elton, the vicar’s wife, has been discarded on the altar steps—the ornate necklace she often wore stripped from her neck . . .  

As a chilling murder mystery blooms and chaos descends upon the tranquil village of Highbury, the question isn’t simply who committed the crime, but who wasn’t secretly wishing for the unpleasant woman’s demise. When suspicions suddenly fall on a harmless local, Emma—armed with wit, unwavering determination, and extensive social connections—realizes she must discreetly navigate an investigation of her own to protect the innocent and expose the ruthless culprit hiding in plain sight.

my review

Meh. This was okay, but I was bored with a lot of it, especially in the beginning, which I found really repetitive. Things happen, and then the reader sits through the event being relayed several times. Plus, I guessed the murderer quite early. What saved this from being a total flop for me was the interactions between Emma and George. It’s very sweet. And though the book’s romance is closed-door, I found it endearing that the reader is in on the closing of that door. All in all, this isn’t a real winner for me, but it’s not horrid either.


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Reading is My Superpower: Book Review Murder in Highbury

 

 

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Book Review: Freak Show, by Crystal Ash

I purchased a copy of Crystal Ash‘s Freak Show. I think it was during an online author-signing event.
freak show cover

Who knew cages and freaks would set me free?

Growing up in trailer trash hell, the carnival was my only happy memory as a child. I held onto the magic of that memory until I could finally escape. And like Alice down the rabbit hole, I entered a world beyond my wildest dreams. A world with a shiny, colorful exterior, but filled with rot and corruption underneath.

But no matter what these people put me through, I can’t go back to my life before.

The man with the biggest secret is the only one I can trust. He’s dangerous, but he’s safety to me. He’s broken, but he put me back together. I’ll keep his secret. My heart hopes he’ll keep me. But in a hall of mirrors, how do you know what’s real or an illusion?

Every grueling night onstage is building up to a final show: The Wolf Man. Is he real or a hoax? Why do I feel such a pull to find out his truth?

Care to join me on this ride? Step right up.

my review

Meh, this was OK, I guess; not horrid, but it does not stand out either. Mel is sweet but basically a Mary Sue. Conner is noble and kind but also kinda a cliched grump. The villains are hamfisted, as are the side characters, almost all of which are stereotypical bitchy women resource-guarding men in stereotyped ways. Plus, the book wouldn’t pass the Bechdel test. (I’m so tired of female authors who villainize other women and write books that can’t pass the low bar of the Bechdel test.)

Here’s the main problem for me, though: I picked up a paranormal why choose and then was given a single romantic partner and almost no paranormal. There is a werewolf in the first chapter who does not reappear (and only briefly and passively, almost in passing) in the last chapters. Yes, I realize more mates will show up in future books, but I’m not talking about future books. I’m talking about this one. I probably wouldn’t mentioned it if it wasn’t that BOTH elements I picked the book up expecting were absent. This is basically an Insta-love, Wounded Soldier romance, not a why choose paranormal romance.

I didn’t love it, but I’d likely continue the series if I had it on hand. But I don’t, and I’m not invested enough to bother buying the rest of the series, which seems to be broken into 7 200 (or less) page books. I feel like that is more books than need be, judging by this one.
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Book Review: Ragoru, by S.J. Sanders

I received a copy of S.J. SandersRagoru in a Renegade Romance Box. I’ve read the previous book, Red, and the review is here.
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Hundreds of years before Red

Civilization is failing in a steady decline. In a last-ditch effort to save themselves, humanity has turned to trying to understand their world even as they seek to protect themselves from the monsters within it. Which is how Evelyn Willock found herself stationed in the farthest northern reaches of the habitable zone and answering the call to investigate a strange sighting in the mines much farther to the north where all other human settlements had failed.

It is no small task. Few will go outside the habitable zone. Fewer still will venture beyond the northern border where the forests grow thick and are filled with innumerable dangers. Stationed where she is, Evie is the best candidate to take on the job. She is familiar with the dangers of the forests.

But in the woods, something new lurks. Wolfish monsters, larger than men, brutal, and terrifying.

Danger and pleasure meet when the tables are turned and she becomes the hunted, the feast for their inhuman hunger. Within it all, Evie discovers a meeting of hearts with three males from a dying species who would seek to claim her in every way.

Torn between duty and desire, Evie must discover the secrets that haunt the northern lands and decide on the course her future is to take. To stay with the males who have captured her heart would mean leaving all that she knew behind. But beyond that, another worrying was coming to light. If the Ragoru were not the cause of the reported sighting, what was? And was it possible that a new, even more insidious danger lurked beneath the mountains?

my review

This was sweet. It’s not deep. It’s basically an insta-love. There is no significant tension between the species when the characters pair up or even when Evie accepts a triad of mates. So, go in expecting some suspension of disbelief. (Hold on to it for the sex, too, btw. That Evie’s body happily stretches to the point it must is probably the biggest fantasy element of this sci-fi/fantasy novel.) It’s also super predictable.

Having said all of that. I appreciated that Evie stood her own even when the males got pushy, and each of the three Ragoru had recognizably different personalities but were all sweet in their own way. The world is interesting, and the writing is easy to read (though I did notice a few copy-edit mistakes).

This isn’t the first Sanders book I’ve read. I don’t think it will be the last. But as a final, humorous point, the Ragoru are large, 4-eyed, 4-armed, furry, humanoid-canned creaturs. I cannot read the word Ragoru and not hear it in Scooby-Doo’s voice.

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