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Book Review of A Duty To The Dead (Bess Crawford #1), by Charles Todd

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Duty to the DeadI borrowed an audio edition of Charles Todd‘s A Duty to the Dead from my local library.

Description from Goodreads:
The daughter of a distinguished soldier‚ Bess Crawford follows in his footsteps and signs up to go overseas as a nurse during the Great War‚ helping to deal with the many wounded. There‚ serving on a hospital ship‚ she makes a promise to a dying young lieutenant to take a message to his brother‚ Jonathan Graham: “Tell Jonathan that I lied. I did it for Mother′s sake. But it has to be set right.” Later‚ when her ship is sunk by a mine and she′s sidelined by a broken arm‚ Bess returns home to England‚ determined to fulfill her promise.

It′s not so easy‚ however. She travels to the village in Kent where the Grahams live and passes on to Jonathan his brother′s plea. Oddly‚ neither Jonathan‚ his mother‚ nor his younger brother admit to knowing what the message means. Then Bess learns that there′s another brother‚ incarcerated in a lunatic asylum since the age of 14 when he was accused of brutally murdering a housemaid.

Bess rightly guesses that the dying soldier′s last words had something to do with the fourth brother. Because the family seems unwilling to do anything‚ she decides that she will investigate. It′s her own duty to the dead.

Review:
I found this entertaining enough. Bess was a clever, good hearted soul who was willing to stick her nose in all the places it doesn’t belong and I enjoyed her. I found the writing clear and readable and the plot engaging. I especially appreciated that despite opportunity and a female lead it never became a romance.

The murder was rather easy to figure out, but it kept me interested until the end to see if I was right. I did feel a little slighted at the end.  It’s a bit of a reveal and run. None of the people who deserve it get their true comeuppance (at least not on page) and the reader never even sees them even be confronted. But all in all, I was pleased.

**As an additional plus, I notice there is a Goodreads giveaway running for a copy of the book (at the time of posting).**

 

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Book Review of Fever (Blood Moon Rising #1), by Lola Taylor

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FeverFever: Blood Moon Rising, by Lola Taylor, is a perma-freebie on Amazon. That’s where I picked my copy up. I read it as the 6th book in my Blood Mood Reading Challenge.

Description from Goodreads:
When the Blood Moon rises, the wolves come out to play… and find their mates. 

Danica has about given up on love. In a last-ditch attempt at finding “the one,” she agrees to a blind date through an online dating service. But instead of finding roses and romance, she finds someone intent on killing her. That is, until the mysterious, brooding Gage shows up to save her…. 

Gage is running out of time to find a mate. If the Blood Moon sets before he can find her, he’ll lose the rank of packmaster – and the peace within the pack – he’s worked so hard to obtain. When he saves a luscious blonde in the parking lot, he has no idea she is his mate – until he Marks her with his touch. 

Determined to keep her safe at any cost, Gage whisks Danica away into a hidden world full of lust, unlikely love, and treachery. Someone’s put a hit on his mate, and he’s hell-bent on finding out who, all while the Blood Moon looms closer, threatening to destroy his chances at true love forever. That is, if something – or someone – doesn’t kill the woman he’s falling for first.

Review:
*Sigh* It wasn’t Baaad. It just wasn’t very good either. Nothing and no-one had any depth or development. It was schmaltzy to the nth degree. The same gimmick (like her refusal to believe she wasn’t dreaming or the interrupted sex) was played over and over. Dangers popped up and disappeared without any true tension. In fact, nothing in the whole book had any kind of edge to it. Gage was the most beta alpha I’ve ever read (he did not inspire confidence) and Danica was just annoying and useless. This is basically just a collection of various werewolf tropes strung together with nothing to bolster it up or tie it together. I did like the brother Nik and some of the dialogue is funny, but all in all, not a real winner for me.

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Book Review of Surrender (Blood Moon #1), by Evie Ryan

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SurrenderI picked up a copy of Surrender: Blood Moon, by Evie Ryan, at Amazon. It was free at the time and I believe is a perma-freebie. I read it as part of my Blood Moon Reading Challenge.

Description from Goodreads:
Daphne Storm knows how to save lives. 

As a dedicated E.R. nurse at Wyoming Mercy Medical, there isn’t much Daphne hasn’t seen: sickness, broken bones, and hunting accidents. But when a little boy is admitted one dark night after barely surviving a vicious animal attack, Daphne’s world is suddenly turned upside down. Whatever did this to him is a monster – a vicious creature threatening not just her town but the very fabric of morality, humanity itself…it is evil. 

And as Daphne holds the hand of the boy she and the doctors couldn’t save, she sees a brief mental image of black fur and white fangs. Little does she know, she is playing right into the hands of fate — even more so when she finds herself irresistibly drawn to a man with raven-black hair, one of the strange, rough men who have invited themselves to her town. 

The blood moon prophecy unfolds. 

The power of the blood moon will turn Damon’s people mad, as the prophecy foretells. During its rise and fall his men must fight the urge to shift, the desire to turn wolf, the need to kill, but when one of the men goes crazy, escapes, and terrorizes Timber Springs, Damon must stop him at all costs. 

But the rogue wolf isn’t after the people of Timber Springs. He only wants Daphne. He must be stopped, but no one knows how…

Review:
This is the second book in two days that I wouldn’t have finished if I hadn’t been reading it for a challenge. It was not good.

There was no character development. The whole Blood Moon things was poorly explained. I felt no chemistry between the characters. The heroine was a May Sue that all the men seemed to want. And OMFG the TSTL stunts she pulled darned near drove me to distraction! The editing was a mess. The sex scenes went on forever and weren’t very good.

Every once in a while a phrase would turn just right and dazzle me, but they were few and far between. All-in-all, I have little praise for the book.