Tag Archives: Harper Audio

sapphire flames emarald blaze titles

Book Reviews: Sapphire Flames AND Emerald Blaze, by Ilona Andrews

I borrowed audio versions of Sapphire Flames and Emerald Blaze through Hoopla. While these are books 4 and 5 of the Hidden Legacy series, they are also books one and two of the Catalina Baylor Trilogy.

I’m just going to write the one review for the two of these, since I listened to them back to back and they come to a satisfying stopping point.

Catalina Baylor books

catalina baylor blurbs

Oh boy, I’ve taken my time with this series. I read the first book in 2015, second one in 2017, third in 2018, the novella that comes between the third and fourth book in 2019, and now the fourth and fifth in 2021. Who knows when I’ll make it back for the sixth. Not until next year, at least, since that’s when it’s scheduled for release.

If you want to read the actual reviews, you can find them here:

Burn For Me / White Hot / Wildfire/ Diamond Fire

Luckily this was largely doable since the series changes focus and picks up with the second Baylor sister, Catalina, instead of the older Nevada (books 1-3). So, I mostly only needed to remember the events of Diamond Fire and could be hazy on the previous three books. Honestly, I think you could follow them well enough even if you hadn’t read any of the previous books, though you’d sense you were missing history.

I like Catalina a lot. I was so-so on Alessandro. I don’t feel like he was particularly well defined outside of Catalina’s longing for him and I found his arrogance annoying (even when it was clearly an act). However, as always, the writing is fabulous and I love the world Andrews has created here. I’ll be back for more.


ruby fever bannerSince Ruby Fever is book six in the Hidden Legacy series and/or third in the Catalina Baylor Trilogy, and I don’t anticipate writing a long review of it, I’ve just decided to bring it back here and add it to the post for the previous two books. (Even if it wasn’t technically even published when the original blog post went up.)

ruby fever coverAbout the Book:

An escaped spider, the unexpected arrival of an Imperial Russian Prince, the senseless assassination of a powerful figure, a shocking attack on the supposedly invincible Warden of Texas, Catalina’s boss… And it’s only Monday.

Within hours, the fate of Houston—not to mention the House of Baylor—now rests on Catalina, who will have to harness her powers as never before. But even with her fellow Prime and fiancé Alessandro Sagredo by her side, she may not be able to expose who’s responsible before all hell really breaks loose.

My review:

I thought this concluded the series well and I hope that the series picks up with Arabella and The Beast of Cologne, as the teaser suggests. However, I have to admit that I didn’t feel particularly connected to anyone in this book. I think this is just a symptom of it being a third book for the couple and a lot of the connection-making happened in previous books. But still, I was a little disappointed in that aspect of it. All in all, however, I’ll still read anything Ilona Andrews writes and I look forward to more.

Book Review of NOS4A2, by Joe Hill

I borrowed an audio copy of Joe Hill‘s NOS4A2 through the local library.

Description from Goodreads:

Victoria McQueen has a secret gift for finding things: a misplaced bracelet, a missing photograph, answers to unanswerable questions. On her Raleigh Tuff Burner bike, she makes her way to a rickety covered bridge that, within moments, takes her wherever she needs to go, whether it’s across Massachusetts or across the country.

Charles Talent Manx has a way with children. He likes to take them for rides in his 1938 Rolls-Royce Wraith with the NOS4A2 vanity plate. With his old car, he can slip right out of the everyday world, and onto the hidden roads that transport them to an astonishing – and terrifying – playground of amusements he calls “Christmasland.”

Then, one day, Vic goes looking for trouble—and finds Manx. That was a lifetime ago. Now Vic, the only kid to ever escape Manx’s unmitigated evil, is all grown up and desperate to forget. But Charlie Manx never stopped thinking about Victoria McQueen. He’s on the road again and he’s picked up a new passenger: Vic’s own son. 

Review:

I’m surprised that I don’t have more to say on this one. But, having finished it, I’m just kind of like, “OK, I’m done.” I have no strong feelings either direction. I didn’t hate it and I didn’t love it. I was disappointed in the lack of what I would consider a happy ending, though it did mostly wrap up. And I 100% appreciated having a positively represented fat man who was lovable and loved. Lou was absolutely my favorite character. (Though the fact that he lost all his weight in the end compromised the fat representation a little bit. Not completely though. He was fat the whole time he was heroic and wonderful.)

This was my first Joe Hill book and I didn’t remember that he’s Stephen’s King son when I picked the book up. I thought his writing very like his fathers and was a little surprised to find him referencing some of Kings work in the book. It was odd.

The narrator (Kate Mulgrew) did a great job with the exception of the times she stopped for dramatic pauses before finishing sentences. “He walked into the……kitchen.” That seriously got on my nerves. All in all, it was pretty good but didn’t blow my socks off.

Book Review of Fix Her Up (Hot & Hammered, #1), by Tessa Bailey

cover of Fix Her UP

I won a paperback copy of Fix Her Up, by Tessa Bailey. But since it’s audiobooks I’ve been mostly listening to lately, I went ahead and borrowed an audio copy from the library.

Description from Goodreads:

After an injury ends Travis Ford’s major league baseball career, he returns home to start over. He just wants to hammer out his frustrations at his new construction gig and forget all about his glory days. But he can’t even walk through town without someone recapping his greatest hits. Or making a joke about his… bat. And then there’s Georgie, his buddy’s little sister, who is definitely not a kid anymore.

Georgette Castle has crushed on her older brother’s best friend for years. The grumpy, bear of a man working for her family’s house flipping business is a far cry from the charming sports star she used to know. But a moody scowl doesn’t scare her and Georgie’s determined to show Travis he’s more than a pretty face and a batting average, even if it means putting her feelings aside to be “just friends.”

Travis wants to brood in peace. But the girl he used to tease is now a funny, full-of-life woman who makes him feel whole again. And he wants her. So damn bad. Except Georgie’s off limits and he knows he can’t give her what she deserves. But she’s becoming the air he breathes and Travis can’t stay away, no matter how hard he tries…

Review:

I fully admit that contemporary romance is not a favored genre for me. I much prefer to have some sci-fi or fantasy mixed in there. But I won this book and wanted to read and review it. And it wasn’t bad for what it is. There were several times in the book I groaned and rolled my eyes—when the main character was supposed to have legitimately forgotten to put a bra on, the oops I guess I can’t wear panties because there aren’t any clean ones (tee-hee), all the “baby girls,” etc. Such things are contrived and ruin a book for me. 

Further, for people who were supposed to have known one another all their lives (even loved, in one case), no one seemed to know one another very well. And while the sex was hot, I had a hard time reconciling all the smutty talk and rough sex with the silly virginal main character. Lastly, it all wrapped up a little to perfectly, with the requisite happy ending of marriage and babies. 

Having said all that, I did think the couple was cute together. I very much appreciated that they communicated. There were no unnecessary miscommunications and, with the exception of the drama to bring about the finale, both characters were able to perceive the obvious and willing to ask and talk about it. That was seriously refreshing. Plus, the banter was fun. A lot of the communication I so appreciated came about in banter, keeping things light. 

All in all, I didn’t love it. But I think I liked it as much as I could. And Charlotte North did a fine job with the narrations.