Category Archives: Review

East of the West by Miroslav Penkov

While I am normally a fan of short stories, I really struggled with this book. I don’t know what it was, the writing style was good, but the stories just weren’t that intriguing. I felt like, as I was reading, that for the most part the stories could have been easily transplanted and take place in America, with the exception of the first and second to last ones, because they were focused on Bulgaria politics and international relations. That being said, I think the author has some definate talent and I’ll be checking out more by him in the future, maybe a full-size novel will work better.

I’m not going to give this book a rating because its really hard to assign a star rating to a book like this.

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When She Woke by Hillary Jordan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Set in the futuristic America (primarily Texas) – When She Woke tells the story of Hannah. A woman found guilty of the crime of murder, the only thing, her victim was her unborn child. In a country, where Roe vs. Wade has been overturned and abortion is now a crime. A country, where individuals found guilty of crimes have their skin color genetically altered to suit the color of their crime, in Hannah’s case, she is now a red.

I’ll admit to being on a bit of a dystopia kick recently and When She Woke fit right into this kick perfectly. For me, the biggest issue highlighted is what could potentially happen, if our separation of church and state, disappears and religion becomes and integral part of our lives. where the people who rebel again religion are essentially seen as terrorists and are even identified as such.

One of my main issues with the book was the ending, while this review is spoiler free, the ending just seemed to fizzle out and I was left wondering what happened…

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Unveiled by Courtney Milan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**Review Copy Provided by NetGalley.com

While I only ended up rating this book 3 stars, I enjoyed the start of this new series by Courtney Milan and will definately be seeking out the rest in the future. One of the key elements that I enjoyed was the fact that the hero was not an original member of the nobility, but rather was someone who came into it unexpectedly and I felt that Ms Milan did a good job conveying that through-out the book.

The banter between the H and h was entertaining, but I have the admit that the younger brother (at least for me) stole the show and i’ll be looking forward to reading his book in the future.

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Bridge of Scarlet Leaves by Kristina McMorris
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

**Review Copy Provided By Author**

I have to admit that I finished this book up over the weekend, but it took me a couple of days to write the review because I wanted to think though some of my feelings. After [b:Letters From Home|9413657|Letters From Home|Kristina McMorris|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1288813509s/9413657.jpg|14297764], I wasn’t sure if Kristina could follow up with an equally powerful second book, so I was surprised when Bridge of Scarlet Leaves not only equalled by exceeded Letters from Home.

In a similar fashion to the writing style in Letters from Home, Bridge of Scarlet Leaves tells multiple stories with a focal point on one moment in history, specifically, the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the reaction to what happened to those US citizens of Japanese descent following the attack. We meet Maddie, a violinist who is in love with Lane Morimoto; her brother TJ; Lane and his family and a variety of other individuals. As a reader, I love when I can feel what the characters are going through, and I did here. Rarely do I cry at the end of books, but I was def. teary-eyed when I read the last page.

All I can say is that Kristina had better hurry up and write some more books for me to read 😉

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The Copper Bracelet by Jeffery Deaver
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Narrated by Alfred Molina, this book is unique-ish, in the way that each chapter is written by a different author, yet forms a cohesive story. In the Copper Bracelet, we pick up with the Chopin Manuscript left off, which was written in a similar manner. Overall, it was enjoyable, but some of the chapters were uneven. I did identify a few authors in the mix that I am going to check out again in the future.

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Deadly Currents by Beth Groundwater
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**Received this book as an author donated copy**

When I read the premise for Deadly Currently, I was immediately intrigued – the idea of a river ranger – which we normally don’t see as a job occupation and then a mystery to book – I was excited. And Ms Groundwater did not let me down. From the beginning to the end, there were twists and turns that I couldn’t predict (although i’m discovering more and more that I suck about identifying those twists before they happen 😉 ). A satisfying conclusion and i’ll def. be looking forward to more in this series as they are released and will be taking a look at her backlist.

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Destiny Calls by Samantha Wayland
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**Book donated by the author for review**

Recently I was asked by a friend on Goodreads.com if I would be willing to review a book that had been written by one of her writing partners, as she knew I read menage quite often and I agreed. Its been a long time since I had read a menage story that I have enjoyed as I did this one.

Destiny, Brandon and Patrick have been friends for years, growing up in homes that nowadays would potentially be classified as emotionally abusive and have maintained that friendship throughout the years, but it is all about to change, when Patrick kisses Brandon one night while they are out at a bar.

It is hard for me to get down in this review what I enjoyed about this story. First of all, I liked the fact that it wasn’t a menage that is based on a previously formed relationship. I mean, those are ok sometimes, but I often have a hard time with how those relationships are presented. In Destiny Calls, it seemed to be more believable somehow, because there wasn’t that permanency. I liked the dynamics between Brandon and Patrick and their co-workers (all cops) and how so much of what happened was guided by their fears of perception.

The only thing that kind of felt unfinished was the suspense story line. It didn’t feel like it was as developed as it could have been and while everything was resolved, something just seemed to be missing. I would also like to know more about Patrick/Brandon’s co-workers (I could see a few more books based on them).

Overall, an enjoyable read and a solid 4 stars. I’ll definitely be looking for more written by Samantha Wayland in the future.

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