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Tag Archives: 3.5 stars

Review – A Secret Affair – Mary Balogh

23 Jul

A Secret Affair
Author: Mary Balogh
Series: #5 in the Huxtable series

Narrator: Anne Flosnik
Running Time: 11 hrs 22 minutes

Book Description:
“The Devil was about to be tamed.” Her name is Hannah Reid. Born a commoner, she has been Duchess of Dunbarton ever since she was nineteen years old, the wife of an elderly duke to whom she has been rumored to be consistently and flagrantly unfaithful. Now the old duke is dead and, more womanly and beautiful than ever at thirty, Hannah has her freedom at last.

And she knows just what she wants to do with it. To the shock of a conventional friend, she announces her intention to take a lover—and not just any lover, but the most dangerous and delicious man in all of upper-class England: Constantine Huxtable.

Constantine’s illegitimacy has denied him the title of Earl, so now he denies himself nothing . . . or so the ton would have it. Rumored to be living the free and easy life of a sensualist in his country estate, he always chooses recent widows for his short-lived affairs. Hannah will fit the bill nicely.

But once these two passionate and scandalous figures find each other, they discover that it isn’t so easy to extricate oneself from the fires of desire—without getting singed. For the duchess and the dark lord each have startling secrets to reveal, and when all is said and done, neither will be able to say which one fell in love first, who tamed whom, and who has emerged from this game of hearts with the stronger hand.

Review
When we were first introduced to Con in the earlier books in the series, I couldn’t wait for his book to come out – or at least, hoped that his book was one day going to be released. I eagerly read the books about his 3 female cousins, and his male cousin – although, the book prior to this was a huge let-down and I very nearly didn’t pick up this last book in the series, for fear of the same – that the author would take a character I had waited patiently to see get his HEA and have it all go to hell…thankfully, she didn’t…so i am just going to pretend that book 4 was never written and wipe it from my memory 😉

I loved Con as a character, he was so damaged – the illegitimate son who missed out on being legitimate by all of 2 days (silly man, actually arriving early instead of late like most)…and then living in the shadow of his brother all his life until his death and the arrival of unknown cousins. If i was put in his situation I don’t know what I would have done. And then, there is Hannah – married at a young age to an old codger…ewww, but who is now a widower, rich and still young enough to start over…it was for me a perfect pairing. I really enjoyed the dynamics between them, as well as seeing Hannah integrated into Con’s family – his female cousins (with the exception of Vanessa) taking her in and accepting her. But it was also refreshing to see that she wasn’t the meek, mild woman that seems so often to be portrayed in regency romances. Seeing Con make up with the estranged side of his family – of course, which resulted from stupid actions taken by him – was also a bonus in the book. I was honestly starting to think that the author was going to end the series with them still not talking to each other.

When it came to the narration, I was really leery at first when I saw who the narrator was. In fact, I had been known in the past, to bypass any books done by Ms Flosnik because of a previous bad experience. But then I was reading a Speaking of Audiobooks column and saw how she had taken various critiques and criticism to heart and was trying to adapt her narration, so I figured I would give her a chance. I was pleasantly surprised. I liked the tone and intonation of her narration, as well as the various voices for the different characters. In fact, I really don’t have a lot of bad things to say about the narration in general – which is surprising for me – I really enjoyed it. I don’t know if I will go back and re-listen to any of her older stuff in the future, but at the same time, I won’t shy away from her newer stuff either.

 
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Posted by on July 23, 2012 in Book Review

 

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Review – What I Didn’t Say – Keary Taylor

22 Jul

What I Didn’t Say
Author: Keary Taylor
Publisher: Self-published/Createspace

Review Copy Provided by Author via NetGalley

Book Description:
Getting drunk homecoming night your senior year is never a good idea, but Jake Hayes never expected it all to end with a car crash and a t-post embedded in his throat.

His biggest regret about it all? What he never said to Samantha Shay. He’s been in love with her for years and never had the guts to tell her. Now it’s too late. Because after that night, Jake will never be able to talk again.

When Jake returns to his small island home, population 5,000, he’ll have to learn how to deal with being mute. He also finds that his family isn’t limited to his six brothers and sisters, that sometimes an entire island is watching out for you. And when he gets the chance to spend more time with Samantha, she’ll help him learn that not being able to talk isn’t the worst thing that could ever happen to you. Maybe, if she’ll let him, Jake will finally tell her what he didn’t say before, even if he can’t actually say it.

Review:
The first thing that caught my eye about What I Didn’t Say was the cover – I found the picture of the boy and girl facing each other, looking like they were whispering to each other to be intriguing. It made me want to know more, and then when I read the description, I was drawn in.

Drunk driving as a topic in YA books is always hard for me to digest because while I was growing up, my father was a fireman for the local fire service and he was often called out to car crashes, many of which involved drunk driving and while he didn’t often talk about it, I was able to gather enough information normally to form a picture of just how bad it was. So the images presented in What I Didn’t Say were really highlighted for me, I could visualize what happened to Jake when the car crashed and he was stabbed through the throat…and this is probably not an image that I want to see in my mind again anytime soon…

I loved seeing the characters grow and make mistakes through-out the book like normal teens do – it was refreshing to see. While I have been on a bit of a YA kick lately, it seems that either the teens in those books either have the appearance of being perfect or are so screwed up that nothing changes during the course of the book…so seeing Jake and Samantha develop and change over the course of the year was fun. I felt that the author did a good job developing the secondary characters – Jake’s parents, his siblings, friends at school…the only one that I truly wanted to bitch slap was Nora, the student body president – why is it that the popular kid that does a crappy job is always the one elected and not a quiet one who could do the job – I would have loved to have seen Samantha in that role.

However, no book is without its weaknesses, for me it was the fact that Jake was entering his senior year of high school and we knew that he wanted to join the AF and be a pilot…ok, well, from the descriptions within he was going to enlist…why was he not pushing to go to the Air Force Academy or ROTC…something which he would have had to have established prior to his senior year and that being said, why was he taking woodshop…that isn’t a class that would endear him to any college program where a strong science focus is needed – which is the way that most military programs are heading today (and yes, I say this from experience, I was in one of the last year groups where it was easy-ish to get a scholarship with a non-technical science degree..)

But that being said, after the accident and once the AF was out of the equation, I felt that the book was strong and engaging. I will definitely be looking for more books by the author in the future.

 
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Posted by on July 22, 2012 in Book Review

 

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Review – The White Mary – Kira Salak

11 Jul

The White Mary
Author: Kira Salak

Book Description:
Marika Vecera, an accomplished war reporter, has dedicated her life to helping the world’s oppressed and forgotten. When not on one of her dangerous assignments, she lives in Boston, exploring a new relationship with Seb, a psychologist who offers her glimpses of a better world.

Returning from a harrowing assignment in the Congo where she was kidnapped by rebel soldiers, Marika learns that a man she has always admired from afar, Pulitzer-winning war correspondent Robert Lewis, has committed suicide. Stunned, she abandons her magazine work to write Lewis’s biography, settling down with Seb as their intimacy grows. But when Marika finds a curious letter from a missionary claiming to have seen Lewis in the remote jungle of Papua New Guinea, she has to wonder, What if Lewis isn’t dead?

Marika soon leaves Seb to embark on her ultimate journey in one of the world’s most exotic and unknown lands. Through her eyes we experience the harsh realities of jungle travel, embrace the mythology of native tribes, and receive the special wisdom of Tobo, a witch doctor and sage, as we follow her extraordinary quest to learn the truth about Lewis—and about herself, along the way.

Review
If I hadn’t been purposely seeking out a book set in Papua New Guinea (PNG) for my Around the World challenge, I likely never would have picked up this book. Yet, when I did, I was immediately draw into Marika’s life (and for what its worth, I loved her name). She is the kind of kick-ass successful female character that could be used as a role-model in today’s society. The kind of woman that says, yes, I know I might get killed on this assignment, but I’m going to do it anyways. The book is took in two different styles, a present day narrative of her experiences travelling through the isolated jungles of PNG with only a local witch-doctor as her guide, and through flash-backs to her life before PNG – her experiences in various war zones, finding a life that isn’t in a war zone, discovering that her idol has committed suicide and her decision to write his biography and where that leads.

Kira Salak, the author, brings a world of experience to her characters and it seems as though at times, that Marika is a reflect of her and her travels. She has written for National Geographic as well as many other journals and magazines. The visual imagery found in The White Mary was so engaging that I felt like I was in PNG with Marika, and could almost even feel the leechs on me at various times (ick! – lol!). I plan on trying to find Ms Salak’s memoir of her backpacking journey through PNG in the future and see how it compares to the White Mary. Overall, 3.5 stars, but with a recommendation to people who like thought-provoking reads.

 
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Posted by on July 11, 2012 in Book Review

 

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Review – The Mephisto Club – Tess Gerritsen

09 Jul

The Mephisto Club
Author: Tess Gerritsen
Series: #6 in the Rizzoli and Isles series

Narrator: Kathe Mazur
Run Time: 11 hours 14 minutes

Book Description:
PECCAVIThe Latin word is scrawled in blood at the scene of a young woman’s brutal murder: I HAVE SINNED. It’s a chilling Christmas greeting for Boston medical examiner Maura Isles and Detective Jane Rizzoli, who swiftly link the victim to controversial celebrity psychiatrist Joyce O’Donnell–Jane’s professional nemesis and member of a sinister cabal called the Mephisto Club.

On top of Beacon Hill, the club’s acolytes devote themselves to the analysis of evil: Can it be explained by science? Does it have a physical presence? Do demons walk the earth? Drawing on a wealth of dark historical data and mysterious religious symbolism, the Mephisto scholars aim to prove a startling theory: that Satan himself exists among us.

With the grisly appearance of a corpse on their doorstep, it’s clear that someone–or something–is indeed prowling the city. The members of the club begin to fear the very subject of their study. Could this maniacal killer be one of their own–or have they inadvertently summoned an evil entity from the darkness?

Delving deep into the most baffling and unusual case of their careers, Maura and Jane embark on a terrifying journey to the very heart of evil, where they encounter a malevolent foe more dangerous than any they have ever faced . . . one whose work is only just beginning.

Review
This past year, I have read or listened to all of the books in the Rizzoli & Isles series up to this point. In each and every one of them Gerritsen has taken the reader/listener for a ride. Sometimes I can figure out who the killer is ahead of times and sometimes not. While I enjoyed the Mephisto Club, I didn’t love it as much as I had previous books. Maybe it was the use of religious symbology and demons, maybe it was something else. I can’t quite put my fingers on it. It was good, don’t get me wrong, just not great…I did figure out early on that it was one of the members of the club that was responsible for the crimes being committed, but the original person who I thought it was, it definately wasn’t (mostly because he was killed early on…) – I also wasn’t surprised to see the psychiatrist Joyce O’Donnell killed in this installment – she had appeared in several of the previous books, but her character always just seemed to be on the periphery to annoy Jane and Maura and not really contribute. I did enjoy the character of Anthony and hope that he shows up in later books.

When it came to the narration of the audiobook, I was glad to see Kathe Mazur return to being the narrator – although, I believe that this is the last time in the series that she is the one (unfortunately). After Anna Fields, she definately has developed Jane’s voice into one that reflects her Boston Irish character, as well as Maura’s dark wit. Her diversity of character voices makes for an entertaining listen and I didn’t manage to confuse any of the characters – they all appeared to be individuals and it was almost like I was listening to a couple of different people narrate the book. I do know that I need to check her out narrating some other books to see how she does. I’m definately going to be following her as a narrator in the future.

I’ll definately continue to seek out Tess Gerritsen’s books and look forward to seeing what Jane and Maura get up to in the future

 
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Posted by on July 9, 2012 in Book Review

 

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Review – Shadow Man – Cody McFadyen

05 Jul

Shadow Man
Author: Cody McFadyen
Series: #1 in the Smoky Barrett

Narrator: Kate Reading
Run Time: 13 hours, 14 minutes

Book Description
Once, Special Agent Smoky Barrett hunted serial killers for the FBI. She was one of the best–until a madman terrorized her family, killed her husband and daughter, and left her face scarred and her soul brutalized. Turning the tables on the killer, Smoky shot him dead–but her life was shattered forever.

Now Smoky dreams about picking up her weapon again. She dreams about placing the cold steel between her lips and pulling the trigger one last time. Because for a woman who’s lost everything, what is there left to lose?

She’s about to find out.

In all her years at the Bureau, Smoky has never encountered anyone like him–a new and fascinating kind of monster, a twisted genius who defies profilers’ attempts to understand him. And he’s issued Smoky a direct challenge, coaxing her back from the brink with the only thing that could convince her to live.

The killer videotaped his latest crime–an act of horror that left a child motherless–then sent a message addressed to Agent Smoky Barrett. The message is enough to shock Smoky back to work, back to her FBI team. And that child awakens something in Smoky she thought was gone forever.

Suddenly the stakes are raised. The game has changed. For as this deranged monster embarks on an unspeakable spree of perversion and murder, Smoky is coming alive again–and she’s about to face her greatest fears as a cop, a woman, a mother…and a merciless killer’s next victim.

Review
I’ll have to admit, at first when I started listening to Shadow Man, I was skeptical. The first hour or so that I listened to, I was a bit confused over what was going on but that soon changed. I was glad that I was listening to this at work, because I could easily stop when I was at a more suspenseful part and take a break (aka, go and bug my co-workers) before resuming the listening. The author has a way with his writing that made me feel as though I was with Smoky as she was dealing with the crimes perpetrated by the killer. In this instance, I had an inkling of who I thought the killer was, but nothing was clear up until the final reveal and then it was a definate ah-ha moment.

I enjoyed Kate Reading’s narration – to my knowledge, I don’t think that I have ever listened to anything that she has narrated before. I know that I will def. look out for more stuff done by her in the future and will be continuing this series for sure (I already have the next one on my queue at booksfree.com). I would likely never have picked up this book to listen to if it hadn’t show up on the list of books that readers who enjoyed Vanish (Tess Gerritsen) also enjoyed and I am glad that I did.

 
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Posted by on July 5, 2012 in Book Review

 

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Review – Redemption – Olivia Duncan Craig

04 Jul


Redemption
Author: Olivia Duncan Craig

Book Description
It’s a different world. Space has been colonized, the wealthy fly to work rather than drive, and slavery is legal.
Jason’s family has been ripped apart by tragedy. The only way he can save the ones left is to offer himself up as a bondmate. The more he’s willing to give, the higher the price he can command. And Jason is willing to give a lot.

Devin is wealthy and heartbroken after the wife he adored walked out on him. He isn’t looking for love. All he wants is a relationship he can control. Buying a bondmate seems like the perfect solution.

Yet when he purchases Jason’s contract, Devin gets more than he bargained for.

Review
Redemption is one of those books that if it had never shown up as a potential book in a reading bingo challenge (lesser known m/m books), I likely never would have picked it up and that would have been a pity. It is a book that makes me want to go out and keep trying self-published authors, because the quality of the writing and the presentation of the book were top-notch. I felt like I was reading a book that has been released through one of the bigger publishing houses.

When I was first asking people about what book I should pick (I had it narrowed down to this one and 2 others), I was told that it was a book with slavery and non-con scenarios, so when I started to read it, I was expecting something a lot harsher than what I ended up reading. Truthfully, it was rather sweet. There is slavery in the world, but the individuals enter into it through their own choice and then there are pairings made that seem to be very similar to being on match.com or chemistry.com (something like that).

I will definately be stalking this author for future books and can’t wait to see what she comes up with next. 3.5 stars (but I am really tempted to round up to 4).

 
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Posted by on July 4, 2012 in Book Review

 

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Review – Perfect Chemistry – Simone Elkeles

14 Jun

Book: Perfect Chemistry
Author: Simone Elkeles
Narrators: Roxanne Hernandez and Blas Kisic
Listening Time: 9 hrs, 45 minutes

Book Description:
When Brittany Ellis walks into chemistry class on the first day of senior year, she has no clue that her carefully created ‘perfect’ life is about to unravel before her eyes. She’s forced to be lab partners with Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, and he is about to threaten everything she’s worked so hard for: her flawless reputation, her relationship with her boyfriend, and the secret that her home life is anything but perfect.
Alex is a bad boy and he knows it. So when he makes a bet with his friends to lure Brittany into his life, he thinks nothing of it. But soon Alex realizes Brittany is a real person with real problems, and suddenly the bet he made in arrogance turns into something much more.

Review:
I’ll be a dork and admit that I love Shakespeare, in fact, I took an English class in college as an elective that was the first of two semester classes just about his various plays. While Romeo and Juliet is not a favorite of mine, I do enjoy it, especially for the forbidden love angle. In Perfect Chemistry, Ms Elkeles takes this take of star-crossed lovers and sets it in modern-day Chicago. I will have to admit I had been recommended this book many times over the last few months (after I started reading a lot more YA) but I kept putting it off and I don’t know why. Maybe because I was afraid of being disappointed since it had been so hyped up…but when I did decide to read (or in this case, listen), I wasn’t disappointed.

The main characters of Brittany and Alex were well-developed and I felt that through-out the book, I not only got to know them, but also see them grow and change as people (yes, I know that probably sounds a bit weird). The supporting characters of Paco (Alex’s friend), his brothers (who get their own books later on), as well as Brittany’s sister provided an interesting depth and development. Without them, I don’t know if the book would have been that good.

My recommendation for the audiobook came from a goodreads friend of mine and since I trust her recommendations (she hasn’t steered me wrong yet), I decided to go with that option. One of the things I did like about the book was that it was told in an alternating POV with each chapter dedicated to either Alex or Brittany, and the audiobook was the same. Roxanne did a great job as Brittany, I could see her in my head as I was listening to her narration. At first, however, I wasn’t so sure about Blas narration of Alex, he seemed almost too old for the teenager that Alex was supposed to be, but his voice grew on it. Especially as Alex’s background revealed itself and you realized that he had been forced to grow up too soon. I’m also not a spanish speaker, so I can’t really comment on the authenticity of the language used or how it is supposed to sound, but to my untrained ear it sounded good.

I’ll definately be reading more by this author in the future, especially the books about Alex’s brothers.

 
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Posted by on June 14, 2012 in Book Review

 

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Review – The Schoolmaster’s Daughter – John Smolens

12 Jun

The Schoolmaster’s Daughter
Author: John Smolens
Narrator: Elisabeth S. Rodgers
Length: 13 hours 5 minutes

Having not grown up in the US, I never really got the opportunity to study the American Revoluation like most high school students. In fact, until I took a class on it in college, I hardly knew anything about it. I mean, I recognized the name Paul Revere, and knew some of the major political players, but that was it. However, when my ship pulled into Boston for the 4th of July a few years ago, I got to do the geeky historical thing and go and see all the key sites of events that occurred during the initial stages of the American Revolution. So knowing all this, when I started The Schoolmaster’s Daughter, I had a good idea of the key events as they occurred.

I felt that the author did a good job of exploring the various dynamics that were occurring during this time period. The families that were split between being Tories and Whig’s (like Abigail/her brothers and her father/mother), the interaction of the British troops with the general population and the overall climate that one would expect in a country soon to be consumed by war. While I didn’t necessarily agree with all of Abigails actions, and felt that she def. had some TSTL moments, as a character she was engaging and I would like to see her maybe show up in another book that takes place after the revolution.

The audiobook version of this was narrated by Elisabeth S. Rodgers. This isn’t the first time that I had listened to something narrated by her and it won’t be the last. She does a great job of being able to provide voices to a wide variety of characters and at no time did I feel like the voices were starting to blend together. At times, I wanted to continue driving just so I could listen to a bit more before I got to work or at home at night.

 
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Posted by on June 12, 2012 in Book Review

 

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Review – Dead End Deal – Allen Wyler

04 Jun

Review Copy Provided by the Publisher

When I look back at the books I have read over the last year, there has been a pretty clear shift from the romances that I used to read, almost to the exclusion of everything else, to my rather diverse reading fare, a lot of while you see mentioned on my blog. If the publisher of Dead End Deal had asked me a year ago, I probably would not have agreed to review it and that would have been a mistake.

I was immediately draw into the story of Jon Ritter who is a neuro-surgeon working towards a cure for Alzheimer’s, as well as other forms of dementia through the use of stem cells. Having following the various controversies regarding stem cell research over the last few years, I realized that I really knew nothing about it, and so entering the world created by Allen Wyler, I was immediately sucked in. As I was reading, my first through was wow, he sure knows a lot about neurosurgery and upon googling his name, I found out why, he is a Doctor in his own right.

The book brought up some interesting ideas about the use of stem cells, how pharmaceutical companies influence funding towards drugs, and what would happen if a cure was really discovered but (and this is me thinking out loud) what if the cure was never published, never mentioned, so that these companies would still keep getting money to fund their research.

The novel was well-paced, and while I was able to see some of the twists coming before they did, there were others that I didn’t see, which increased my enjoyment of it. Overall, I’d give it 3.5 stars, but I will definately be seeking out this author again in the future.

If you are interested in obtaining a copy of Dead End Deal, the following link will take you to the publishers website: http://astorandblue.com/dead-end-deal/

 
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Posted by on June 4, 2012 in Book Review

 

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