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Sunday, September 11, 2016

Devil and the Deep


Devil and the Deep by Julie Ann Walker

A former Navy SEAL had rescued Maddy once before, and they developed a relationship.  Through his own stubbornness, he tried to forget her and move on with his life.  Unfortunately, a sunken treasure ship is a goal for a few.  Too bad someone wants to kidnap Maddie.

Navy SEAL Bran to the resuce.  Without his knowing who, he finds Maddie in the same situation again, in need of rescue.

While the story starts out about a treasure hunt, the majority seems to gear towards their relationship and the past, and what type of relationship may or may not happen now and in the future.

Well written and easy to follow with quite the cast of characters, there is something for everyone.

Sunday, May 1, 2016

That Darkness


That Darkness by Lisa Black

The world is full of criminals.  Some that don’t deserve to live after the crime(s) they have committed.  The United States has a justice system to take care of criminals, but sometimes those that should be put away go free.  What if one man has decided to take care of those that the system set free?  Jack Renner, in his goal on one person, has taken it upon himself to keep society safe of some of these criminals.  With a great attention to his details, he thinks no one will ever find out it’s him.  Not until he meets a forensic investigator Maggie Gardiner, and her attention to detail.  Will Jack be able to locate the woman he is searching for before he is discovered, or will the clues and his mistakes give him away.

Suspenseful with twists along the way, and a varied cast of characters.  Quite descriptive but not over the top gory.  While Maggie is the investigator, it seems Jack has more storytime.  All in all a good read.


Wednesday, April 20, 2016

The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back


The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back by Sariah Wilson

How many times can one dad remarry?  How about when he takes in your stepsister to live with you, even though he isn’t her dad?  Why is it that the stepsister is always the pretty, full of energy, donates her time to charities, has the football captain boyfriend, everyone loves her type.  What about you, the one no one notices, except to laugh at, the average teen.

Ella is the pretty stepsister, Mattie is the average teenage girl in high school, who has always had a crush on Jake.  Who is Jake?  That would be Ella’s football captain boyfriend!  But a turn of events has Ella and Mattie becoming closer and discovering things about each other and themselves, and those around them.

Comical, witty, typical teenage high school days make this a quick, fun light read.  If Cinderella can transform from the ugly stepsister to the princess, can Mattie?

The Wolf of Harrow Hall


The Wolf of Harrow Hall by Christine Pope

Tax time was coming near.  Bettany knew their grandmother did not have enough money.  What could they do, their income was meager.  What if they could borrow money from Lord Greymount with a promise to repay in the summer.  That that being the only option, Bettany set out to visit Lord Greymount at his castle.

Barely  making it through the snowstorm, Bettany awakes to find herself in a bed in someplace unfamiliar.  Somehow she was brought from the entrance to the inside of the castle.  Determined to please her case, Bettany is finally granted a visit to Lord Greymount.  Unable to leave the castle due to a great snowstorm, Bettany finds herself more intrigued with the Lord and wants to know more about him, and finds she has feelings for him.  But why does he live in a great castle with so few servants, and no women?  The more time she spends at the castle, the more the feelings grow and the more she wishes to learn more.  What mysteries does this great castle and this Lord hold?

Another wonderful fairy tale by Christine Pope.  With minimal characters, it is very easy to follow and become attached to Bettany, a simple girl with a goal.  The reading is light and easy.  This series is one that does not need to be read in any specific order.  Sit back, pick up a fairy tale and enjoy!

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Codename: Makarov


Codename: Makarov by Ethan Jones

Carrie O’Connor is back again, this time in Pakistan.  As her luck would have it, the secret meeting is ambushed.  The more they look into the ambush, it seems there is a traitor among them.  In addition, rumor has it Justin, who has gone rogue, is in the area.

Continuing on with the mission and trying to determine who is the traitor, Carrie learns a bit more about Justin’s whereabouts, as well as some possible information about her father, who disappeared when she was young.

What can continue with the Taliban leaders when the meeting went wrong?  Can Carrier find Justin and bring him home?  What does she learn, if anything, about her father?  If you have read any of the Justin Hall series, you will see the relationship between Carrie and Justin. If not, he just seems a character from her past.

Loaded with action and espionage, another great spy thriller from Ethan Jones.  A mix of old characters and new ones.  Another suspense thriller that will keep you turning pages.

Saturday, April 9, 2016

Threads of Gold (Tales of the Latter Kingdoms Book 6)


Threads of Gold (Tales of the Latter Kingdoms Book 6) by Christine Pope

What is to become of a girl who’s father gambles too much and lies that she can spin straw into gold to pay his debt?

A romantic twist to the Rumpelstiltskin tale.

Annora agrees to go to the king’s castle in order not to show her father a lier.  But once she is sent to her room to spin the straw, how many excuses can she come up with to hide the truth?  Why does this stranger come to her in the night to help her spin the straw to please the king?

Annora believes once she has paid the debt of her father, the king will let her go back home.  The stranger is smarter than that and knows the king will never have enough gold, no matter how much she spins.

If you like the re-telling of fairy tales with a twist, you will like this.  Try to determine who “Rumple” is and what becomes of Annora and her secret of spinning straw into gold.  Another great fairy tale twist from Christine Pope.

Thursday, March 31, 2016

Dragon Rose (Tales of the Latter Kingdoms, Book 2)


Dragon Rose (Tales of the Latter Kingdoms, Book 2) by Christine Pope

A Beauty and the Beast type fairy tale love story in the form of a dragon.

When you grow up living in a town where young girls enter a lottery to see who will be the next bride for the Lord of Black’s Keep, you come to expect the worst.  Rhianne liked to paint, something unheard of, no women shall do such a skill.  While she was of the age to be married, her parents tried to find her a proper suitor.  As luck would have it, an older gentleman was a prospect, but when her father is injured, her secret of painting is revealed.

On the day of the bride lottery, her best friend is chosen.  Knowing her best friend was to be married, Rhianne offered herself instead of her friend.  A never before occurrence, but the elders allowed it.  Rhianne had no idea what lay ahead, other than she would never see her family, friends or her town ever again.

Rhianne was whisked away to her future husband, the Dragon.  The ceremony was held immediately.  She was shown to her new rooms in a large castle, away from her previous life.

As time passes, she finds she has fallen in love with the Dragon, even though she has never seen him.  A slight touch, his voice, his build, all strike at her heart.  She is saddened that even though the Dragon seems to want her affection, he always stops short.  No one will reveal the truth behind the curse that caused this man to be sentenced to a life in a dragon form.  In addition, a strange dream keeps her painting a man she has never seen before.  Who is this man and why does he come to her in her dreams?

What will it take to break this curse, and can Rhianne finally be the one to do it?  Or will her town continue to find the next bride?

Well written to keep you turning pages.  Minimal characters but each have their own personality.  If you like love stories, or Beauty and the Beast, or fairy tale type stories, you will like this.

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Broken (The Djinn Wars Book 4)


Broken (The Djinn Wars Book 4) by Christine Pope

Continuing on in the Djinn Wars, Broken breaks away from the previous main characters Jessica and Jace, and instead takes two others characters from the series as the main focus, Julia and Zaharias.  Yes, you should read the series from the beginning.

Life goes on after Captain Margolis loses his battle.  He is now imprisoned.  Zaharias continues his leadership role in Santa Fe, while Julia is now the leader in Los Alamos.  Somehow Captain Margolis escapes his prison and is determined to take revenge.  The reasons why are an important part of the story.

Every love story needs a beginning.  Why Julia and Zaharias feel the need to not express their emotion towards one another also play a large part in the story.  If you have read the previous books in the Djinn Wars, you know Julia’s reason.  What you learn is Zaharias’s reason.

Keeping the same page turning excitement, and bringing in Jessica, Jace and some of the other characters from the previous books will have you wanting to not stop until the end.  Human and Djinn will work together again, or should I say still, in the battle against Margolis.  Changing main characters does not impact the desire to reach the end.  In addition, you will want to get the next in the series as quickly as possible.

Avonelle's Gift


Avondale's Gift by Nova Scheller

Diving into your family’s past can be quite a journey.  For some, it brings great joy, for others not so much.

Avonelle’s Gift is the story of a family through four generations, starting back around the year 1900.  What was a short romance for two people became quite a story.  We have all experienced our first love.  For these two young people, it was short-just a few short weeks.  At this time in history, it was not uncommon for workers to travel where they were needed, staying only long enough as there was work.  When young Avonelle left, he didn’t think anything of it, but hoped one day to return to this special girl.  Weeks later, she learned she was with child.  In order to save grace, she married a local boy.  After the child was born, the mother dies.  Unable to care for the child, she is brought to an orphanage.

The story continues through the generations, ending with the great-granddaughter.  Through the years, you read of the trying times of war and work.

Four generations does bring quite a lot of characters.  This is not a fairy tale romance, but a story of life, love and death.  A good story of family history, with a mix of fact and fiction to keep it interesting.  Photos at the end also show the serious times.  Well written, although my copy did not convert to a Kindle mobi file well, quite a few hyphenated words that were most likely at the end of a page in a hard copy were in the middle of sentences.  Getting by that, it was an enjoyable read.  There are no opinions or judgements of what the author’s ancestors did.

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Priority Target


Priority Target by Ethan Jones

If you like the Justin Hall series, you will like this series with Carrie O’Connor.  If you haven’t read the Justin Hall books, you will still like this new series with Carrie O’Connor.

Ethan Jones has done it again.  As a teammate of Justin Hall in his series, Carrie now has her own series.  Keeping true to his writing style, Ethan has created a female agent ready to take on the world in order to protect her Canadian homeland.  In her first book, Carrie is sent to Somalia in search of a war lord.  With the help of some agents, Carrie learns of a drone strike that was initially meant for the war lord, but instead, numerous innocent men, women and children were killed.  Was this intentional or a mistake.  Carrie is determined to stay on task, as well as try to find the truth about the strike.

With minimal characters, the flow is steady and easy to keep reading until the end.  Never underestimate the power of a woman.  A few references to Justin Hall as a way to keep the two characters in touch, but even if you have not read any Justin Hall books, you will not be left behind to the references.  Loaded with action, Carrie does not disappoint, nor does her character overdo the female in charge.  She is believable, as any trained female agent could be, nothing outrageous or over the top.

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Fallen (The Djinn Wars Book 3)


Fallen (The Djinn Wars Book 3) by Christine Pope

Continuing on where Taken left off, Jessica has become more courageous and determined.  The few Djinn and their chosen are at war with the survivors.  The only was to survive is to activate the device that will weaken them, but create a barrier to protect them.  Knowing the barrier will not last forever, they continue to search ways to survive.

When rougue Djinn break through, the only hope is Jace.  Would you sacrifice your true love so others will live?

Loaded with so many twists and turns, this will not disappoint.  If you have enjoyed the first two, you will be pleased with this one.


Beautiful Entourage (5 Book Series)


Beautiful Entourage (5 Book Series) by E.L. Todd

A series of 5 books about an escort service, but with very strict rules.  6 friends decide to run an escort service, 5 men and 1 woman who runs the business.  Very strict rules like no kissing or anything sexual, no giving out personal info like address or phone and most importantly, no getting involved with a client.

The 5 books are written with each man having his own book and telling his own story.  4 of the friends are very happy with their lifestyle.  Great income, no strings, enjoying life to the fullest.  One of the friends is looking to settle down and start a life with the love of his life.  Each of the stories goes through how each of the friends meet a certain girl and what happens.

While it starts great, after the 3rd book, it becomes too easy to know what happens next.  The only different one is the book 5, the story of the man who wants to settle down, but cannot find the love of his life.  Even still, they are a good read for those who like a love story.