Review Round Up #8

Posted June 20, 2019 by Lily B in Reviews / 1 Comment

Review Round Up #8Welcome to Last Chance by Hope Ramsay
Series: Last Chance #1
Published by Forever on April 30, 2019
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 423
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Rating: 3 Stars

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

WELCOME TO LAST CHANCE, SOUTH CAROLINA
Dear Reader,
Yes, our town is way off the beaten path, but strange, wonderful miracles happen a lot around here.
I've owned the Cut 'n' Curl beauty shop for years, and I've seen folks come for a visit, then stay for a lifetime. Take Jane-that pretty firecracker of a girl who just arrived in town. I would swear she's running from something. She came with only five dollars in her pocket but she's worked real hard to make a fresh start. She's turned my son Clay's life upside down without even realizing it.
And thank goodness for that! Ever since Clay left his country western band, he's played everything too safe. He needs to take a chance on Jane. Besides, the more he tries to keep his distance, the more he'll realize that he and Jane are singing the same tune.
But I should quit ramblin' and go check on Millie's permanent wave. Next time you're in Last Chance, be sure to swing by. We've got hot rollers, free coffee, and the best gossip in town.
See you real soon,Ruby Rhodes

I love small town books and Welcome to Last Chance gave me all the small town cozy feels that I’ve been looking for. Jane is a new girl in town that arrived on a bus with nothing but five dollars in her pocket, she definitely has secrets, but she is scared that someone might uncover them. Until she runs to the town local Clay and they spend the night together. Clay thinks Jane is wrong for him and a bit too young. He wants a wife, and while he does everything he can to keep Jane out of his heart, he can’t help but play with her hero and allow her in.

This was cute. I didn’t mind the small age gap in this it worked. Last Chance is riddled with local town characters that bring a lot of heart to the book and pack those small-town vibes.

It was a good read. The only thing that bothered me the ending got super dramatic and a bit over the top and maybe a little far fetched. But overall, I’d like to read more of this series.

Review Round Up #8The Little Shop of Found Things by Paula Brackston
Series: Found Things #1
Published by St. Martin's Press on October 16, 2018
Genres: Time-Travel, Historical Fiction, Mystery
Pages: 307
Format: Hardcover
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Rating: 3.5 Stars

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A new series about a young woman whose connection to antiques takes her on a magical adventure, reminiscent of Outlander
New York Times bestselling author of The Witch's Daughter Paula Brackston returns to her trademark blend of magic and romance to launch a new series guaranteed to enchant her audience even more.
Xanthe and her mother Flora leave London behind for a fresh start, taking over an antique shop in the historic town of Marlborough. Xanthe has always had an affinity with some of the antiques she finds. When she touches them, she can sense something of the past they come from and the stories they hold. So when she has an intense connection to a beautiful silver chatelaine she has to know more.
It’s while she’s examining the chatelaine that she’s transported back to the seventeenth century. And shortly after, she's confronted by a ghost who reveals that this is where the antique has its origins. The ghost tasks Xanthe with putting right the injustice in its story to save an innocent girl’s life, or else it’ll cost her Flora’s.
While Xanthe fights to save her amid the turbulent days of 1605, she meets architect Samuel Appleby. He may be the person who can help her succeed. He may also be the reason she can’t bring herself to leave.
With its rich historical detail, strong mother-daughter relationship, and picturesque English village, The Little Shop of Found Things is poised to be a strong start to this new series.

Xanthe and her mother Flora leave London behind when they buy a little shop in the town of Marlborough, ready for a fresh start. Xanthe and her mother collect antiques, and Xanthe has a special gift. Special finds ‘sing’ to her, and she finds herself, especially drawn to them in uncovering their story and secrets. When a singing silver chatelaine drops into her hands, the ghost that resides in her house urges Xanthe to unearth the secrets of the chatelaine and help her daughter that was wrongfully prosecuted in the past. Now Xanthe must travel back in time to help the daughter of the ghost, or her, own mother’s life might be in danger.

This was an interesting concept, I enjoyed the experience. It was a bit slow moving at times and the mystery a bit confusing. I don’t think I ever grasped fully why her daughter took the chatelaine from her mistress. Also, there was a bit of the past that Flora and Xanthe left behind that I thought could have used more background.

I liked the romance, it was cute, a bit heartbreaking.

I am curious what the second book has in store for us.

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Weekly Recap #32 - Health Update

Posted June 9, 2019 by Lily B in Recap / 19 Comments

Weekly Recap

Hi everyone! I hope you are enjoying your weekend and your June. It’s been so rainy here. We have been experiencing rain at least 2-3 days a week, which has been hard on my husband who works in landscaping and getting out there to get anything done.

Thank you for all your support on my last update about my health issues <3 I figured if I shared my griping I should share some results. I have gastritis and ulcers and an eroded stomach lining 🙁 and have been put on a really strict bland diet. That means no coffee to you guys, just water for probably a couple of months. It’s going to be hard going without coffee, especially with a four-year old that just goes and goes and goes.

This week in reading has been slow due to doctors appointments and stress. I’m hoping next weeks reading is better and I can catch up on my large TBR.

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Sophia Rose Review: Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin

Posted June 4, 2019 by Lily B in Reviews / 17 Comments

Sophia Rose Review: Ayesha at Last by Uzma JalaluddinAyesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin
Series: standalone
Published by Berkley Books on June 4, 2019
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 368
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Rating: 4 Stars
Heat:one-flame

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A modern-day Muslim Pride and Prejudice for a new generation of love.
Ayesha Shamsi has a lot going on. Her dreams of being a poet have been set aside for a teaching job so she can pay off her debts to her wealthy uncle. She lives with her boisterous Muslim family and is always being reminded that her flighty younger cousin, Hafsa, is close to rejecting her one hundredth marriage proposal. Though Ayesha is lonely, she doesn't want an arranged marriage. Then she meets Khalid who is just as smart and handsome as he is conservative and judgmental. She is irritatingly attracted to someone who looks down on her choices and dresses like he belongs in the seventh century.
Ayesha is torn between how she feels about the straightforward Khalid and the unsettling new gossip she hears about his family. Looking into the rumors, she finds she has to deal with not only what she discovers about Khalid, but also the truth she realizes about herself.

This modern Pride and Prejudice retelling did Jane Austen proud. It heartwarmingly portrayed family, love, and life in a Toronto Muslim community. The writing was engaging and the characters well drawn. Grab your cup of chai and settle in to be entertained.

The story starts out slowly and gently as it introduces the backdrop of the main players, their community of family, work, friends, and religious life. The author added in explanations so that I was never lost as a reader. She also hit on some serious issues that Muslim people face in their changing communities and even in the workplace. Arranged marriage was discussed from both Ayesha and Khalid’s perspectives, but also the older generations. Family and religious values were given due consideration. Khalid’s issue at work shocked me because of how over the top his boss acted. I don’t doubt it can and does happen, but I’m shocked it went as far as it did without anyone catching her out. But then again, it read like a Shakespearean comedy which were mentioned several times in the book by Ayesha’s grandfather and several of the characters in this one were extreme in their behavior. I didn’t mind the extra drama and found it amusing most of the time because it didn’t carry on too long.

The early conflict for Ayesha and Khalid was based on misunderstanding, but then, when it starts to iron out as they get to know one another, their friendship and budding romance gets seriously sabotaged by others who have their own agendas. The second half of the book gets into the deeper drama and the pace picked up and had me intent to know how it would all untangle. I confess that I had hoped to see a bit stronger retribution for one of the players who was thoroughly narcissistic (our Lydia figure) though the others definitely got a good dose of revenge served up and I was happy to see those comeuppances after all the mess they stirred up.

A great deal of this book had Ayesha and Khalid on the wrong foot with each other and the romance was slow burn and had its stops and starts as a result. Khalid stuck that foot in his mouth once or twice, but so did Ayesha in her own way. She calls him judgmental when he dismissed her after seeing her sitting in a bar with a cocktail in front of her pulling out a pack of cigarettes (cocktail was virgin and cigs weren’t hers). It gets her back up, but she had just gotten finished judging him for his conservative dress and appearance and later takes the word of a stranger she doesn’t even like with lies about Khalid and his family.

They sit in opposite opinions about arranged marriage and she constantly calls him a mama’s boy for respecting and obeying his mother’s wishes not knowing that he does it due to a family tragedy that still wounds him. Khalid apologizes profusely when he learns his error and he struggles to change where he feels he was in the wrong after listening to Ayesha, Clara, and others. He was such a sweetie and, for all his awkward blundering, he was a very romantic figure. I loved that pivotal scene in Ayesha’s home with her grandmother teaching them both how to make a traditional dish, paratha, and dispensing sage advice over chai and the food. And, his relationship with his older sister and how he tried to take care of her as best he could left me swooning.

But, for all the enjoyment I took from this story, I had one niggle. I never saw Ayesha more than mildly remorseful when her mistakes came out and Khalil seemed to do all the changing. I don’t mean to say that she’s bad or I didn’t like her- in fact I did and I could relate on some levels as she searched to figure out what she wanted and understand more about love. But I felt that she owed Khalid words of apology in a candid conversation since she had no trouble delivering words of condemnation on more than one occasion and half the time she was wrong particularly in the painful way her lie about who she was hurt Khalid deeply.

There were some good twists and big scenes in the last half that had been building for a while. I had to chuckle over some of it and yes, I was cheering hard to see Khalid shine as the hero in the end. The ending had me smiling and sorry not to be able to stick around to see what came next to get the gossiping and matchmaking aunties chattering over the chai tea and desserts.

All in all, is was an engaging story and a fabulous tribute to Austen, Shakespeare, and the Muslim community. Whether you’re an Austen fan or not, if you enjoy stories about family, friends, and a colorful romance pair, give this one a go.

My thanks to Berkley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

About Sophia Rose

Sophia is a quiet though curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, and gardening. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes Region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, Baseball, Cats, Scooby Doo, and Chocolate.

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Blog Tour: All the Greys on Greene Street by Laura Tucker

Posted May 30, 2019 by Lily B in Blog Tour, Reviews / 13 Comments

Blog Tour: All the Greys on Greene Street by Laura TuckerAll the Greys on Greene Street by Laura Tucker
Illustrator: Kelly Murphy
Published by Viking Books for Young Readers on June 4, 2019
Genres: Middle Grade, Historical Fiction
Pages: 320
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Rating: 3.5 Stars

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

SoHo, 1981. Twelve-year-old Olympia is an artist—and in her neighborhood, that's normal. Her dad and his business partner Apollo bring antique paintings back to life, while her mother makes intricate sculptures in a corner of their loft, leaving Ollie to roam the streets of New York with her best friends Richard and Alex, drawing everything that catches her eye.
Then everything falls apart. Ollie's dad disappears in the middle of the night, leaving her only a cryptic note and instructions to destroy it. Her mom has gone to bed, and she's not getting up. Apollo is hiding something, Alex is acting strange, and Richard has questions about the mysterious stranger he saw outside. And someone keeps calling, looking for a missing piece of art. . . .
Olympia knows her dad is the key--but first, she has to find him, and time is running out.

12-year-old Olympia is an artist living in SoHo in 1981, which isn’t all that uncommon in her neighborhood. Her father and his friend Apollo bring antique paintings back to life, while her mother sees the beauty in everything and makes intricate sculptures out of everyday ordinary items. But one morning she wakes up and her father has left the country, leaving her and her mom alone and now her mom won’t get out of bed. The only thing he left behind was a cryptic note that he asked for it to be destroyed. Apollo is acting strange and someone keeps calling for missing artwork.

This was a quiet, well-written book that circles around family, friendship, art, and mystery. It touches on the subject of depression and what it means living with a parent who suffers from depression. It was easy to forget at times that Olympia was only 12-year-old girl that did not know how to deal with her mother unable to get out of bed and some of the scenes tugged on my heartstrings for the little girl that held out hope. But it was nice to see that when she finally let them, Olympia did have a great support network behind her back that ended up being there for when she needed them most. I liked that it revolved around art and there was even a bit of a mystery thrown into the mix.

Laura Tucker’s writing overall is quiet and beautiful. Tucker really knows how to flesh out her characters and make them appear human. I found myself sympathizing with her.

That being said, however, I struggled with the pacing of the book. I felt like the story started out and ended strong, but it meandered a bit in the middle. It could have been a bit shorter. The subject matter for middle grade was a little hard, but depression can hit an adult any point in child life, even if it is something hard to read. I also do wish the time period was used a bit more in the writing. The story is definitely very character and art driven, but it was set in 1981 in SoHo and I found the time and setting interesting choice.

Overall. I thought this was a lovely written debut that makes me extremely excited for future works from this author. It touched on tough subjects, but very important ones. I thought in general, the author handled it really well and I cannot wait to see what she does next.

AUTHOR BIO

Laura Tucker has coauthored more than twenty books, including two New York Times bestselling memoirs. She grew up in New York City around the same time as Olympia, and now lives in Brooklyn with her daughter and husband; on Sunday mornings, you can find her at the door of Buttermilk Channel, one of their two restaurants. She is a cat person who cheats with dogs. All the Greys on Greene Street is her first novel.

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Weekly Wrap Up #31 - Where did May go?

Posted May 26, 2019 by Lily B in Wrap Up / 23 Comments

Weekly Recap

Where did May go? I feel like I blinked and it’s already the 26th! I hope the next two weeks will go just as quickly. Having health issues again, it’s really starting to cause me some anxiety, which in turn probably isn’t helping. I had to go to the ER this week with abdominal pain and that didn’t go so well. Not only did they miss my stomach issue on the CT scan, which I later learned from my surgeon, but they also gave me pain killers that you cannot give to someone with stomach issues which could have made everything that much worse. I also have a small hernia, which they also missed in the ER. I’m getting an endoscopy done on June 6th and I am both so nervous about the endoscopy and about the fact that it’s on June 6, which seems so far away. I want the pain to go away, it’s causing a lot of stress, which again, is not helpful.

So I’ve been focusing my attention elsewhere and that’s apparently shopping. I’ve bought so many books in the last couple of weeks, it’s starting to become a problem. I’ve discovered abebooks.com and that coupled with bookoutlet.com has become a problem.

Hope you guys are having a great three day weekend! Not much happening here, just me and my son oh and we have a new puppy 😀

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Thank you Berkley and ballantine books for The Girl in Red, The Missing Years ( I won this one from Jenni’s instagram @ Tar Heel Reader) and Keep You Close. The last came from various places from Abebooks.

 

 

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Review: The Night Before by Wendy Walker

Posted May 25, 2019 by Lily B in Reviews / 8 Comments

Review: The Night Before  by Wendy WalkerThe Night Before by Wendy Walker
Series: standalone
Published by St. Martin's Press on May 14, 2019
Genres: Thriller, Mystery
Pages: 320
Format: Hardcover
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Rating: 3.5 Stars

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

First dates can be murder.
Riveting and compulsive, national bestselling author Wendy Walker’s The Night Before “takes you to deep, dark places few thrillers dare to go” as two sisters uncover long-buried secrets when an internet date spirals out of control.

Laura Lochner has never been lucky in love. She falls too hard and too fast, always choosing the wrong men. Devastated by the end of her last relationship, she fled her Wall Street job and New York City apartment for her sister’s home in the Connecticut suburb where they both grew up. Though still haunted by the tragedy that’s defined her entire life, Laura is determined to take one more chance on love with a man she’s met on an Internet dating site.
Rosie Ferro has spent most of her life worrying about her troubled sister. Fearless but fragile, Laura has always walked an emotional tightrope, and Rosie has always been there to catch her. Laura’s return, under mysterious circumstances, has cast a shadow over Rosie’s peaceful life with her husband and young son – a shadow that grows darker as Laura leaves the house for her blind date.
When Laura does not return home the following morning, Rosie fears the worst. She’s not responding to calls or texts, and she’s left no information about the man she planned to meet. As Rosie begins a desperate search to find her sister, she is not just worried about what this man might have done to Laura. She’s worried about what Laura may have done to him…

Laura Lochner has had her share of bad luck when it comes to love. She always seems to pick the wrong men. Men that aren’t good for her. Men that eventually leave her. Mistakes she can’t seem to shake, nor the night years ago from her teenage years. A dark past that seems to haunt her.

After her latest bad relationship, Laura finally moves back into her hometown that she hoped to stay away, to live with her sister Rosie and her husband Joe. Laura is ready to move on, ready to stop making mistakes and give dating another shot with a man she meets online, who she hopes won’t know her past history.

But when Laura fails to come home the morning after, her sister Rosie starts to wonder what happened the night before.

I thought this was an interesting read that kept me mostly guessing through half of the book. I liked the premise and I liked the writing and I was curious to see how the revelations would come to light and paint the bigger picture about what happened that one night years ago with Laura.

Though I enjoyed the book, I also found that not much happens in the middle of it. A lot of the book is focused on rehashing and Laura’s date trying to get her to reveal her past. I was curious about why this was happening and was hoping for more of a nail-biting revelation. Thought that never happened, I did find that I generally enjoyed the ending. I found the book to be misleading and entertaining. It was a solid read, but I think I wanted a little more from this book. In the end, it just felt like there was something missing to make this a great thriller, but nevertheless, it was good and I am looking forward to more of this authors writing.

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Review Round Up #7

Posted May 23, 2019 by Lily B in Reviews / 6 Comments

Review Round Up #7Kingdom of Needle and Bone by Mira Grant, Cris Dukehart
Narrator: Cris Dukehart
Length: 3 hours and 3 minutes
Series: standalone
Published by Tantor Audio on April 30, 2019
Genres: Science Fiction
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Rating: 2.5 Stars

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

3 hours and 3 minutes
We live in an age of wonders.
Modern medicine has conquered or contained many of the diseases that used to carry children away before their time, reducing mortality and improving health. Vaccination and treatment are widely available, not held in reserve for the chosen few. There are still monsters left to fight, but the old ones, the simple ones, trouble us no more.
Or so we thought. For with the reduction in danger comes the erosion of memory, as pandemics fade from memory into story into fairy tale. Those old diseases can’t have been so bad, people say, or we wouldn’t be here to talk about them. They don’t matter. They’re never coming back.
How wrong we could be.
It begins with a fever. By the time the spots appear, it’s too late: Morris’s disease is loose on the world, and the bodies of the dead begin to pile high in the streets. When its terrible side consequences for the survivors become clear, something must be done, or the dying will never stop. For Dr. Isabella Gauley, whose niece was the first confirmed victim, the route forward is neither clear nor strictly ethical, but it may be the only way to save a world already in crisis. It may be the only way to atone for her part in everything that’s happened.
She will never be forgiven, not by herself, and not by anyone else. But she can, perhaps, do the right thing.
We live in an age of monsters.

It started with little Lisa Morris, an eight-year-old niece of Dr. Isabella Gauley as patient zero to fall to a new disease that would soon be known as the Morris disease. It didn’t take long for the disease that humankind believed to be eradicated to spread. They didn’t know that it was the first wave, or what it would do to the human body until it was too late. As Dr. Isabella Gauley scrambles to help the survivors that were left untouched, the rest of the world scrambles to beat a virus that is proving itself impossible to beat.

This was…

The concept of the book I found to be interesting. It’s a take on what could happen if people choose not to vaccinate their kids and how herd immunity as a whole helps the world. I think the concept would have been so good if the book was more developed and not a novella. It’s told in a third person and while the narrator did a good job with the story, I think maybe it was because I was listening to it, the story sounded like a preachy opinion piece. I found this style made me very disconnected with the characters because we never really get to know them or their emotions.

I thought this could have been done so much better. Instead, it was so repetitive and heavy-handed. I get that the author might have strong opinions on what’s going on in the world today and it’s fine, I just thought she could have used that idea and made this into an edge of your seat novel with stronger characters. Instead, it was subpar, preachy piece of writing with a lack of character development that leaves you kind of detached the entire time.

And the thing that pissed me off the most was the ending. What in the f- was that ending? If you’re going to go the lengths to point out how herd immunity is important to the world, why would you insert an ending like that in there? And then it ends so abruptly, it made no sense.

This was my first Mira Grant novel, and I found myself largely disappointed by lack of development, substance, and storytelling. She had something really interesting here, but the execution failed. I’d hope this is just a set up for future books.

Review Round Up #7Eighteen Below by Stefan Ahnhem
Series: Fabian Risk,
Published by Minotaur Books on December 4, 2018
Genres: Thriller, Crime
Pages: 560
Format: Hardcover
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Rating: 3 Stars
Heat:two-flames

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The third book in the internationally bestselling Fabian Risk series, a terrifying story of stolen identity and serial murder.
ON A HOT SUMMER'S DAY
The police chase a speeding car through the streets of Helsingborg. When they reach the bridge, the driver keeps going straight into the cold, dark waters of the Öresund strait.
A TRAGIC ACCIDENT
The body recovered from the wreck is that of Peter Brise, one of the city's richest tech entrepreneurs. Fabian Risk and his team are confident this is suicide. Young, rich, successful—Brise just didn't know how to ask for help.
TURNS EVERTHING A LITTLE BIT COLDER...
But then the autopsy reveals something unexpected. Brise was already dead when his car crashed. He'd been brutally murdered two months ago. His body frozen in perfect condition, at eighteen degrees below zero...Something doesn't match up. And when a string of other odd murders and unusual behavior come to light in the area, Fabian Risk takes the case.

I don’t have a lot to say about this book. It’s a dark Nordic noir that follows an Inspector Fabian Risk. The book was a chunker with two separate mysteries that didn’t connect. I felt like there was probably enough material from both to create two separate books instead of jamming everything into one dense book.

I thought it was okay and that’s about it. The writing is good. The character development was there. Maybe it’s because I’ve started it with book three, and not one, I found myself detached from the characters and never really caring.

There are some really dark and twisted themes in this that made me cringe at times. The book meandered a bit and I found myself losing interest at times. But the dark mysterious in this book were interesting enough to hold my attention, I found them very unique.

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Sophia Rose Review: Fatal Finds in Nuala by Harriet Steel

Posted May 20, 2019 by Lily B in Guest Post, Reviews / 14 Comments

Sophia Rose Review: Fatal Finds in Nuala by Harriet SteelFatal Finds in Nuala by Harriet Steel
Series: The Inspector de Silva Mysteries #4
Published by Stane Street Press on July 11th 2018
Genres: Historical Mystery, Cozy Mystery
Pages: 212
Format: Kindle Edition
Source: Bought
Buy on Amazon
Rating: 4 Stars

In this fourth instalment of the Inspector de Silva mysteries, it is monsoon season in the Hill Country. One stormy night, a ghostly encounter on a lonely road leads de Silva into a case of murder, and a mystery that stretches back to Ceylon’s distant past. To uncover the truth, he will have to face death and his inner demons. Fatal Finds in Nuala is another absorbing and colourful mystery in this series that vividly portrays Sri Lanka’s Colonial past.

I have come to really enjoy this engaging historical cozy mystery series set in Ceylon of the 1930’s. In this installment, Shanti, Jane, and Archie Clutterbuck engage in an archeological mystery in the jungle outside Nuala that involves murder during the height of the Monsoon season.

Fatal Finds in Nuala is the fourth of the Inspector de Silva mysteries. This is a series that is enjoyed best when read in order, but is versatile so it can easily be treated as a series of standalones, too.

There is a lovely blend of exotic location, time period, engaging characters, and a clever mystery. I love that the detective is non British and a native Singalese of middle-age. Shanti is thoughtful and clever. He respects others and struggles to be patient when he isn’t accorded the same and it interferes with his work.

A chance breakdown begins the chain of events that leads him to investigating a villager’s murder that seems to be connected with curious, but not necessarily priceless coins from the Kandy empire era. Or are they worthless? Shanti’s instincts are aroused even with few facts. His boss, Archie, is in an expansive mood, so he pursues thread-like leads.

Unlike some cozies, this series have some pretty exciting moments of danger and action. I do enjoy seeing Shanti get himself out of some tight situations and the setting of jungle and the poor weather adds to the suspense. And, it’s fun when the lightbulb comes on and he nails the villain. This was one where there is some foreshadowing that puts the reader onto some of the truth before the facts got there for the reveal. That said, I didn’t have it all figured out.

There were a few sweet moments when Jane comes along with Shanti to find clues in the jungle and a trip on the train to visit the city where they met.

So, it was another solid entry in the series and leaves me eager for more. Definitely a recommended series.

About Sophia Rose

Sophia is a quiet though curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, and gardening. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes Region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, Baseball, Cats, Scooby Doo, and Chocolate.

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Review: The Echo Killing by Christi Daugherty

Posted May 16, 2019 by Lily B in Reviews / 15 Comments

Review: The Echo Killing by Christi DaughertyThe Echo Killing by Christi Daugherty
Series: Harper McClain, #1
Published by Minotaur Books on March 13, 2018
Genres: Mystery, Thriller
Pages: 356
Format: Hardcover
Source: Bought
Buy on Amazon
Rating: 3.5 Stars

When a murder echoing a fifteen-year-old cold case rocks the Southern town of Savannah, crime reporter Harper McClain risks everything to find the identity of this calculated killer.
A city of antebellum architecture, picturesque parks, and cobblestone streets, Savannah moves at a graceful pace. But for Harper McClain, the timeless beauty and culture that distinguishes her home’s Southern heritage vanishes during the dark and dangerous nights. She wouldn’t have it any other way. Not even finding her mother brutally murdered in their home when she was twelve has made her love Savannah any less.
Her mother’s killer was never found, and that unsolved murder left Harper with an obsession that drove her to become one of the best crime reporters in the state of Georgia. She spends her nights with the police, searching for criminals. Her latest investigation takes her to the scene of a homicide where the details are hauntingly familiar: a young girl being led from the scene by a detective, a female victim naked and stabbed multiple times in the kitchen, and no traces of any evidence pointing towards a suspect.
Harper has seen all of this before in her own life. The similarities between the murder of Marie Whitney and her own mother’s death lead her to believe they’re both victims of the same killer. At last, she has the chance to find the murderer who’s eluded justice for fifteen years and make sure another little girl isn’t forever haunted by a senseless act of violence―even if it puts Harper in the killer’s cross-hairs…

At the age of twelve, Harper McClain found her mother brutally murdered in their beautiful Savannah home. Since her killer was never found, the unsolved murder of her mother left Harper obsessed and drove her to become one of the best crime reporters in the state. Now years later, another killing occurs and Marie Whitney has echoes of Harper’s mother’s murder. There are so similar, down to the finer details that Harper is sure that it is the same killer that killed her mother years ago, surfacing after all this time. But no one seems to believe her. Now Harper is left alone trying to find the killer in a world where no one seems to believe her hunch, but her actions might leave her more alienated and losing everything in order to bring forth justice.

This book was…

Interesting. I liked it. For the most part, I thought the story was compelling for the most part. I think the set up had me very invested in finding out how all of this ties together in the end even if the killer becomes obvious halfway through.

I liked the writing. I thought Christi Daugherty’s writing is really good. My issue wasn’t with the story and the concept so much as it was with Harper. This is a very character driven book and if you don’t like the main character, it can definitely hinder how you feel about this book and it did with me. I liked Harper to begin with but then her obsession turned into recklessness and started testing her morality and it showed me that there are many lines that she is willing to cross despite who it hurts in the process. I found her reckless, impulsive, a user and morally questionable. I agreed with Luke and the other characters about their stance on her visit to the victim’s daughter. Even when the author played the outcome more subdue. I felt like this was a good example of how Harper really did not care the lengths she went to find this killer, or how her actions would affect multiple people in this book and her actions have caused a lot of consequences as a whole. That for me was just a little much, she wasn’t even a detective.

There was a bit of a push and pull romance going on here with Luke, the cop. She’s a crime reporter, his a cop, they shouldn’t have a relationship, they want a relationship, but they shouldn’t and Luke is also a casualty of how far she was willing to go. I love Luke, he was such a great character with a lot of heart, but I agree with his words in this book to her and don’t want to see this relationship work out.

Overall, I liked the writing, I liked the concept. It was a solid read, but ultimately I just did not care for Harper. I will probably continue on with the series because it left a hook interesting enough to see how it plays out, but I’ll be more cautious.

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Review: The Summer House by Jenny Hale

Posted May 15, 2019 by Lily B in Reviews / 11 Comments

Review: The Summer House by Jenny HaleThe Summer House by Jenny Hale
Series: standalone
Published by Forever, Bookouture on May 7, 2019
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 288
Format: Paperback, Kindle Edition
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Rating: 4 Stars

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

From this USA Today bestselling author comes a delightful summer read about friendship, family, and the healing power of love.
Callie Weaver and her best friend, Olivia Dixon, have finally done it: put their life savings into the beach house they admired through childhood summers, on the dazzling white sand of North Carolina's Outer Banks. They're going to buff the salt from its windows, paint its sun-bleached sidings, and open it as a bed-and-breakfast. Callie's too busy to think about her love life, but when she catches the attention of local heartthrob Luke Sullivan, his blue eyes and easy smile make it hard to say no. He's heir to his father's real estate empire, and the papers say he's just another playboy. But as they laugh in the ocean waves, Callie realizes there's more to this man than money and good looks. Just when true happiness seems within reach, Callie and Olivia find a diary full of secrets . . . secrets that stretch across the island and have the power to turn lives upside down. As Callie reads, she unravels a mystery that makes her heart drop through the floor. Will Callie and Luke be pulled apart by the storm the diary unleashes, or can true love save them?

Callie Weaver with her best friend, Olivia Dixon, have finally done what they always wanted. They bought the beach house they have admired through their childhood summers, and they are going to turn the lovely house on the sands of North Carolina’s Outer Banks into a bed and breakfast. With everything to focus on the last thing Callie has in mind is falling in love, until she catches the attention of the very local heartthrob Luke Sullivan. With his easy smiles and charming personality, it’s hard to say no. The paper’s all splash him as an entitled playboy, but as Callie spends more time with Luke, she realizes that he is nothing that the media is trying to paint him to be. Underneath all the expectations, his struggles and generosity are just as real. But when Callie discovers an old journal in the house, she finds secrets that can shake an entire family.

I enjoyed this so much. This was just a lovely, quiet summer read. I adored the wonderful group of characters and how much this made me wish for warmer weather during this very cold and dreary spring.

Jenny Hale really has a way to bring her characters to live with flaws and all and make them easy to relate to and very human. Both Callie and Olivia give you the girl next door vibes that, have you rooting for them and their success with the beach house. The romance was super sweet and cute and I really enjoyed watching Luke and Callie grow close. I liked that Luke was just a bit out of touch because of money, but not to the point where it made him completely superficial. It made him that much more endearing in a way.

There is a bit of a secret in the story that leads to some revelations and complications, but I found that it worked and I enjoyed it.

Overall, I really loved how Jenny Hale writes her romances and her characters that just have a way of endearing themselves to you. Charming, with a lot of heart, and wonderful writing, The Summer House by Jenny Hale is just the book you need for the summer nights.

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