Tag: ARC Reviews

Sugar, Spice, and Magical Midlife by Tara West

4 Stars

Fun Story.

This book is a fun read with a wide assortment of characters.  Our main female character is Luciella – Luci- a Witch who has hidden her talents and has divorced her husband of 20 years.  She’s hoping to have a more fun-filled life.  Ethyl, Luci’s cousin, is a Pixie and a Witch, works with her in Luci’s bakery.  Des is Luci’s 12-year-old autistic son who sounds much older and wiser.  And finally, our main male character is Ricardo -Ric – who is tall, well-muscled, handsome, and tattooed.  And something more….

With this cast of characters, plus others who are both good and bad and every king of supernatural, Tara West has written an engaging book that is humorous and real.  The story is fast paced but a bit sketchy at times.  But if you suspend your mind from all the paranormal aspects and just enjoy Luci’s life, the reader can’t help but want to encourage Tara West to further expand this series. 

I was given an ARC of this book from BookSirens and this is my honest opinion.

The Uncrowned King (The Bastard Duology Book 2) by Donna Grant

5 Stars

Entirely entertaining!

This is part 2 of the Bastard Duology and well worth reading.  Donna Grant left a cliffhanger at the end of Book 1 and this picks up immediately after.  Derek, our main male character and a dragon is written exceptionally well, and Kora our hellhound female main character shows that she is able to change her world view and prejudices.  I loved this Duology!  Ms. Grant’s writing reminds me of how the very first Warrior and Dragon King books are written, hot men and capable women in situations that they didn’t want or expect.   With an expansive plot line and many characters in supporting roles a new reader would benefit from reading earlier books in Donna’s Dark Universe.  She always manages to create new personalities in every book, with new challenges for all the intertwined characters to overcome.  If you like paranormal books, this series has some surprising twists and turns and is well worth your time.

I received and ARC of this book from the author through BookFunnel and this is my honest opinion.

The Empress (Towerfall #1) by Kristen Cast

4 Stars

Hard to get into the story

But I continued to the end.  The beginning of the book introduces us to Hannah, from Chicago, and Kane Blackthorne of Towerfall from the Kingdom of Pentacles.  Hannah is not a normal, run of the mill working class woman, she is having issues at work with a co-worker who takes credit for others work including hers, and a breakup with her boyfriend.  As she walks homeward and passes a storefront offering Tarot readings, Hannah is given a card, The Empress.  Which promptly deposits her into Towerfall where she is accused of being a witch and nearly killed.  Saved by Kane, Hannah makes a deal with him to help the Kingdom from being destroyed in exchange for his assistance in finding The Empress card which she’s lost so she can return to Chicago.

Confusing?  Just a bit, but this book caught me by being the first in a series that uses Tarot as real characters and places.   Our main female character, Hannah, doesn’t seem to be in her 20s, she is more like a 16–17-year-old high school student.  Hannah grows a little through the story and finally acts almost her age by the end of the book.  Kane is older than her and has more life experiences, which make his character more interesting, but he could have been much more developed in the story. 

I did enjoy the book after about the halfway point, but the ending seemed to be rushed.  I hope the author, Kristin Cast, works harder to leave the Young Adult writing that keeps this book from being more satisfying to adult readers.  Using the Tarot as important characters is something I’ve never read before and can give this series a distinctive edge over other books.  I look forward to reading the next book. 

I was given an ARC by NetGalley and this is my honest opinion. 

The Duchess Takes It All by Michelle McLean

5 Stars

An Outsider in Society

This story features a newly widowed Duchess of Clevesly, Tamsin Palmer, who is the daughter of a merchant.  She has a toddler whom she adores, her deceased husband not so much.  Being an outcast in high society is not easy, and to make matters harder, her husband had appointed a co-guardian for the son, the German Count of Rauchberg Christian august.  The story of the two of them is interesting and well written, a little slow in the middle, but an enjoyable book.  Michelle McLean does a great job of giving the details of both London society and German city-states political stresses.  The characters were written mostly in the time period the story is set in, and the author did a wonderful job of keeping Tasmin within the constraints of the period.  I have read other books by her that were set in the American West and enjoyed them also.  Ms. McLean does a thorough job of detailing the environment that surrounds her characters.  I’m looking forward to reading more books that she has written.

I received an ARC of the book through NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

The Mirror (Lost Bride Trilogy #2) by Nora Roberts

5 Stars

Another Excellent Read!

Continuing on with Book 2, Sonya, Trey, Cleo, and Owen have more challenges to meet in dealing with the Evil that is residing in the mansion that Sonya has inherited.  To get the best experience the reader should read the books in order starting with The Inheritance.

With intricate plotting, great characters, wonderful world building and as always near perfect Grammer, Nora Roberts has written another outstanding book. Cannot wait for the final book!

I received an ARC of the book through NetGalley, and this is my honest opinion.

Dark Heart (Elven Kingdoms Book 2) by Donna Grant

5 Stars

Interesting and involved.

This is Book 2 in the Elven Kingdoms series, which is part of Donna Grant’s much larger Dark Universe.  This series deals with multiple types of Elves located on the planet Zora, so each books spends time explaining the Eves involved.  Our two main characters, female Arya and male Jai, both are Dark Elves looking for vengeance.  Secondary characters supporting Arya are her mentor Dain, and mates Yasmine and Ravi.  Jai, and his best friend, a female named Priya are tied to an evil group called the Masters, which sets up the underlying plot.  Donna Grant takes these characters and these plot points and weaves an intricate and compelling read.  Detailed enough to make the reader feel the betrayals and darkness but with enough violence to give it realism, and hope that the characters will survive.  While slow in spots, the story moves along in a steady stream to the conclusion.  Well written with good characterizations, I enjoyed this second book dealing with mostly the Dark Elves. 

I was given an ARC by the author through BookFunnel, and this is my honest opinion.

Book of the Month by Jennifer Probst

4 Stars

Loved the ending.

I wanted to read this book because it’s set in North Carolina on the Outer Banks (OBX) and touches on the wild horses located around Corolla.  After visiting the area, I am familiar with both the location and the horses. Both were treated accurately.   Our two main characters are Aspen Lourde, a writer of one best selling fiction book that was based on her breakup with her boyfriend, and Brick Babel who has returned to the OBX to run a horse tours business he’s inherited from his grandfather.  Side characters include Aspen’s sister Sierra who lives on the Outer Banks, and Brick’s best friend Kane who arrives late in the story, along with others who provide interest and color.  Aspen is desperately trying to write a follow-up to her first book using the plot of a fake boyfriend, which turns into real feelings and then a break-up. 

While the writing is excellent, the middle part of the book dragged for me.  It seemed to repeatedly cover the same themes, with Aspen becoming more and more desperate to write the follow up to her first best seller. A plus is that Brick is also given a voice which I find lacking in other books.  Knowing more about his history and his thoughts did add to this slow part.  Once the plot has moved to the last quarter of the book the story picks up and brought me back into the story, and the ending is excellent. 

Both main characters are well developed, maybe Aspen to much so, and the secondary characters detailed enough for the reader to care about them also.  Along with a dog, who plays an important part, the parts about the horses ring true to their existence on the Outer Banks.  This would have been a 5 Star read for me, except for the middle, which slowed down the story.  I like Jennifer Probst’s writing and have already found the next book by her to read.  And hopefully, she’ll write more set in the OBX.

I was given and ARC of this book through NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

Death at a Scottish Christmas (A Scottish Isle Mystery Book 3) by Lucy Connelly

5 Stars

Great Series set in Scotland

In this well written series set in Sea Isle, Scotland we continue to follow former Seattle Emergency Room Doctor Emilia McRoy as she continues to become comfortable with her new position of Town Doctor and Coroner.  This 3rd book is set a few months after she’s arrived and is now settling into her position and the home and office provided by the Laird and Town Constable Ewan Campbell in a former church.  A complete cast of characters is now present with well created backstories.  A tension between Emilia and Ewan is secondary still to the mystery of the death of a Sea Isle born Rock star.  This enjoyable series only has gotten better and better with each book written by Lucy Connelly.  Wonderful details of the town and its inhabitants combine with the American born Doctor and Scottish Laird who are both trying to do just what the small-town needs.  Each book builds upon the previous one, so for the best experience read from the beginning.  Death at a Scottish Christmas could be read as a standalone but will give the reader a few What? and How? and Why? if read that way.  I’m looking forward to additional books by Ms. Connelly.

I was given an ARC of the book by NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

If I Stopped Haunting You by Colby Wilkens

4 Stars

More than a Romance.

Thinking about this book, I really enjoyed reading it.  The story features two writers, Penelope Skinner and Neil Storm.  Both are Native American, and while Neil has broken into the field of most popular writers, Penelope has not.  The two had a public argument at a book convention on how they treat writing about their culture, and since that Penelope has had writer’s block.  So, she decides to attend a writer’s workshop being held in Scotland in a supposedly haunted castle.  From this beginning, the plot develops into a ghostly mystery with no visible ghosts with a slow to develop romance.  Colby Wilkens did a great job of creating two main characters and two supporting characters who are believable.  The plot is straightforward in moving Pen and Neil from antagonism to a believable friendship.  I have not seen another book that combines a mystery and a romance as the most important elements, but the author makes this work.  A bit of Paranormal is worked into the story, but it adds to the main mystery.  Hopefully the author will write more in this crossover style.

I received and ARC of the book from NetGalley, and this is my honest opinion.  

The Bastard King (The Bastard Duology #1) by Donna Grant

5 Stars

An amazing story….

This is book 1 of a duology, but it’s really a part of a much bigger set of books that are all a part of Donna Grant’s Dark Universe.  This particular book features Derek, a Dragon who is not a part of Donna’s regular Dragons.  This separation is what makes this story so different from the others.  We know nothing about him, except his thoughts and memories.  Our second main character is Kora who isn’t human but tries to appear so.  They are on the planet, or realm as they call it, Zora where there are Dragons, Humans, Fae, and Star People.  If you haven’t read any of the other books in this series, you will have questions.  Donna Grant is an exceptional writer, and it would be worth your time to read the other books, at least in this part of her Universe first.  But this book!  It is an intricate weaving of so many bits and pieces and interwoven characters that I didn’t want to stop reading.  Our two main characters are not what a dedicated reader would expect, but this gives us so many new and interesting plot points that I can’t wait for the 2nd book to be released.  As always, Donna’s writing is masterful, with grammar and storyline well done.  Her characterizations are always fresh and insightful.  Take the time to read the series of books, and this one will be a favorite.  I would say that this book is on par with Darkest Flame, Hot Blooded, Fire Rising, and Torched.  This book is escapism at its best.

I received an ARC of the book from the Author and BookFunnel, and this is my honest opinion.