5 stars I am surprised to admit that I actually like Kayden by the end of this series. Laxmi had assured me that I would, but I think there was a part of me that remained skeptical. There were many times when I was convinced he was absolutely irredeemable. I guess I was wrong. Maybe I should trust Laxmi. As with the other books in this series, I edited this book. I really, really did not like Kayden and could not imagine anything that would make me like him. To be honest, were this nonfiction, and were I to meet someone like Kayden in real life, I would absolutely run in the opposite direction. However, since these are fictional characters and since Chloe fell in love with him, I have to admit that he came around to being a decent person by the conclusion of their story. I’m still disturbed by his desire to “hurt” Chloe, but I guess he explained himself in a way that I could at least sympathize with him. The fact that he actually stopped hurting her certainly helped build my goodwill. This book ends with an intro to the developing relationship between Lisa and Talon, the Viking. For now, it seems similar to the one between Kayden and Chloe, but I’m sure it will turn around eventually. The journey to get there should be interesting. I’m looking forward to it. May 15, 2020
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5 stars There’s some great prosaic storytelling in this book. It doesn’t get bogged down in overly flowery phrases or poetic descriptions, which I generally like. Instead, it tells the story in a straightforward and easy to follow way from third-person POV. There were a lot of moving parts and a variety of different characters, none of whom really seemed to be the “main character.” Right up until the end, I was unable to predict what would happen next. I particularly liked the character of Boz, not because his character was likable, but because I loved the way his character was described. “He had joined the firm thirty-four years earlier and had quickly established himself as a man with no apparent legal skills...had he not been the son of a founding partner, he would have been put out on the street within a few months...Any normal self-respecting employee would have resigned, but there was nowhere else for Boz to go.” This man likes to pretend he’s relevant by monitoring the activities of others and pretending to be busy with important matters. He has perfected the art, aptly described in this scene: “He rubbed his forehead and sighed, as if recovering from a major intellectual challenge.” Channing is described as the conniving lawyer you love to hate. Were it not for the fact this book was written by a lawyer, I might be tempted to believe he dislikes them as a whole. Instead, I think he probably has first-hand experience with low-lifes like this. At times, Channing’s behaviors reflected stereotypical lawyer behaviors, but for the most part, the character was believable. Billy, too, displays stereotypical thug behaviors. Even so, I enjoyed the story and overlooked the cliched characters. The plot is really the jewel of this book. Characters are not terribly complicated and there’s no pulling of your heartstrings. The ones that are relatable are the good guys; the bad guys are bad with no shades of goodness to them. To me, none of this mattered. I enjoyed the story for the plot and the narrative was good enough to relate the story. I’m giving it 5 stars because I found it inventive, original, and fun to read. May 28, 2020 2 stars I really wish I had liked this more. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t particularly good either. Overall, I found it depressing and didn’t see the point. It followed Rowen and how Eden had changed his life, but he never really did much with himself, was a victim of circumstance, and just irritated me. He seemed to float from one circumstance to the next, never really examining his life and figuring out what he wanted. He never stood up for himself or the people he cared about. At least, I thought he cared about people, but it was hard to tell. At times, I wondered if the book was about Eden or about Adeline, but Rowan was the main character so anything the reader saw about them was filtered through the eyes of Rowan. Either of them would have made a more compelling main character. Eventually, Rowan did the right thing, but by that point, it seemed like he was just trying to make up for all of his mistakes. The author has a talent for description, employing copious sensory details to create vivid and memorable scenes. Unfortunately, the plot followed the life of Rowan without any indication of turning points or self-revelations. I didn’t see any real growth in him, so this was not a hero’s journey in any sense of the word. It was disappointing and I’d rather not have read it because I now have clear memories of scenes but no understanding of why they matter. May 25, 2020 5 stars This was a fast-paced and enjoyable read with many twists and turns. Nothing was as it seemed, there was always a question about who were the villains, and the relationship between Adrian and Elizabeth was believable and inspiring. The message: you can find love if you allow yourself to trust after being hurt. Both Adrian and Elizabeth had been hurt by love, in different ways, but they found love with one another. The depth of the betrayal Adrian had suffered made Elizabeth’s seem insignificant, although hers alone would have been sufficient to add enough complexity to any plot. From the beginning, the reader knows that she had a child out of wedlock and the father of the baby refused to acknowledge her/the baby. When the reader finds out what happened to Adrian and his unexpected link to Elizabeth, it serves to build him into an even greater hero than he initially seems to be. The writing is really good with descriptions that brought scenes to life, like this: “Shadows roamed the halls of Middlecrest, each wide passage painted black by the gloomy hands of night.” And I loved this one: “It was a warm silence that afternoon, the kind that went down my throat like gruel.” The eventual conclusion, along with the revelations of the “bad guys” was both surprising and exciting, very unpredictable. I found myself unwilling to set the book down until I had finished. I thoroughly enjoyed it. May 24, 2020 3 STARS If you’re looking for a happy ending, you’d better look elsewhere. This is just one long unrelenting, depressing series of events in the life of Butch, a 10 year old with a vivid imagination and an abusive father. He is prone to hyperbole so for a while I thought maybe his descriptions of his father were an exaggeration, but they were not. The man is a monster. The only glimmer of hope is toward the end when Butch realizes he holds some sway over his father because his father fears him telling the mother about the other women in his life. I kept putting the book down and walking away because it was bringing me down, stressing me out. After one particular scene in which his cousin is cornered by two older and bigger male cousins and Butch realizes something terrible is going to happen to her and NO ONE is going to protect her, I felt sick. No, the author didn’t describe anything, but the thought of it was enough to upset me. A good proportion of people in this book were terrible human beings, particularly Butch’s dad’s family. Descriptions of scenes were vivid and locations so clear and visceral that I shuddered at times. The description of Maw-Maw’s house was the first such description that made me go, ewww. Butch is afraid of being taken away and put in an orphanage, but I had to wonder why. The way he depicted his life sounded like hell, which is why I thought he must be exaggerating. It couldn’t be that bad. He was exaggerating. And it was that bad. An orphanage might have been an improvement. I want to give the author his due. The writing is wonderful, with descriptions like these: “The sun was a lava sledgehammer that some malicious fire spirit dropped hard and hot on their heads and shoulders, again and again.” “Something inside Butch wadded up and blew away, landing somewhere behind the car. Butch turned and caught a glimpse of it waving frantically in the heat shimmer.” Perhaps because of poetic phrases like the aforementioned, I continued reading beyond the point of pain. I really did not enjoy the book, but I loved the language used to tell the story. It’s really hard to rate a book like this because I recognize the skill that goes into telling the story, but I wish that talent had been directed toward telling a more pleasant one. I read to escape reality which, by the way, is much more pleasant than the fictional one in which Butch lives. I feel sad and icky after reading this book and wish that I hadn’t. That said, I would love to read something else from this author...something equally poetic, but more uplifting. May 23, 2020 4 STARS This story was a variation on the theme of Beauty & the Beast, a story I happen to love. Of course, the author threw in a bit of a mystery with someone out to get Vincent, determined to use Olivia to hurt him. All of the clues were there, so it wasn't a total shock, but it was a little too far-fetched for me. The lengths this person would go to seek vengeance for something he didn't experience firsthand were hard to believe. The scheming and planning were extreme. There were some wonderful descriptions in the book. Battle scenes were so well-described, I felt nauseated. There’s an evocative description of rain at Vincent’s home near the beginning that was divine, even using personification for the building with “hollow eyes” and the “open-mouthed statues” with “silent screams directed upward to a god who had all but abandoned this place.” Some of the depictions of the rooks in the abandoned parts of his home were equally note-worthy. Olivia’s impression of her cold and somber new home upon her arrival in the darkness was also exceptional, the light casting “startling shadows upon the floor, almost sentient in their movements,” and darkened doorways reaching out “like clawing hands.” The book is not without its problems, which is why I’m only giving it 4 stars. It went on too long and I found myself begrudgingly reading after I felt it should have ended. A few times, the narrative veered too much into the realm of being didactic and I felt as if the author stopped just short of saying, “The moral of the story is…” If a story has been told well (and, in this case, I felt it had been), telling the reader the moral of the story is both unnecessary and insulting. Additionally, generally, I’m in favor of epilogues, but I seldom see the need for extended epilogues. At that point, it seems like the author is either trying to pad the word count or just doesn’t know how to tie up loose ends by the end of the actual story. Perhaps this is a requirement of being a part of Cobalt Fairy publishing, since it seems to happen consistently with these authors, but I don’t like it. Overall, however, I appreciated the book and the inconsistencies were insignificant compared to my enjoyment. May 17, 2020 4 STARS I enjoyed this action-packed book and found the characters relatable and likable. The plot was engaging, although I sometimes found Rafe's secretiveness a bit too much. I understand his desire to keep things from Jamie, but it wasn't necessary to keep the reader in the dark. This led to a big explanation at the end that dragged and felt didactic, reminding me of a Scooby Doo reveal, minus the villain lamentations ("I would've gotten away with it if it hadn't been for those meddling kids"). At times, internal reflections on the strength of the friendship between Rafe and Alex seemed unnecessary. Jamie's feelings of betrayal and anger were realistic, given her ignorance about peoples' motivations, but again, I feel like the reader would have appreciated her emotions just as much without being equally ignorant. One final criticism: Some of the fight scenes with Rafe and the "bad guys" were a bit over the top and reminiscent of a superhero movie… knocked from a moving vehicle multiple times yet still able to hang on and jump back in, shot and bleeding from three wounds, multiple hits to a Kevlar vest, and still, he keeps on going. When the reader starts rolling their eyes, maybe you've gone too far. That said, I enjoyed the book and still think it's a fun read. May 14, 2020 This book reads like a memoir, told from the POV of Sam Hell, a bullied, misunderstood misfit whose mother believes he is designed for greatness. It's an exploration of faith and human kindness (and inhumanity) and follows Sam from the age of five to some time in his forties. Not surprisingly, Sam spends most of that time trying to figure out who he is, what his purpose is, why God made him the way he is, what he wants and realizing he deserves it. It's extremely well written, jumping back and forth in time clearly and effortlessly. The threads are easy to follow. I found it easy to relate to Sam, who could have been an older brother to me and experienced many of the same cultural touchstones as I. The late 60s - early 70s are unmistakable, and even though I grew up on the opposite coast, there were many similarities. His stories about attending Catholic school were similar to the stories told by my parents (although the bullying seemed a bit extreme). Sam had a droll sense of humor. I laughed aloud when he described his appearance after a particularly brutal confrontation with his nemesis David Bateman. The fight was horrible, but the comic relief was amusing: “I looked like that guy from the American Revolution carrying the flag and limping along with a bandage on my head.” Another time, when Sam had too much to drink as a teenager, he lost his balance and stated, ”Luckily, I used my face to break my fall.” As a writer turned ophthalmologist, his metaphors were, not surprisingly, quite clever. For example, "... stone buildings pressed side by side as tightly add impacted teeth." Overall, I would have to say that, despite it continuing until Sam is in his forties, this is a great coming-of-age, grappling-with-faith story and I highly recommend it. May 10, 2020 5 STARS I read an advance description of this book and thought it sounded amusing so I requested an ARC. I am so glad the author agreed to share a copy with me. This book is outstanding. It’s well-written and the plot is ingenious and riveting. If you’re a fan of satire in politics (which I am), this book is for you. It is chock-full of clever comparisons to our current political climate, some of which made me laugh out loud. Not content to stick to MAGA-inspired humor, the author also inserts a joke about Jack being “the decider.” That’s the beauty of satire that is well done—it makes you laugh when you might otherwise cry. Jeff Kerr has a gift for metaphors and regaled me with gems like this one: “...he bounced along as if a pole dancer had just invited him backstage for a private lap dance.” Or this one: “Applause rattled against the walls and ceiling like pebbles in a rain stick.” And this visual made me cringe: “...flecks of saliva flying out of her mouth that Jack could see but not dodge.” I also loved that a character had been nicknamed “Jerky because that was his one area of expertise.” Random characters on their way to the Medicare office complaining about the federal government and how all they do is take money from the people was a pithy encapsulation of those who argue against big government while greedily taking whatever they can from it. As the book progresses, the level of services offered by the federal government and taken for granted becomes more and more obvious. As current politicians plot to close the USPS, I wish more people would recognize the importance of these services (particularly when our tax dollars do not actually go toward USPS). It was the conversations that revealed a level of ignorance beyond imagination that were most memorable to me. Jack’s wife Nadine and her best friend Brianna are particularly stupid and one conversation between them had me laughing out loud. Chapter 17 begins with the two of them discussing how to pronounce a word based on its spelling. They proceed to compare it to other words, which they do not know how to spell. When the subject of the cotton gin comes up, Brianna states, “Cotton gin would taste awful.” Then, Nadine (who had up until this point seemed slightly more knowledgeable) states in an authoritative tone that ‘criminal’ has two ‘m’s and since they have already established that Brianna is a terrible speller, it is assumed that Nadine is correct. Nadine made other stupid statements throughout the book, like saying oysters were an “amnesiac.” But Brianna’s statement near the end really summed up the stupidity of so many of the characters: “Well, like the Beatles said, you can’t always get what you want.” I highly recommend this book and I will be suggesting friends and family read it. The plotting is clever, the pacing perfect, and the imagining of what could happen is spot-on. As Aesop’s Fables warns, be careful what you wish for, lest it come true. May 7, 2020 5 STARS Too busy to read the individual reviews of each story in this collection? Here’s the short version. I enjoyed The Time Traveler’s Desire, A Knight’s Desire, The Angel and The Prince, and Highlander in Her Dreams. All earned 5 star ratings. The Wicked Lady was disappointing and would have been better left out of this collection. I give it 2 stars. The Angel and the Prince was one of the better stories I’ve read in a long time, earning 5++ stars. I loved it! 4-24-2020 The Time Traveler's Desire - Amy Jarecki 5 stars I was surprised by how quickly and completely I was caught up in this story. As historical fiction, it captured my imagination and carried me into the past. I loved the characters: Lachlan, Christina, Andrew, Sir Boyd, Hamish. All of these characters, with the exception of Hamish, were multidimensional and intriguing. As the hero, Lachlan was the most compelling of all. The relationships he developed with Christina and Andrew were nuanced and relatable. I cannot find any fault with this book, neither in the writing nor in the plot. 4-26-2020 The Wicked Lady - Brenda Jernigan 2 stars Aside from the ridiculous plot, characters behaved in a manner that was unrealistic and incompatible with the time period. A few times, I considered skipping over this story to get to the next one, but I was intrigued by what was going to happen next (even though I thought it was silly). I’m embarrassed to say that I'm not really sure why I kept reading it. I am going to list some of the problems I had with the plot/writing, but there are likely to be SPOILERS:
4-28-2020 A Knight’s Desire - Catherine Kean 5 stars I really enjoyable story of soulmates, separated by a jealous rival. Detailed historic descriptions made me feel a part of the time period. The characters were wonderful, especially Ash. I loved that he called Rosetta Briar Rose. There was ample opportunity to add more angst to the story and I am glad the author kept it to a minimum. Knowing a happy ending would ensue made it easier to read when plans went awry. 4-30-2020 The Angel and the Prince - Laurel O'Donnell 5++ stars This was an amazing read and well worth the price of this collection. If you read nothing else here, read this one. It pits England’s Prince of Darkness (Bryce) against France’s Angel of Death (Ryen), enemies to lovers in the most literal sense of the word. Despite their clear attraction and respect for one another, there is no possibility that they can find happiness together, unless one is willing to become a traitor to his/her country. As knights, that is not an option for either of them, who value honor above all else (even love). There were some wonderfully descriptive passages in this story: “The red glow of the setting sun stung his eyes as the light attacked him through the windows in the hallway.” (I might have preferred that the light stabbed his eyes, but still, it was good.) “Like the pickets of a fence, numerous armored guards were stationed on either side of a wide path that stretched from Bryce to the other end of the hall.” (Great depiction of a frightening scene) “She did not feel the chilly air as it tried to wrap its frigid fingers around her bare shoulders; her body blazed with a blanket of anger.” (Love the personification!) “Lightning ripped the sky in two, striking the barren field far off to their left. A cloud of dust exploded upward from the impact of the sharp spear of energy.” (An apt way to describe a bolt of lightning in a time when swords and spears were commonplace.) “His entire body was caked with mud, his skin barely covered by a tunic and breeches that were so torn and ragged they hung from his thin limbs like an old cleaning cloth that had long outlived its usefulness.” (This description is so visceral, it made me shudder.) The plot is full of twists and turns and I spent the better part of a day trying to complete daily tasks, but being continually pulled back to the story to find out what would happen next. I don’t want to say I wasted a day with my nose buried in my Kindle, but my family might argue that’s what I did. I was incapable of focusing on anything else until I had reached the end of this story, and when I did, I just said, “wow.” Seriously, WOW. I had two issues with the plot, although by the time I reached the end, I was so blown away, I didn’t even care anymore. However, they are fairly significant so I feel I should mention them. Unfortunately, they are spoilers. I would never spoil a surprise simply to summarize a plot. I mention these because they are important “mistakes” and they happen to illuminate surprise plot points. I don’t think reading them in advance will ruin the book for any reader unless surprises are their only reason for reading. Personally, the quality of the writing itself is what makes or breaks a book for me. That said, here goes: **SPOILERS**
Toward the end, I was terribly worried that I was about to read a Romeo & Juliet ending. I love that story, but I was trembling as I pictured the events that would lead to the death of both of them. I just didn’t want that for them—they had already suffered so much. Thankfully, Laurel O’Donnell concocted a much better ending, one I could not have imagined, which was perfect. I’m afraid this book might get lost in a collection like this one, which is good but not outstanding (aside from this story). This is a story I want to tell everyone to read because the plot is incredible, the writing is evocative, and the characters are memorable. They came to life and I will not forget them. I’m sad to say good-bye to Bryce and Ryen, but I’m so glad they finally faced their love for one another and figured out their happily-ever-after. 5-3-2020 Highlander in Her Dreams – Sue-Ellen Welfonder 5 stars I didn’t think anything could compare to The Angel and the Prince; I was wrong. Despite the far-fetched concept of this story, I was thoroughly convinced that it could absolutely happen. Time travel was described in a way that was clear and believable. The love between Aiden and Kira was timeless and swoon-worthy. Furthermore, the descriptions regarding how one might react to sudden immersion in a world centuries apart from your own was touching and relatable. I have never desired travelling back to a time devoid of indoor plumbing and hygiene, to name a few modern expectations. When the author describes the smells of medieval Scotland, I loved it: “Their scent leaned toward armpit and old leather. Wool and linen that hadn’t been washed in the saints knew how long, the whole charming effect enhanced by the slight whiff of stale ale, horse, and dog.” Phew! I really don’t want to go there. Thank goodness for happy endings. I worried that Kira would be pulled away from Aiden, and on more than one occasion, it seemed likely. I also worried it would be one of those “it was all a dream” endings, which would have really aggravated me (and resulted in far fewer stars in the review). Instead, the book ended happily and with all loose ends resolved. However, I was a bit confused by the two characters depicted at the very end. I’m sure they were familiar characters from some other point in the story, but I couldn’t quite figure them out. May 3, 2020 |
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