Category Archives: books

Feb3

“Unwilling Accomplice” – a Book Review

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Last night, I finished reading Unwilling Accomplice by Melanie Atkins. This was book five in a series called New Orleans Detectives.  I haven’t read any of the other four but I will be doing so now. You can read this one without knowing what happened in the other four. I’m sure some of the other detectives that are in this story as minor characters had their own story in the earlier books but it’s not necessary to have read them in order. 

I was attracted to this book because of the cover and the setting. Living here in Pensacola, I love to drive the 2.5 hours to New Orleans. It’s the most European city we have here in the USA and I love it.  The cover of this book is perfect- it shows some of the awesome architecture of the city.

Here is the blurb for this book:

Marcy Moretti believes that anyone can be redeemed, until she witnesses a murder at the hands of her ex-husband and is forced to go on the run with her young son in order to survive. The only person who can help her is Joe Riso, her former brother-in-law, a detective staggered by the loss of his wife and daughter. If he’s going to protect both Marcy and her boy, he must first find a way to unfreeze his icy heart — and along the way find his own redemption.

This story starts out fast paced and keeps the momentum going.  I found myself, in several places, holding my breath to see what would happen next. I read this on my kindle app on my I-Pod and couldn’t slide the page fast enough on some of the action scenes.  This. to me, is the sign of an excellent story. To want to race through to see how it turns out is the best kind of suspense book.

The love scenes were well done as well. I was glad the author explained how Joe could still have a great, hard body when he’d been drinking himself into oblivion for a while.  Seems he worked out a lot to ease some of his stress.  I liked the hero and  the heroine in this story a lot.  I don’t usually like a book with a kid in it but I enjoyed this one.

I recommend this book.  It can be ordered at the publisher http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-143/Melanie-Atkins-New-Orleans/Detail.bok     or Amazon among other places.

Feb1

“I’m So Happy For You”- a Book Review

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I’m reluctant to review books that I really don’t enjoy but I wanted to talk a bit about this one. I read this book over a few days on my lunch break. I read the first two chapters with the thought that I really didn’t like any of the characters in the thing.  I hoped that somewhere along the line that would change. It did not. I never liked any of them.

The writer is an excellent writer. She does quite well with her prose and there were a few spots that amused me but the overall tenor of the book was just not my cup of tea. Both of the female main characters (I know one was supposed to be the protagonist, but I like to like the protagonist so I don’t want to call her that! LOL!) were unlikable in many respects. It was just not a fun read at all. 

In the author notes, she states, “One of my goals in writing…was to make both main characters simultaneously problematic and sympathetic. If you come away loathing one or both of them, I haven’t done my job.”  Well, I hate to say it, but for this reader, she didn’t do her job. I loathed them both.

I believe the book to be well written but it was sadly not for me. I did finish it with the hope that it would be more satisfying than it was.  Regrettably, I can’t recommend this one.

Jan26

“The Count’s Lair” The Review

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A bit over a week ago, I posted the trailer for this book and promised a review when I finished reading the story and closer to the day you can actually buy it (February 1, 2011)  here: http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/StoreFront.bok  Stephanie Burkhart has written this second installment in her Hungarian series.  The first book was called, fittingly enough, The Hungarian. This second installment is called The Count’s Lair.   And lair is an appropriate word for his home.

I’m a huge history buff and have always been. I adore reading historical novels. I love the setting of this story. Budapest, Hungary is a beautiful city. Lots of old, gorgeous buildings and bridges. Ms. Burkhart does a great job in describing both sides of the city. On one side of the river is Buda and on the other is Pest and each has different characteristics. Ms. Burkhart also is quite good at descriptions of the foods and atmosphere of the city in 1901.  I wanted to eat some goulash as I read this book and ride in a motor car complete with a driver (not at the same time).

The Count certainly comes across as a handsome, decent man, albeit a man with secrets and a past that makes him vulnerable.  I truly liked this hero. He falls for the heroine, Amelia, a concert pianist. He’s afraid they can’t have a life together and offers her a series of clues to guess his secret.

The story moves along through the Christmas season and culminates in an interesting outdoor scene in the middle of winter. This hero truly has to work to win the day. 

I enjoyed this book and I would recommend it. I’m now going to have to read the first one as my interest has been piqued to learn the history of The Hungarian.  Pick  both these up and enjoy! 

Jan17

“THE COUNT’S LAIR”

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Just finished reading an advance reader copy of this book and I’ll be posting a review of it both on this blog and my alter-ego’s blog.  I thought I’d share the beautiful book trailer with you all before I get the review done- whet your appetite so to speak.  This book comes out in February from Desert Breeze Publishing http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/StoreFront.bok.  The book is by Stephanie Burkhart.  Enjoy the trailer!

Jan5

New Anthology Released Today

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My short story, The House on the Bay, came out today in an anthology published by Whortleberry Press called Dear Valentine. This is a collection of Valentine’s Day Stories with a sci-fi, fantasy or horror twist.  You can order it here: http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/dear-valentine/14445736

My story is a ghost story with a high school girl as the protagonist.  There are 20 stories in the book and they are all by great writers. I hope you’ll check it out.  Here’s the awesome cover and back:  I like the way the names on the back are in the shape of a heart.

Jan1

“The Victoria Vanishes”- A review

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I love this series of books by Christopher Fowler. The main characters are Bryant and May and they are the lead detectives of the Peculiar Crimes Unit in London. These two men are past the age of retirement but they stay on because their work is so interesting and intriguing. I’ve read all of the prior books in the series and this one is just as great as the others. 

I love this writer. He’s brilliant. He know a lot of wonderful facts about one of my favorite cities in the world, London. His mysteries are sophisticated and complicated. I like that. As someone that can see the endings coming in a lot of books I read, Fowler’s books make me think and I think that’s fantastic.

The characters are all well developed and fully fleshed out. Not only the main characters, but the minor ones as well. 

The Victoria Vanishes is a delightful read. Its premise is unique and the fact that an English pub disappears is a fun start to the tale.  I recommend this whole series.  These old detectives have a lot to offer and they’re both just wonderful characters.

Dec26

Feeling Manipulated by a Book, AGAIN!

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Earlier this year, I wrote a blog post about a book I bought that was number one in a trilogy and it was not a full book- book 1 ended in the midst of the action and I felt like it was a tactic to get me to buy the next one in the series. I refused. I want the books I read to have a beginning, a middle and an end. Period. End of sentence.  They can go on to have the same characters in other stories but I want a full story in the volume.  This cutting the book at a pivotal scene is nothing but a marketing tool and I DO NOT LIKE IT!! See here: https://sherryfowlerchancellor.wordpress.com/2010/09/13/the-summoning/

Imagine my surprise today when I read one of the books that  has been in my “to be read” stack for several months and One Of My Favorite Writers DID IT TO ME, too.  And he did it even worse. Right before a battle scene- I kept thinking there were not enough pages left in the book to bring together all the various peoples and defeat evil. AND THERE WEREN”T!!! 

This was book FOUR of a series with the same characters- each book previous HAD A SATISFYING ENDING!! This one did not and I’m pretty pissed off. I had every right to expect a full story from this writer- he is an excellent writer- love his characters, his wit and his philosophy. This particular book was 292 pages of a great book until it wasn’t.  I never expected this out of this writer.

I’m going out on a limb here and telling you not to buy Lost Souls by Dean Koontz.  Never, never, never thought I’d be telling people not to buy one of Dean’s books but I am. I never thought he’d sell out to marketing people. One of the things I always admired about him was his refusal to allow his books to be abridged by audio books- his were always full length.  He always said he’d never sell another one to Hollywood either when he hated the one movie they made (which I saw) but why, why, why did he do this to us??  Why not finish the book, Dean?  I feel bereft.

Dec11

“Stacy’s Song”- A Review

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Stacy’s Song by Jacqueline Seewald is a Young Adult novel published by L&L Dreamspell. I received a review copy and read it in the last few days.

The story centers around a fifteen year old girl who is trying to figure out who she wants to be. She has some musical talent but is also athletic and has decided to try out for the cheerleading squad with her friend. The main character, Stacy, seems to be a people pleaser. She spends a lot of the book participating in activities to make her friends and her father happy and not necessarily for herself.

In some scenes, the main character shows a maturity beyond her years.  In others, she seems immature.  As I thought this over, being the mother of a sixteen year old myself, I found these apparent dicotomies to be mostly believeable.

I enjoyed this book except I felt the denouement happened a bit too quickly and would have liked that part of the book to have continued on a bit.  Overall, I would definitely recommend this book. It was a fun, quick read and the growth of main character was well developed.   I’m sure devotees of the YA genre will enjoy this coming of age romance.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Stacys-Song/Jacqueline-Seewald/e/9781603182669

Nov22

New Anthology I’m In

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It’s a Valentines Day anthology. My story is called The House on the Bay.  It’s a spooky story and I’m proud of it. It has an element of romance and an element of spookiness.  Not quite sure of a release day as yet. Will post when it releases.

Here’s the cover. I like it a lot. 

Nov18

Solo Honeymoon

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Just wanted to share this:

Cover blurb: 

Emma Chauncey finds her fiancé naked with one of her bridesmaids on top of him three days before her wedding. Burned by the experience, she takes a friend on her honeymoon. They travel to an Italian villa where Emma plans to nurse her broken heart.

Wealthy, titled, and handsome women’s shoe designer Dario de Luca is also at the villa. In disguise as a dance instructor, he’s determined to find a woman to love him for himself, not his wealth and title. Sparks fly between Emma and Dario, until she learns his true identity. Hurt that another man has lied to her, and distrusting her own judgment, she flees. Dario follows her to New York. But Emma’s former fiancé is back with an agenda of his own. Can Dario convince Emma he’s the man for her even though he lied about his identity? Can he convince her she deserves true love?

This book is available for preorder here: http://www.bookstrand.com/solo-honeymoon