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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2099 KP) rated Cement Stilettos in Books

Jan 20, 2022

A Case Samantha Can’t Refuse

It’s been a week since Samantha Kidd said yes to marring Nick Taylor, and the two are enjoying their newly engaged status. They crash back down to earth, however, after Samantha finds a dead body in Nick’s showroom. The victim is Nick’s assistant. Samantha wants to help Nick, so she begins to investigate, but as she does so, she begins to learn some surprising things about her finace. Even if Samantha can solve the case, will their relationship survive?

Nick doesn’t typically get a lot of page time in the series, so I was happy to see that change here. I feel like we got to know him better, and I enjoyed watching both Samantha and their relationship grow as the book progressed. The mystery was strong with several great twists. I did feel like a few of the details didn’t quite work, but the ending was still completely logical. Even though Samantha is maturing, there is still plenty of humor as the case unfolds. Series fans will find much to enjoy here, and those new to the series will be glad they gave Samantha a chance.

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Night Reader Reviews (683 KP) rated I Will Find You in Books

Jan 9, 2020

I Will Find You by John M. Taylor is a painfully beautiful story of one boys love for his mother and his journey to be reunited with her. He travels from England to Australia and spends some time in the outback as well as aboard ships before returning home.

Nick Thorne, once Robbie Spalding lived in England where his father was part of the Airforce during the war. When his fathers plane is shot down his mother joins the Land Army but she falls and suffers a major injurer. Nick is taken to an orphanage temporarily and only learns of his mothers death when he is told he is being sent to a family in Australia. When he gets to Australia he finds no family is waiting, instead, he is taken to Clontarf where the Brothers beat, neglect, and abuse the boys. When Nick turned thirteen he was sent to a Church Farm to work but it was just like Clontarf, it was here that he managed to escape.

With the help of an Aboriginal boy, Gidga, Nick survives the Australian outback and makes his way to the Aboriginals village. Even though Nick likes the Aboriginal people he still believes his mother is alive and leaves to go find her. His journey is not an easy one as he signs on with fishing ships, understanding that he wont be able to do anything without money. Most of the time it appears that he will never find anything out about his parents or his past because it seems that none of the departments he is directed to can help him. To make matters worse no one wants to take responsibility for his old records. In a final attempt to find anything out Nick goes back to his old hometown in England.

I enjoyed all the twists and surprises in Nicks life. I wanted to keep reading to find out where Nick would find himself and who he would meet there. Nick is also the type of character where the reader is emotionally connected to his story right away. What I did not care for was the fact that there was a joke on page two hundred and eighty that I did not understand at all. While that does not affect my overall opinion of the book I feel I am not the only one confused. Also when Nick starts trying to track down his records things get very repetitive. I can only imagine the frustration he felt as I was frustrated by just reading it over again multiple times.

The book is designed with adult readers in mind. There were numerous events in the book such as boys having to share a bed with one of their caretakers or being beaten to the point of passing out that was hard to read. With that in mind, this book is more suited for mature readers. Overall I give this book a rating of 4 out of 4. This book offers tragedy and hope at the same time. The back of the book even offers some factual information about what happened to other children like Nick who were sent to Australia.

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