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    Dino Hunter: Deadly Shores

    Dino Hunter: Deadly Shores

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    Hunt or be hunted! Embark on the hunting expedition of a lifetime in pursuit of the ultimate game in...

Handle With Care
Handle With Care
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Wren has been hired by the Moorehead family to handle the youngest of the family, Armstrong who is a PR nightmare. When the patriarch of the family passes away suddenly, the older son, Lincoln returns for the funeral. What he's not expecting is for his grandmother and mother to ask him to take over the company. Being a CEO has never been in Lincoln's mind, but he made a promise that he would stay for 6 months. Wren is then tasked with helping Lincoln to become the face of the company, which will be difficult since he's covered in fur. When Lincoln first meets Wren, he thinks she nothing but a high paid babysitter, but there is something about her that has sparked his interest and finds that he enjoys her being around. Wren feels it too, but knows her job is more important. Will they be able to keep their feelings to themselves, or will it all be too much?

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book. Even though this book is part of a series, it can be read as a stand alone. I've read 3 of the books in this series and they are all hard to put down.

I love Wren in this book. She is a no-nonsense woman who knows how to handle difficult men. Armstrong is more than a handful to deal with and Wren hopes that Lincoln is not the same. She will soon come to realize that he is a totally different beast. This book was full of romance and suspense. The Moorehead family had secrets and Lincoln is determined to find them, not only for his sake, but for the sake of the entire family and the business. You don't want to be on the wrong side of this brother.

So far, I have loved everything Helena Hunting has written. The books are hard to put down. They have romance mixed with a little suspense. The characters are ones you can imagine yourself being friends with in real life and you want to spend time with them, well most of them, Armstrong can stay far away. If you have never read one of her books, I suggest you pick one up right away!
  
Codename Villanelle (Killing Eve #1)
Codename Villanelle (Killing Eve #1)
Luke Jennings | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
6
7.6 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
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#1 <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3346735674">Codename Villanelle</a> - ★★★
#2 <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3350743338">No Tomorrow</a> - To Be Read

<img src="https://diaryofdifference.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Book-Review-Banner-62.png"/>;

<b><i>Codename Villanelle is a book I listened to. I don’t often listen to audiobooks, but I wanted to read this book, and I didn’t own a physical copy.</i></b>

The reason I wanted to read this book is because I heard there is a TV series coming, featuring Sandra Oh from Grey’s Anatomy. I loved Sandra as Christina, and I knew I was going to love her as Eve. The TV Series is a hit, and I love it, but this is not why we’re here. We are here to talk about the books. On this occasion, the first book in the series. 

<b><i>Villanelle is one of the world’s best assassins.</i></b>

She is a psychopath who loves her luxurious lifestyle and loves playing mind games. She is hired by a powerful group called the Twelve, and she is tasked to murder rich and influential people. 

<b><i>Eve Polastri is a former MI6 operative.</i></b>

She is hired to find and capture or kill this assassin. Eve, who has a quiet life with her husband Nico and enjoys the peace, accepts the mission. However, little does she know, everything is about to change. 

The chase is an exciting one and we never know what will happen next. 

Honestly, I had troubles with the audiobook. The pronunciation of everything in Russian, French and Italian was a complete miss, and it annoyed me. Names, food, places, cities - it was all said incorrectly. I know for some people this is a minor issue. However, for me, it took away the joy throughout the whole book. 

Apart from this, the first book of the series is a great introduction to both Eve and Villanelle. We find out more about their personalities and characters. We follow Villanelle in a few of her assassinations, and we follow Eve in some of her investigations. I think this book focused more on VIllanelle, featuring her childhood and training days as well. The presentation of their feelings and insights was immaculate. I loved their relationship forming, even without them meeting each other. There is tension, there are clues, and there is the play of destiny to always end up chasing each other.

<b><i>The writing was good and the pace was fast, which led to a very fast adventure. Also, the ending was intriguing, and it definitely leaves space for the second book to come in and explain a few things.</i></b>

I am looking forward to continuing this series and reading the second book - No Tomorrow. I recommend Codename Villanelle to everyone that loves action, assassination, murder, spy themes and psychological thrillers.
  
Wild as the West Texas Wind (Love Across Time #3)
Wild as the West Texas Wind (Love Across Time #3)
Jackie North | 2019 | LGBTQ+, Romance
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
my fav of the three
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

This is book three in the Love Across Time series. You don’t NEED to have read the others before this one, but PERSONALLY, I think you should read book 2, Honey From The Lion before this one. There are things that happen in that book that lead up to this one. And you, know, they are really rather good!

This one, I think, is my favourite of the three!

Zach is looking for his friend, Laurie (Honey From The Lion) and gets caught in a freak rain storm. Waking up in 1892 and then crossing the Ketchum Gang, Zach finds himself on the way to be sold. Layton is part of the gang, but he doesn’t want to be anymore. When Zach comes along, those feelings intensify, to a point that Layton will go against the gang leader, Tom, and maybe cost him his life, along with Zach’s. But Zach makes Layton want other things, things that require them both to be alive. Can he get away, saving himself AND Zach?

Like I said, my favourite of the three!

What I particularly loved about this one, was the SLOW burn between Zach and Layton! I mean, I'm all for insta-love and masses of naughtiness but HERE?? I LOVED that it wasn’t like that! It creeps up on both Layton AND Zach, the feelings, the attraction (although Zach does have that instant attraction feeling) the wanting MORE than being on the run. It’s really fabulous reading, watching these two fall for each other. It’s on the less explicit side, but very proper for this book that it is.

Layton, especially, surprised me! Don’t ask me WHY he did, I can’t say exactly, but that’s' how I feel and you know I like to share those book feelings. He doesn’t really question what he starts to feel for Zach, at all, and being of a begone age, I would have thought that he might. I’m not complaining, . . . .oh! THIS is why he surprised me! The fact he doesn’t question, he just lets himself begin to fall, and fall hard.

I loved that, right from the start, Layton wanted away from the gang, from the leader, Tom. Tom has a vicious streak a mile wide, and both Zach and Layton fall foul of his wrath. Not nice reading, but I think, it really is needed. This is why I tagged it darker, cos Tom is not a very nice person, but then again, stagecoach hijackers and robbers don’t tend to be! He really is a nasty piece of work.

I love love LOVE the way Honey from The Lion melds itself into this one! Trying NOT for spoilers, so other than that, I’m not saying how, but very well played there, Ms North, VERY well played!

I want to tag this book warm and fuzzies and too stinking, but not sure how I can with the darker tag! Such decisions! Ah stuff it, tagging it as so!

Are there more? I don’t know, I want to read them, regardless. Loving them!

5 full and shiny stars

**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
  
Paper Dolls (Dark Carousel #2)
Paper Dolls (Dark Carousel #2)
Anya Allyn | 2017 | Horror, Paranormal, Young Adult (YA)
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I really loved Dollhouse, the first book in the Dark Carousel series by Anya Allyn. I couldn't wait to dive into the next book in the series, Paper Dolls. I wanted to love Paper Dolls as much as Dollhouse, but it just wasn't as great.

Paper Dolls takes place right after Dollhouse although Paper Dolls also goes back to 1920 to focus more on Jessamine's back story and to thicken the modern day plot. While I loved Jessamine's story, Cassie's narrative is a bit lackluster. The pacing for Cassie's plot feels very slow moving. While there were a few plot twists regarding Cassie's story, the main one was the most predictable from early on. Don't get me wrong, Allyn's writing is fantastic, but Cassie's plotline just didn't wow me as before. Jessamine's, on the other hand, was fantastic! I loved learning more about Jessamine and how she become like she was in Dollhouse. Jessamine's narrative moved at a great pace, and I would get so excited when her chapters would come up. I also loved how Jessamine's chapters involved more backstory for Henry and Audette and explains how they became ghosts. It also talks more about the mysterious Donovan Fiveash. Many of the other characters, even characters with small parts, from Dollhouse are mentioned again in Paper Dolls. We get a bit more of their back story as well which was nice. There is a big cliffhanger at the end of this book which will lead into the next book in the series, Marionette. Although this book is intended for young adults, I would say it's more aimed towards a mature young adult audience as it's a lot more dark compared to Dollhouse.

As with the first book in the series, Anya Allyn did a fantastic job keeping her characters realistic relatable. Even though I found Cassie's story a little boring, I still enjoyed Cassie's character. I did find her a bit naïve in this book, but she is a teenager, so I could understand why she'd trust the first boy that showed her attention. I felt like I was Cassie's babysitter and was mentally urging her not to trust anyone! Jessamine was my obviously my favorite character. I just wanted to hug her as she had such a sad life for the most part. After reading her story, I understood why she was the way she was in Dollhouse. I really wanted to protect Jessamine throughout the whole book especially when she was still alive although I already knew she'd end up as a ghost. Henry was a character I didn't think I'd end up liking since he seemed like a bad guy in the first book. However, the audience is shown a whole different side of Henry in Paper Dolls. I just wanted Audette to disappear though. Not because she was written poorly but just because how vile and horrible she was to Jessamine. Although they were nice, I had a hard time trusting the Batiste family. They just seemed a little too nice for my liking.

Trigger warnings for Paper Dolls include death, murder, attempted rape, violence, occult activity, and mentions of sex (though not graphic).

Despite being a bit of a slow read, I still enjoyed Paper Dolls. Learning more about many of the ghosts' backstory was extremely interesting, and I loved all the characters. I would recommend Paper Dolls by Anya Allyn to those aged 16+ who love supernatural horror. I have already started reading Marionette, the next book in the Dark Carousel series, since I'm loving this series!
  
This Fallen Prey (Casey Duncan, #3)
This Fallen Prey (Casey Duncan, #3)
Kelley Armstrong | 2018 | Contemporary, Mystery, Thriller
10
9.0 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
Kelley Armstrong is a cruel, evil woman.

This Fallen Prey takes you on a rollercoaster as Casey tells you all about the day the Council drops a dangerous serial killer into Rockton without any advance warning.

What you get from that point on is a crazy edge of the seat ride as you try and figure out whether he's really what the council have claimed, or if there's something deeper and more complex going on. With betrayals and deaths and twists that just keep you turning the pages, the third book of the Casey Duncan series does not disappoint.

It does leave us with a minor cliffhanger.. and I absolutely cannot wait for the next book!
  
SB
Seventh Born (The Witchling Academy #1)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Let me start out with saying that this was not what I was expecting in the least. It felt like a mash up of Harry Potter and The Black Mage series. Wands, magic, a school for such things and a hierarchy just waiting for someone to come and break it.
While I enjoyed the main character and her traits. She knew what she was as a seventhborn but rebelled against just blending in. Wanting to find her family and learn magic. The only thing I didn't enjoy was the romance. A teacher/student romance just puts me off and while it is well done I didnt particularly like the way it all panned out.
  
Magic Bites (Kate Daniels, #1)
Magic Bites (Kate Daniels, #1)
Ilona Andrews | 2007 | Fiction & Poetry, Paranormal
6
7.7 (12 Ratings)
Book Rating
I received a free copy of this book after winning a goodreads contest. It was a decent book; interesting enough to keep me reading, but not enough to have me hooked and reading through the night to find out what happened next.

I am left with a lot of questions at the end. What is Kate? What's up with her blood? If it's so sacred, why did she perform a blood ritual in front of a virtual stranger in her apartment? Why did she leave said stranger in her apartment with access to her bloody clothes while she went to take a shower?

Hopefully the other books in the series will answer some of my questions.
  
Mrs. Pollifax and her husband Cyrus are hours away from a vacation to Thailand when Bishop shows up asking if they could possibly make one small detour for the CIA. Of course, things go wildly wrong when Cyrus is kidnapped and Mrs. Pollifax has to hunt for him with a man she doesn't trust. The plot to this one is a little different. The scenes with Bishop and Carstairs drive it more than Mrs. Pollifax's action does. As a result, it's not as good as the classic books in the series, but it's still fun.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2013/07/book-review-mrs-pollifax-and-golden.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
  
This Fallen Prey (Casey Duncan, #3)
This Fallen Prey (Casey Duncan, #3)
Kelley Armstrong | 2018 | Contemporary, Mystery, Thriller
10
9.0 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
Kelley Armstrong is a cruel, evil woman.

This Fallen Prey takes you on a rollercoaster as Casey tells you all about the day the Council drops a dangerous serial killer into Rockton without any advance warning.

What you get from that point on is a crazy edge of the seat ride as you try and figure out whether he's really what the council have claimed, or if there's something deeper and more complex going on. With betrayals and deaths and twists that just keep you turning the pages, the third book of the Casey Duncan series does not disappoint.

It does leave us with a minor cliffhanger.. and I absolutely cannot wait for the next book!