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Merissa (12066 KP) rated An Opportunity Seized (Haven Security #1) in Books

Dec 17, 2018

I received this book from Sparkle Book Tours in return for a fair and honest review.

Toni is the daughter of an incredibly rich man in Australia and has therefore always felt like she has fallen short of the mark and will never live up to her parents' expectations. Her mum is slim and expects Toni to be the same, even though she has inherited her father's genes in the weight department. Jason is the military man who doesn't have oodles of money to his name but instead oozes sex appeal and Toni finds him irresistible.

I really wanted to like this book more than I actually did. I am loving the Romantic Suspense genre at the moment but something in this book just didn't work for me... and I'm at a loss to explain what it is. Perhaps it's the quickness of their relationship, perhaps it is how the relationship with her parents turns on its head within moments with no real explanation of why she was treated the way she thought she was in the past. The other thing could be that I never really felt that danger was present for Toni. The whole suspense issue, indeed most of the issues in the book, seemed to be resolved too quickly, too easily and all tied together with a neat bow.

The writing of this book is very well done and the plot flows at a steady pace. This is a light book to read when you don't want to have to think too deeply about anything.

Kudos

Merissa (12066 KP) rated Divorce is Murder (Toby Wong Mystery #1) in Books

Nov 5, 2019

Divorce is Murder (Toby Wong Mystery #1)

Elka Ray | 2019 | Contemporary, Mystery, Romance

6.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Divorce is Murder is the first book in the Toby Wong series, and it introduces us to a female, family-lawyer whose client is a blast from the past. Toby had a major crush on Josh Barton when they were young, but bullies made sure it next happened. Now, nineteen years later, she's back where it all began.

I would class this more as mystery than romantic suspense as Toby isn't sure who she wants, although I'm not very clear on why! There is a police officer who is interested in her, he is not a liar and plays no games, but she seems more interested in a crush from nearly twenty years ago who has constantly lied to her. Hmm, I guess you can see who is my favourite, but I'm guessing this is a storyline for further into the series.

There is a great cast of characters - from a psychic, whimsy-loving mom, to the bullies from Toby's childhood. Some of the mystery was obvious (to me) and some of it, not. I thoroughly enjoyed the build up and the climax to this story.

With no errors that disrupted my reading, this was an enjoyable read from beginning to end, and I have no hesitation in recommending it for all fans of cosy murder-mysteries.

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!

Kudos

Sarah (7798 KP) rated Red Joan (2018) in Movies

Apr 1, 2020

Red Joan (2018)

2018 | Drama, Thriller

5.6

(5 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Forgettable

This is not the type of film that I'd willingly choose to watch. It didnt sound or look particularly appealing, however due to the requirement of social distancing my boyfriend and I are taking it in turns to pick films each evening to watch "together" (in our separate houses). This was his choice, and sadly it wasnt a very good one.

The main issue with this film is that is fairly predictable romance nonsense, and there really isnt enough Judi Dench. Nothing against Sophie Cookson, but to have Judi Dench in this film and barely use her is almost a travesty. It also seems to concentrate mostly on the romantic aspect of Joan's life, which gets rather frustrating as you watch a rather intelligent young woman turn into a naive lovelorn idiot the moment she gets involved with a vaguely handsome man. The concentration on the romance side for me made it feel like the rest of the film, and indeed the more important war related concerns, were pushed to one side and I felt like there was a lot of plot lines in this that weren't satisfactorily explained. I did also wonder why, if this film was inspired by a true story, that the central character wasnt named after the real person? Aside from the "Red Joan" makes for a catchier title.

Overall this isnt bad enough to switch off without making it to the end, but ultimately it winds up rather unsatisfying and entirely forgettable.