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Murder on West Lake (South Shore Mystery #3)
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A scream shattered the tranquil air, echoing off the ice-covered lake, and Daniel's heart froze. He...
Historical Mystery Cozy Mystery Romantic

KittyMiku (138 KP) rated Playing Games in Books
May 23, 2019
Playing Games by Liliana Rhodes is a romance novel that is short and quick to read. Cassie Monroe needs a job and when her roommate helps get her into her dream job, she finds herself falling for her boss. Torn between her dream and her heart, Cassie has to find a happy medium to get all that she wants, but will it be as easy as that? Especially since there is another woman already in his life, will Cassie be able to overcome that or will she have to back down? Cassie will have to realize that love is unpredictable and sometimes has a few strings attached.
Rhodes is able to give the reader a great romance story that won’t take forever to read. However, I found it very anticlimactic and would have loved the extra drama that could be introduced but never was. Though the book was short and only a couple hours if that of reading and lacked the drama most good romance novels have, it does introduce characters that seem to be a part of Rhodes Billionaire novels that she has created and released as a series. If this book is any foreshadowing, I feel that the other books will be a bit disappointing.
I believe I found the part revolving around the other woman and the situation the Cassie’s lover is in to be extremely relatable. After all not, not everyone can enter a relationship without something for the past being there. To see how hard it is to trust someone else with something that means the world to you, made the book feel like it was speaking from the heart. Then you get to see how something that could seem so major to others would not be a huge deal to the person who loves you. I would have loved to read more about the family Cassie adopts as her own instead of it ending only to move onto the next couple in the series. I believe that there could be more added onto this book by adding some additional details and maybe adding a little more conflict to the characters instead of having that love at first sight situation.
The details in the book were well enough that it was able to be easily followed, however with lack of a major conflict and drama that could have kept it completely entertaining; I would not recommend this book to many people. In fact, I believe the book only made 2 stars on my 4 star rating lists. Yes it satisfied my weird need of romance, but it also left something to be desired. I really would have loved more in the book and feel that maybe it was rushed or not well thought about. The idea was great, but the execution wasn’t all that it could have been. I am even now finding it difficult to write this review as the review itself isn’t as long as I would like it to be.
However, even with these flaws, that make it low in my own tastes, I believe Playing Games could be a good book to those who don’t like to read for long session. If you are looking for a quick book to read that has that romantic air to it, the Playing Games is right up your alley. It doesn’t take more than a couple hours to read, has the romantic gestures and the idea of love being unpredictable, and pretty straightforward without the drama. If this sounds like the perfect book to you, please feel free to go grab it. I got my copy on Amazon for my kindle.
Rhodes is able to give the reader a great romance story that won’t take forever to read. However, I found it very anticlimactic and would have loved the extra drama that could be introduced but never was. Though the book was short and only a couple hours if that of reading and lacked the drama most good romance novels have, it does introduce characters that seem to be a part of Rhodes Billionaire novels that she has created and released as a series. If this book is any foreshadowing, I feel that the other books will be a bit disappointing.
I believe I found the part revolving around the other woman and the situation the Cassie’s lover is in to be extremely relatable. After all not, not everyone can enter a relationship without something for the past being there. To see how hard it is to trust someone else with something that means the world to you, made the book feel like it was speaking from the heart. Then you get to see how something that could seem so major to others would not be a huge deal to the person who loves you. I would have loved to read more about the family Cassie adopts as her own instead of it ending only to move onto the next couple in the series. I believe that there could be more added onto this book by adding some additional details and maybe adding a little more conflict to the characters instead of having that love at first sight situation.
The details in the book were well enough that it was able to be easily followed, however with lack of a major conflict and drama that could have kept it completely entertaining; I would not recommend this book to many people. In fact, I believe the book only made 2 stars on my 4 star rating lists. Yes it satisfied my weird need of romance, but it also left something to be desired. I really would have loved more in the book and feel that maybe it was rushed or not well thought about. The idea was great, but the execution wasn’t all that it could have been. I am even now finding it difficult to write this review as the review itself isn’t as long as I would like it to be.
However, even with these flaws, that make it low in my own tastes, I believe Playing Games could be a good book to those who don’t like to read for long session. If you are looking for a quick book to read that has that romantic air to it, the Playing Games is right up your alley. It doesn’t take more than a couple hours to read, has the romantic gestures and the idea of love being unpredictable, and pretty straightforward without the drama. If this sounds like the perfect book to you, please feel free to go grab it. I got my copy on Amazon for my kindle.

Me Before You
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THE NEW YORK TIMES NUMBER 1 BESTSELLING NOVEL THAT IS LOVED AROUND THE WORLD, NOW A FILM STARRING...

South Africa - Dating & Chat with African Singles
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Take charge of your dating and lovelife, make it all happen with this 100% FREE online dating app...
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Classic Cello [100 Classical music]
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This classic cello set contains a fine collection of 100 favourite cello classics,performed by some...

Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated Triangles in Books
Apr 27, 2018
The thing about Ellen Hopkins is she writes about the stuff that everyone knows happens, but nobody is willing to admit to. She gives emotion and reason to why people make the choices we do, and what they feel like in the middle of a messy hurtful situation. She is the opposite of happyland syndrome. She tells it how it is.
I had read a little bit of Hopkins's work before: I started Crank (When I say started I mean read the first few pages) and loved it, but I was busy and never got the chance to get into it. But I got an ARC of Triangles, so I sat down and read it—and after one page I was hooked.
If you've been reading my blog at all, you know I'm not a person who likes stories about love gone wrong and marriages failing and extramarital sex etc. because I'm a Christian, and a romantic, and a softie (read 'wimp'). But I went ahead and dove into this book, because I knew Hopkins is a good writer.
It surpassed my expectations. I should have expected her to be this awesome, since obviously she's pretty famous and everyone else figured it out before I did, but I really am blown away, not only by her blunt yet graceful storytelling, but by her nerve to tackle the stories nobody wants to tell: a dying child, a gay son, a pregnant teen, sexual disease, threesomes, a woman sleeping with her best friend's husband… it's all in here. Yet, it's not plot overkill. She made it work. Somehow.
Though, be warned. Since she does say it like it is, this book is not for the easily offended. But if you're willing to look past the content, there's a gem waiting for you about forgiveness, hope, and what love really means.
Content/recommendation: explicit sexual content, swearing. Ages 18+
I had read a little bit of Hopkins's work before: I started Crank (When I say started I mean read the first few pages) and loved it, but I was busy and never got the chance to get into it. But I got an ARC of Triangles, so I sat down and read it—and after one page I was hooked.
If you've been reading my blog at all, you know I'm not a person who likes stories about love gone wrong and marriages failing and extramarital sex etc. because I'm a Christian, and a romantic, and a softie (read 'wimp'). But I went ahead and dove into this book, because I knew Hopkins is a good writer.
It surpassed my expectations. I should have expected her to be this awesome, since obviously she's pretty famous and everyone else figured it out before I did, but I really am blown away, not only by her blunt yet graceful storytelling, but by her nerve to tackle the stories nobody wants to tell: a dying child, a gay son, a pregnant teen, sexual disease, threesomes, a woman sleeping with her best friend's husband… it's all in here. Yet, it's not plot overkill. She made it work. Somehow.
Though, be warned. Since she does say it like it is, this book is not for the easily offended. But if you're willing to look past the content, there's a gem waiting for you about forgiveness, hope, and what love really means.
Content/recommendation: explicit sexual content, swearing. Ages 18+

Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated Tall, Dark and Wolfish (Westfield Wolves, #2) in Books
Apr 27, 2018
Rating: 3.75
Lord Benjamin, the youngest of the Westfeld brothers, is a broken werewolf. He can no longer change in the light of the full moon. Horrified at himself, he seeks out a healer—a witch, although he isn't sure he believes in them—and comes across the beautiful Elspeth Campbell. But in order to let Elspeth heal him, he has to tell her everything. And spilling his guts to a beautiful Scottish girl isn't the easiest thing in the world.
Elspeth isn't quite sure what to think of Lord Benjamin… especially when her sister witch, a seer, claims that he will take her away from them forever. She vows not to leave them, but when she meets him… she begins to have second thoughts. Falling in love with him hadn't been part of the plan.
Tall, Dark, and Wolfish was really cute. I adored Elspeth: she was a fun, stubborn, slightly sarcastic character who was strong in herself. And Benjamin… poor broken Benjamin who lost his wolf-ness. I loved their interactions and I loved their dialogue. I especially liked the interactions between Ben and Will, his brother. They're just… great.
The writing was satisfactory… but the accents were great. Elspeth and her witch sisters spoke in their Scottish accents, and it was written with the accent. Although it was a little hard to read at first, you can catch onto the sound of their voices quickly, and it adds to the character.
I was pleased at the plot: at first I was wondering how Dare would stretch the limited romantic plot into a full length novel, but there were a lot of aspects and sub-plots that were woven in, making it an exciting fun story.
Although, all things considered, it was just a tad sappy. But not enough to make me put it down. I think I read it through from beginning to end in about four hours.
Content/recommendation: some language, some sex. Ages 18+
Lord Benjamin, the youngest of the Westfeld brothers, is a broken werewolf. He can no longer change in the light of the full moon. Horrified at himself, he seeks out a healer—a witch, although he isn't sure he believes in them—and comes across the beautiful Elspeth Campbell. But in order to let Elspeth heal him, he has to tell her everything. And spilling his guts to a beautiful Scottish girl isn't the easiest thing in the world.
Elspeth isn't quite sure what to think of Lord Benjamin… especially when her sister witch, a seer, claims that he will take her away from them forever. She vows not to leave them, but when she meets him… she begins to have second thoughts. Falling in love with him hadn't been part of the plan.
Tall, Dark, and Wolfish was really cute. I adored Elspeth: she was a fun, stubborn, slightly sarcastic character who was strong in herself. And Benjamin… poor broken Benjamin who lost his wolf-ness. I loved their interactions and I loved their dialogue. I especially liked the interactions between Ben and Will, his brother. They're just… great.
The writing was satisfactory… but the accents were great. Elspeth and her witch sisters spoke in their Scottish accents, and it was written with the accent. Although it was a little hard to read at first, you can catch onto the sound of their voices quickly, and it adds to the character.
I was pleased at the plot: at first I was wondering how Dare would stretch the limited romantic plot into a full length novel, but there were a lot of aspects and sub-plots that were woven in, making it an exciting fun story.
Although, all things considered, it was just a tad sappy. But not enough to make me put it down. I think I read it through from beginning to end in about four hours.
Content/recommendation: some language, some sex. Ages 18+

Rachel King (13 KP) rated Glass Houses (The Morganville Vampires, #1) in Books
Feb 11, 2019
I found this book to be a nice change from the typical high school setting that so many Young Adult books take place in - with good reason, of course. So what if she's still only 16, she's in college! Unfortunately, she still has not outgrown the evil female clique syndrome that plague so many stories. Some elements of the story remind me of my own days in university, but the book takes them all to the extreme. On a side note, it's a good thing she's so dang smart, because from my experience, skipping classes like she does throughout the text should, in reality, result in failing grades. I guess that's the beauty of fantasy literature - you can skip all the drudgery and go straight for the exciting bits of life.
The part I did not really understand - and I am still waiting for an explanation after finishing the book - is how the psychotic Monica seems to get away with more than the resident vampires do. I mean, if the vamps both built and run the town of Morganville, it makes more sense that they would want to appear more nefarious than the lowly humans.
I also found it strangely refreshing that the vampires were wholely and completely the bad guys - no human-vampire romantic happenings, and no, Miranda the vision-plagued goth and her undead boyfriend Charles do not count. But I did find the head vampire Amelie very intriguing, since she seems less interested in bloody deaths and widespread property damage and more interested in maintaining power and protecting her assets, a trait that no other vampire in the novel seemed to exhibit.
I can not wait to get my hands on the next novel in the series, The Dead Girls' Dance, since Michael's state of ghost / not-ghost / Glass House incarnate has not been resolved enough for me at all!
The part I did not really understand - and I am still waiting for an explanation after finishing the book - is how the psychotic Monica seems to get away with more than the resident vampires do. I mean, if the vamps both built and run the town of Morganville, it makes more sense that they would want to appear more nefarious than the lowly humans.
I also found it strangely refreshing that the vampires were wholely and completely the bad guys - no human-vampire romantic happenings, and no, Miranda the vision-plagued goth and her undead boyfriend Charles do not count. But I did find the head vampire Amelie very intriguing, since she seems less interested in bloody deaths and widespread property damage and more interested in maintaining power and protecting her assets, a trait that no other vampire in the novel seemed to exhibit.
I can not wait to get my hands on the next novel in the series, The Dead Girls' Dance, since Michael's state of ghost / not-ghost / Glass House incarnate has not been resolved enough for me at all!

Rachel King (13 KP) rated Feast of Fools (The Morganville Vampires, #4) in Books
Feb 11, 2019
This book picks up right where the previous one left off, right in the middle of the action. I love when books do that. I flew through this book as quickly as the previous three, barely taking time to eat or sleep. I would compare the infamous Mr. Bishop to Dracula - minus the romantic leanings. Nothing about him is remotely appealing, and he has no interest in making himself appealing, unlike the other two power players in town, Oliver and Amelie. Lots of subplots are developed, but this one felt like more time could have been devoted to these other elements and lengthened the novel a bit without sacrificing the quality of the text, such as exploring how Claire could wield the power of Glass House, the effect that Michael had on others when he performed, Claire's problem with her professor, or even Claire's parents reaction to the truth about Morganville. It feels as if there are too many characters in the script and not enough pages to give them all adequate time in the spotlight. I find the character of Myrnin even more fascinating in this book - he seems sort of like the dark town jester. I was also disappointed in Claire's lack of interest in her classes, given that she was so happy about her schedule change in the last book. The funeral of Eve's father seemed forced, like it was inserted in the plot as an afterthought, especially since we did not see her mother at the ball at the end of the book, even though it seems logical that Mrs. Rosser would try to use the occasion to make a specticle of herself, not unlike Monica Morrell. Wow, so I had alot of nit-picky things to say about this book, but I still really enjoyed it and I really like this series, especially the character of Claire, who has more courage and daring than anyone in the book. I look forward to the next one, Lord of Misrule.

graveyardgremlin (7194 KP) rated The Seance (Harrison Investigation, #5) in Books
Feb 15, 2019
<b>4.5 stars</b>
<b>The Seance</b> was one of those books that I just could not put down! Addictive, fast-paced, thrilling, and thoroughly fun, it had everything I wanted to read - mystery/suspense, romance, paranormal - and reminded me of R.L. Stine for adults. Of course it's not 'serious' fiction, who wants that when picking up a book that looks like this? It's fun brain candy, plain and simple, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I haven't had an easy time finding books to read because my concentration level has taken a nosedive, but this book had me hooked from the back synopsis - and kept me hooked throughout. Yes, there are some editing issues, coincidences, red-heads seem to be the main populace, redundancies (e.g. victims are attractive red-heads, beautiful red-heads, gorgeous red-heads, and did I mention Christina's a beautiful, attractive, gorgeous red-head also? Argh, it was annoying! I got it the first time; I don't need it repeated ten million times.), and I figured out who was behind everything in the first-seventh of the book, which could have used more of an explanation for the why at the end, but my problems are eclipsed by the engaging plot.
After Christina called Gen, I wondered if there was a previous book with her, Thor, and Adam, and there is called [b:The Vision|731809|The Vision (Harrison Investigation, #3)|Heather Graham|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1308964367s/731809.jpg|717999], and I've already ordered it from the library - I can't wait to read it! I'm thinking Heather Graham's romantic suspense novels might just be the key that'll keep me reading all the way to the end of a book. :) So, overall, I liked the characters, the story was great, and even though it isn't even close to Hallowe'en, I would still recommend it for a thrilling good read.
<b>The Seance</b> was one of those books that I just could not put down! Addictive, fast-paced, thrilling, and thoroughly fun, it had everything I wanted to read - mystery/suspense, romance, paranormal - and reminded me of R.L. Stine for adults. Of course it's not 'serious' fiction, who wants that when picking up a book that looks like this? It's fun brain candy, plain and simple, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I haven't had an easy time finding books to read because my concentration level has taken a nosedive, but this book had me hooked from the back synopsis - and kept me hooked throughout. Yes, there are some editing issues, coincidences, red-heads seem to be the main populace, redundancies (e.g. victims are attractive red-heads, beautiful red-heads, gorgeous red-heads, and did I mention Christina's a beautiful, attractive, gorgeous red-head also? Argh, it was annoying! I got it the first time; I don't need it repeated ten million times.), and I figured out who was behind everything in the first-seventh of the book, which could have used more of an explanation for the why at the end, but my problems are eclipsed by the engaging plot.
After Christina called Gen, I wondered if there was a previous book with her, Thor, and Adam, and there is called [b:The Vision|731809|The Vision (Harrison Investigation, #3)|Heather Graham|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1308964367s/731809.jpg|717999], and I've already ordered it from the library - I can't wait to read it! I'm thinking Heather Graham's romantic suspense novels might just be the key that'll keep me reading all the way to the end of a book. :) So, overall, I liked the characters, the story was great, and even though it isn't even close to Hallowe'en, I would still recommend it for a thrilling good read.