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The Little Grave (Detective Amanda Steele #1)
The Little Grave (Detective Amanda Steele #1)
Carolyn Arnold | 2021 | Crime, Thriller
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I admit I don't read a lot of American crime; I've nothing against it but I just happen to prefer my crime books to be set in the UK however, this one caught my eye and I thought I'd have a bit of a change and, overall, I was very satisfied.

The blurb, as you can see, is a long one and sets the scene very well for this solid start to a new series.

Amanda is a complex character and was difficult to get to like at first but this was understandable given what she has experienced; she did grow on me at the end as she started to work through her grief and the true Amanda came out however, I admit to nearly giving up on her but glad I didn't.

As the blurb says, Amanda is investigating the murder of the man who killed her husband and daughter but can she be objective and why is she getting threatening phone calls telling her to back off? She doesn't of course, otherwise there wouldn't be a book, but this is not a straightforward murder and does it have anything to do with the murder of the man's business partner and an exotic dancer or is it just a coincidence? The closer Amanda gets to finding out, the closer she gets to discovering the answers are closer to home than she could ever imagined.

The plot was great, the pace was good and the characters were explored just enough to wet your appetite to want to get to know them more, particularly Trent, but what I felt was really well explored was the grieving process that Amanda was experiencing. I really got a sense of her total desolation and how little things triggered memories of her dead loved ones and how this impacted on her every waking minute because, let's face it, if you had lost your entire reason for being, I'm sure you'd be the same.

Like I said at the beginning, this is a solid start to a new series and I am looking forward to seeing what comes next.

Many thanks to Bookoutre and NetGalley for my copy in return for an unbiased review.
  
Her Wolf (Westervelt Wolves #1)
Her Wolf (Westervelt Wolves #1)
Rebecca Royce | 2019 | Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Loved it!
Contains spoilers, click to show
Ashlee Morrison has a secret obsession—with a dark and mysterious male. The only problem is that he’s a wolf and she’s becoming convinced that she’s insane. But Ashlee’s wolf is no ordinary canine; he is Tristan Kane, third son in the royal family of the Westervelt Wolf pack.

Trapped in his wolf form by his evil father’s men, Tristan has desperately sought a way out of predicament and is shocked to find that the sad but beautiful redhead who has come to the wolf cage can not only hear him, but awakens in him the knowledge that she is his mate, the other half of his soul.

Ashlee, unaware that she is half wolf-shifter, agrees to accompany Tristan back to his pack in Maine to seek answers to her past and understand her future. But as Tristan and Ashlee grow closer, familial betrayals will threaten to destroy the fragile love they have started to build.

With the odds stacked against them, Ashlee and Tristan will either embrace their love to save the Westervelt Wolves or be lost forever to despair.

<strong>Brilliant</strong>

I was looking forward to this as other books of Rebecca's I've enjoyed. This one has to be my favourite so far! I loved the whole concept of it. It was told brilliantly especially for her her first published book. I really enjoyed the conversation between Ash and her wolf. I'm very much looking forward to reading the test of the series !



⭐⭐⭐⭐

  
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Merissa (14102 KP) rated The Nexus Games (Nexus Games #1) in Books

May 10, 2022 (Updated Jun 20, 2023)  
The Nexus Games (Nexus Games #1)
The Nexus Games (Nexus Games #1)
Shami Stovall | 2022 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Thriller
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
THE NEXUS GAMES is the first book in a new series of the same name that takes you into a game world where kindness is seen as a disadvantage.

Kellen is taken to this world, along with the woman he met that night, Mavis. He is told they have to play the game to get back home. Think of it as a cross between The Hunger Games and Wizard of Oz! It turns out, there is more to the world than Kellen or Mavis ever thought, with other dimensions and different versions of themselves in every dimension.

The team Kellen is playing with is full of secrets -- and you don't get the answers, not in this book! So prepare yourself because you will finish the book with questions unanswered. Also, it ends on a HUGE cliffhanger, so consider yourself warned.

As with all books by this author, the world-building is second to none. You find out what you need to know, when you need to know it. You learn about the magic of this world as Kellen does.

This is a long story so plenty to get your teeth into. It is definitely recommended by me and I can't wait to see where it goes next.

Just one question though, where can I get an albino wyvern?

** same worded review will appear elsewhere **

* 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!
May 9, 2022
  
All the Best Lies
All the Best Lies
Joanna Schaffhausen | 2020 | Crime
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The third book in the Ellery Hathaway series finds FBI Agent Reed Markham taking on a particularly personal case--his birth mother's murder. His mother, Camilla, was stabbed to death over forty years ago while baby Reed was nearby in his crib. Her killer was never found. It's a cold case now for the Las Vegas Police Department. Reed asks for Ellery's help and the two travel together to Las Vegas to search for answers. But Reed soon learns something shocking about his past, leading him to add someone incredibly close to him to his list of suspects. In Vegas, that list soon grows, and they realize that the killer--even after all these years--isn't happy with Reed and Ellery stirring things up.

This was another stellar entry in this series. I absolutely love Ellery and Reed, and it was great seeing Reed work on a case that meant so much to him. It reminded me of an early Harry Bosch in Michael Connelly's books, when he tries to track down his own mother's killer. Both Reed and Ellery deal with family issues in the book. As always, there is sizzling chemistry between the two. Their relationship just gets better and better, as each struggles with their own problems, and they grow closer and closer.

There's a lot of focus on Reed here, of course, as we learn more about both his mother and his adopted family, the Markhams (Reed was adopted by Senator Angus Markham from Virginia). His mother's case is mesmerizing, and there is no shortage of suspects, including lowlife drug dealer Billy Thorndike; her cop boyfriend, David; and more. Schaffhausen does an excellent job portraying Camilla's life forty years ago, and she comes to life easily.

As always, there are some wonderful twists and turns, and the book is easy-to-read. The pages turn quickly, between Reed and Ellery's excellent magnetism and the well-paced, absorbing mystery. This may be my favorite one so far, and that's saying a lot! 4.5 stars.