Search
Search results

Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Mind Sweeper (Mind Sweeper #1) in Books
Sep 6, 2019
I won this book via Goodreads' First Reads program (and I'm so happy I did! Thank you for the goodies, too, A.E. :D)
<a href="http://s216.photobucket.com/user/leannecrab/media/DSCN3257.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc19/leannecrab/DSCN3257.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo DSCN3257.jpg"/></a>
4.5 stars.
This book has everything that I like in a paranormal read; action, romance, investigations... I really, really, really liked it!
<a href="http://s216.photobucket.com/user/leannecrab/media/DSCN3258.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc19/leannecrab/DSCN3258.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo DSCN3258.jpg"/></a>
"Happy Reading"? It definitely was for me!
I literally read every word of this, which I don't always do as it is generally just filler/too much information for my liking, but I felt like I would miss something if I missed any one word of this. And still managed to finish it within three days
The case took up all the book and I have to admit that I had no idea who was behind it all but I loved how the author had linked everything together.
The romance was slow growing; it wasn't insta-love and I really felt it happening which was great. I love Kyle and Joe as a couple. I'd love to read more of them (nudge, nudge ;-))
I'm definitely looking forward to reading more books by the author if there is more along this line coming. Great book for a debut!
<a href="http://s216.photobucket.com/user/leannecrab/media/DSCN3257.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc19/leannecrab/DSCN3257.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo DSCN3257.jpg"/></a>
4.5 stars.
This book has everything that I like in a paranormal read; action, romance, investigations... I really, really, really liked it!
<a href="http://s216.photobucket.com/user/leannecrab/media/DSCN3258.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc19/leannecrab/DSCN3258.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo DSCN3258.jpg"/></a>
"Happy Reading"? It definitely was for me!
I literally read every word of this, which I don't always do as it is generally just filler/too much information for my liking, but I felt like I would miss something if I missed any one word of this. And still managed to finish it within three days
The case took up all the book and I have to admit that I had no idea who was behind it all but I loved how the author had linked everything together.
The romance was slow growing; it wasn't insta-love and I really felt it happening which was great. I love Kyle and Joe as a couple. I'd love to read more of them (nudge, nudge ;-))
I'm definitely looking forward to reading more books by the author if there is more along this line coming. Great book for a debut!

Edna & Harvey: The Breakout
Games and Entertainment
App
The award-winning debut adventure game from the creators of The Whispered World and Deponia now on...

ANA for iPad
Travel and Book
App
ANA iPad application has been renewed! Enjoy traveling more than ever before. Everything about...

We Shall Not All Sleep
Book
Seven Island has two houses. One for Hillsingers and one for Quicks. 1964. The Hillsingers and...

The Physics of the Dead
Book
What do the dead do when they can't leave...and don't know why? The afterlife doesn't come with a...
Science fiction

Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post
Aug 1, 2020

Merissa (12351 KP) rated Bound in Flame (The Hawaiian Ladies’ Riding Society #1) in Books
Aug 3, 2020
Bound in Flame is the debut book by this author and is also the first in The Hawaiian Ladies’ Riding Society series. Set in the early 1900's we find out about the Suffragette movement as seen by a young (eighteen-year-old) Letty. She wants to go to school and become a vet although she is not sure that it's possible. Instead of being a woman with her feet set firmly in logic, Letty finds out that she is one of the magical Gates and her powers, her flames as she calls them, are not just there to get her into trouble. Letty knows who she is and also knows what she is up against, more so than Timothy, our main male, in some cases.
This is a wondrous tale of a time gone by, told with a sense of gentility. It has a historical setting but with fantasy elements. I have no idea if the settings, dates, occasions, people, etc. are real but, to be honest, I don't really care either. I thoroughly enjoyed the flow of this story, with the wonderful characters you learn about.
I thought this was a brilliant start to a series I want to read more from. Thoroughly enjoyable, a good long story to sink into, with settings and characters that leap off the page. Absolutely recommended by me.
* 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!
This is a wondrous tale of a time gone by, told with a sense of gentility. It has a historical setting but with fantasy elements. I have no idea if the settings, dates, occasions, people, etc. are real but, to be honest, I don't really care either. I thoroughly enjoyed the flow of this story, with the wonderful characters you learn about.
I thought this was a brilliant start to a series I want to read more from. Thoroughly enjoyable, a good long story to sink into, with settings and characters that leap off the page. Absolutely recommended by me.
* 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!

Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2273 KP) rated Killer Chardonnay in Books
Aug 7, 2020
Poisoned Opening
Parker Valentine’s dream is coming true today with the opening of Vino Valentine in her hometown of Boulder, Colorado. However, her joy turns to worry when renowned local food and wine blogger Gaskel Brown shows up. He is notoriously hard to please, and his blog can make or break local restaurants. After sampling her chardonnay, Gaskel dies, and the police are quick to label it poison. Everyone is blaming Parker for the crime, and no one is coming to her store for fear they will be next. In order to save her dream, she has to find the killer. Can she do it?
Since I don’t drink wine, I almost passed on this debut, but I’m glad I picked it up. The book starts quickly, introducing us to characters while also setting the murder in motion. The pace continues to be strong with plenty of secrets and motives before we reach the climax, where everything fell into place. All the characters were also fantastic, with some good growth thanks to the subplots. The book is written in first person present tense, which is a bit unusual, but I quickly got used to it as I read. There are a handful of four-letter words, but they are worth noting mostly in passing. If the food descriptions make your mouth water, you’ll welcome the three recipes and wine pairings at the end. This book was aged to perfection, and I’m already looking forward to Parker’s next case.
Since I don’t drink wine, I almost passed on this debut, but I’m glad I picked it up. The book starts quickly, introducing us to characters while also setting the murder in motion. The pace continues to be strong with plenty of secrets and motives before we reach the climax, where everything fell into place. All the characters were also fantastic, with some good growth thanks to the subplots. The book is written in first person present tense, which is a bit unusual, but I quickly got used to it as I read. There are a handful of four-letter words, but they are worth noting mostly in passing. If the food descriptions make your mouth water, you’ll welcome the three recipes and wine pairings at the end. This book was aged to perfection, and I’m already looking forward to Parker’s next case.

Christine A. (965 KP) rated The Shadows in Books
Aug 24, 2020
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review. The opinions are entirely my own, and any quotes are taken from the ARC and may be different in the final published copy.
While I have "read" audiobooks for years now, this is the first one I was given to review. Let me catch my breath before starting. Wow! OK. Wow! That needed to be said.
Alex North's "debut" novel, The Whisper Man, was a 2019 Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Mystery & Thriller. When I finished reading it, I immediately added his second book, The Shadows, to my must-read list.
The narrators of The Shadows are Hannah Arterton and John Heffernan. The combination of North's writing and Arterton and Heffernan's narration provides a story that feels as if the narrators are the characters themselves, sitting by a fire, retelling North's story, and not merely reading the story. It is their narration that helps North bring the listener down the rabbit hole and ending up questioning everything they thought was true. I needed to reread sections to see how I could have gotten everything so wrong.
North is a British crime writer who has previously published under another name. According to Goodreads, this is Arterton's first narration. While Heffernan has narrated a few novels, he writes mostly for film and TV but also wrote Driver For The Dead, his first comic book series.
This 200-word review was published on Philomathinphila.com on 7/14/20 and updated on 8/24/20.
While I have "read" audiobooks for years now, this is the first one I was given to review. Let me catch my breath before starting. Wow! OK. Wow! That needed to be said.
Alex North's "debut" novel, The Whisper Man, was a 2019 Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Mystery & Thriller. When I finished reading it, I immediately added his second book, The Shadows, to my must-read list.
The narrators of The Shadows are Hannah Arterton and John Heffernan. The combination of North's writing and Arterton and Heffernan's narration provides a story that feels as if the narrators are the characters themselves, sitting by a fire, retelling North's story, and not merely reading the story. It is their narration that helps North bring the listener down the rabbit hole and ending up questioning everything they thought was true. I needed to reread sections to see how I could have gotten everything so wrong.
North is a British crime writer who has previously published under another name. According to Goodreads, this is Arterton's first narration. While Heffernan has narrated a few novels, he writes mostly for film and TV but also wrote Driver For The Dead, his first comic book series.
This 200-word review was published on Philomathinphila.com on 7/14/20 and updated on 8/24/20.

Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2273 KP) rated City Spies in Books
Jun 7, 2020
Meet the City Spies
Sara Martinez is in jail after hacking into New York’s juvenile justice system to turn in her foster parents. She gets the surprise of her life when her lawyer turns out to be a man called Mother, who reveals himself to be a British spy. He whisks Sara away to Scotland where she joins a secret team of MI6 made up of other kids like herself. Sara has joined them just weeks before their next mission – infiltrating an ecological conference to stop a group that is out to sabotage it. Will Sara be far enough along in her training to be an asset to her team? Will they succeed in their mission?
I saw this new series debut recommended by another author I love, and I’m so glad I did. This middle grade book is fast paced. We get plenty of set up, but everything is introduced as part of the story, so it never slows things down. Once the mission begins, the pace picks up even more, and I couldn’t put the book down. Some of the elements are a little over the top, but I just reminded myself this is a spy story and got right back into the book. We don’t get to know all the characters well yet, but we definitely saw some growth in Sara and a few others, and what we saw of them is great. There are some truly heartwarming moments as well as moments that made me laugh. This is a fantastic middle grade book for readers of all ages.
I saw this new series debut recommended by another author I love, and I’m so glad I did. This middle grade book is fast paced. We get plenty of set up, but everything is introduced as part of the story, so it never slows things down. Once the mission begins, the pace picks up even more, and I couldn’t put the book down. Some of the elements are a little over the top, but I just reminded myself this is a spy story and got right back into the book. We don’t get to know all the characters well yet, but we definitely saw some growth in Sara and a few others, and what we saw of them is great. There are some truly heartwarming moments as well as moments that made me laugh. This is a fantastic middle grade book for readers of all ages.