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Secrets in the Stacks
Secrets in the Stacks
Lynn Cahoon | 2022 | Mystery
5
5.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
What Secret Led to Murder?
The newest member of the Survivors’ Book Club is Darcy, who has survived breast cancer as a young adult. While she is finishing up her college degree, she is living with her grandmother and working part time for Rarity Cole at Rarity’s bookstore. Returning home from work one day, Darcy finds her grandmother murdered in their home, and she turns to the book club for help in figuring out what happened. Can they do it?

I was a bit surprised that the characters weren’t reintroduced. Since it had been several months since I read the first in the series, it took me a bit to remember who everyone was. Once I did, I fell under their spell again. I really do like the cast. The story was entertaining, although the ending was weak. While it did answer the big questions, it raised a few more that aren’t addressed. There were some timeline glitches and other editing errors that should have been caught. Hopefully they were addressed between the ARC I read and the finished version. While the characters draw you in, the story should have been better.
  
Aerobics Can Be Deadly
Aerobics Can Be Deadly
Ryan Rivers | 2022 | Mystery
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Killer Workouts Are Fun for Us
Sho Tanaka and Levi Blue have decided to make a triathlon the first item they tackle on their bucket lists. When they go to the local gym to sign up to train, Levi manages to get them jobs as background extras in an aerobics video being shot the next day. However, when one of the stars dies during the first scene, Levi is ready to jump in and find the killer. Will Sho go along with it? Will they figure out what is going on?

While this is the first book in the series, it follows the novella that really introduces the characters. I read them out of order, but I didn’t have trouble figuring out the main characters and their relationships. There are plenty of laughs, especially in the beginning, but as the book progresses, things get more serious, lending itself to some great characters moments. Not that the humor ever goes completely away. Meanwhile, we have a strong mystery that kept me guessing until the very end. I will definitely be back for the prequel soon.
  
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Merissa (12027 KP) created a post

Dec 20, 2021  
In the mood for a romantic comedy? Overachiever is FREE on Amazon until Wednesday! You can grab it here:

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"Overachiever was hands down one of the best rom coms I have ever read. One word. Banter. It has that in spades and gets better as you read as if that's even possible!" -- #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Rachel Van Dyken

"Overachiever is a snort inducing, laugh out loud sweet romance that you absolutely need to read." -- Melissa Teo, Booksmacked

It started with a summer job and a ridiculous sex dream.

If you were to ask my friends to describe me, they’d tell you I’m an ambitious person. Responsible, driven, and focused on my goals. Words like stubborn and uptight would probably get thrown in there too. I’m not sure about that, but I know who I’m not.

I’m not the woman who lets a guy derail me from my plans. Watching others make that mistake has taught me well. No serious dating. No relationship until I’m successfully settled into my career. That’s the promise I made to myself and I’m determined to keep it.

Despite being an excellent student, there’s one lesson I fear I’ve learned too late. Funny men aren’t as harmless as they seem and should be avoided at all times. They sneak in under your radar and end up under your skirt. One second you’re laughing. The next you’re hunting for your underwear on a hotel room floor. Believe me, it’s not worth it.

If only my heart would stop screaming louder than my brain, I might be able to believe that Owen falls into that category. He’s my friend, but every day we spend together in this hotel, or working on our summer job building houses for charity, the harder it gets to convince myself we shouldn’t be more.

Years of diligence, and I’m being destroyed by a goofy smile.
     
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How to Find a Princess
How to Find a Princess
Alyssa Cole | 2021 | Erotica, Fiction & Poetry, Humor & Comedy, LGBTQ+, Romance
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
A repetitive and lackluster romance
Makeda Hicks loses her job and her girlfriend in the same day. Reeling, she's forced to move back with her grandmother and help out at her bed and breakfast. Being back with Grandmore means hearing more about when Grandmore supposedly had a passionate affair with the Prince of Ibarania--leading to Makeda's mother. Makeda has no patience for this story, as her mother's obsession with being a Princess dominated Makeda's entire childhood. When it never panned out, she disconnected from life (and Makeda), receding into alcoholism and forcing Makeda to grow up fast. When Beznaria Chetchevaliere, an investigator for the World Federation of Monarchies shows up at the B&B, claiming to be looking for Ibarania's missing heir, Makeda wants nothing to do with it. But the beautiful and chaotic investigator is surprisingly persuasive. Can she convince Makeda to go with her--and is Makeda indeed the heir to Ibarania?

"No adventures, no drama, and always there to lend a helping hand, even when her hands were full, that was Makeda."

This was one of my #Pride reads for June, and it sounded so cute. There were definitely funny and enjoyable moments, and I'm always glad to see queer romances in the world, but overall, this one didn't really work for me. I am a sucker for a good Hallmark movie, but even I couldn't get into this crazy idea--an unhinged royal investigator, a reluctant heir... and eventually a lot of fakedating and a cargo ship. It was all too much.

It's hard to believe the instachemistry between Bez and Makeda, especially as we do not get a lot of backstory on the two women. Makeda's "will I go with Bez or won't I" takes an inordinately long time--it was incredibly frustrating. Just decide already! Things are repeated over and over, making the story feel inordinately long. Being unable to get into the characters or their romance, it was just hard to really love this one. The pacing and timing always seemed off. I wound up skimming the last half just to find out what would happen, otherwise it would have been a DNF. 2 stars.
  
I received a complimentary copy of this book in return for an honest review and although it has taken me a while to read it, I have really enjoyed the content and style of the information provided.

This book gives a very in-depth and detailed re-telling of the Battle of Gettysburg, and more specifically the charge of Barksdale himself. A battle and time that will live forever in history, Phillip Thomas Tucker weaves the death and grim reality of war with insightful quotes, maps and ideas about how this battle really occurred.

There are several outstanding aspects of this book, however first I feel it is necessary to warn any potential readers that this book is not that easy to read. I am a frequent reader of non-fiction books, and more specifically historical non-fiction, and this is amongst one of the hardest I have read, but the effort is well worth it. At times, it is just a little over loaded with details such as names, positions in the armies etc, and with the same names appearing in both sides of the battle as well as within the same units, it can get a little hard to keep track of everyone!

On a much more positive note though, the detailed research the author must have done truly does shine through on every page. The quotes from letters, the pictures and the maps, to name but a few things, really do add a whole new dimension to the book. Personally, it made it all seem a lot more real, helping me to engage more with the trials of those poor men (and horses) stuck in the mud and terror of that day. Although knowing all the names did get slightly confusing at times, it was a great touch in helping 'bring home' the reality and enormity of the loss at that battle.

In addition, the pace with which the events were told was pitched just right. Although packed with detail, the book still had a great pace and a pull to it. The action of the battle really does pour through the pages and come alive. It's written with great skill and is one of the best 'battle recounts' that I have read in a long time.

In conclusion, I can only praise this book for summarising one of the pivotal battles of the American Civil War. Detailed, at times a little too much so, and a compelling, engaging and at times emotional read that I would recommend to anyone who has an interest in this period of history, or who is studying this.