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Matefinder (Matefinder, #1)
Leia Stone | 2014
8
7.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
I do not consider myself an expert on werewolf and vampire lore, but I do find them highly fascinating. Matefinder is a quick read, with an interesting story and unique characters.

I have had this book sitting on my nightstand for almost a year, waiting for me to pick it up. I am so glad I finally did. Kai and Aurora's story kept my eyes glued to the page till I finished it well past my bedtime last night.

Aurora is a strong female lead and she carries a powerful gift with her. She has overcome so much, survived so much. Discovering who she is and the strength and power she carries is an incredible thing to witness. Passionate (clean) kisses, intense fight scenes, tenderness, and a family/pack bond that is thicker than blood. If you enjoy books with vampires and werewolves, I recommend Matefinder to you.

**I would consider the rating to be PG-13.**

I received a complimentary copy of Matefinder from the author as part of a giveaway that I won. I was not required to write a review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.
  
Baby Rescue (Creatures of Dawnia #1)
Baby Rescue (Creatures of Dawnia #1)
Sam Savelli | 2016 | Children
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Fuzz the mouse is lonely and needs some friends. What he doesn't need is to be eaten by a pterodactyl. When he finds out that Dack, the pterodactyl, is also lonely they strike up a friendship. When they then witness the kidnap of a baby pig by goblins, they set off on an adventure and make many more friends.

For a short children's story this certainly contains a lot of characters - and every single one of them is interesting in their own way. This would be a great story to read aloud as there are so many opportunities for funny voices, from sleepy camels to sly goblins. The story moves quickly too, never getting bogged down and always presenting something new and interesting to keep younger minds happy. The message of the importance of friendship and being nice runs through the whole story, making it a very positive book.

This is a great introduction to the City of Dawnia and the varied creatures who live there, definitely one that younger children will enjoy having read to them, and then reading themselves when they are older.
  
Whiskey Beach
Whiskey Beach
Nora Roberts | 2013 | Fiction & Poetry
4
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
It's taken me almost two months to read this, on and off because it was taking far too long to get anywhere interesting. I'd read every page up until about the 40% mark and then because it was taking forever for anything even remotely interesting to happen I just couldn't muster the want to read it.

It was only a couple of days ago when I was re-viewing my to-read list that I saw how many paperbacks I still had left to read and just decided to skim the remaining pages. It still didn't grab me as something amazing happening so I was a little disappointed. I loved the last book I read by her, The Witness, and really enjoy her J.D. Robb In Death series but this failed to get any good response out of me.

To put it bluntly, I was bored. So freaking bored!

Even the romance aspect of it didn't bring me any joy, though good for Abra for going after what she wanted.

I'm not in any hurry to return to a Nora Roberts book for a while after this.
  
The Netherwell Horror
The Netherwell Horror
Lee Mountford | 2021 | Fiction & Poetry, Horror
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
62 of 250
Kindle
The Netherwell Horror
By Lee Mountford

Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments

After receiving a worrying message from her estranged brother, Beth Davis sets out to find and help him, ending up in the strange, coastal town of Netherwell Bay.

There, she begins to witness terrifying and unexplainable things, and reports of ritualistic murders have the town panicked.

A sinister cult soon makes its presence known, and the dark history of Netherwell Bay is unveiled. Beth then finds herself in a race against time to stop a doorway to Hell from opening… permanently.

The Netherwell Horror is a Lovecraftian mystery that quickly descends into madness, sickening violence, and chaos. Fans of Silent Hill will love this nightmarish tale, but those of a squeamish disposition need not apply…

This was a perfect joining of cult and creature feature horror! Very Lovecraftian feel about the monsters too! Descriptions were full on gruesome and brilliantly done! I’m impressed with the ending too there was no saving the day and it all being perfect. Definitely for lovers of Lovecraft and well written horrors.
  
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Laetitia Sadier recommended Creekside by Lori Goldston in Music (curated)

 
Creekside by Lori Goldston
Creekside by Lori Goldston
2014 | Alternative, Indie
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"I saw her at a Mississippi Records evening at Café Oto. I went there because the guy from Mississippi Records had somehow inherited 700 hours of footage by a man who woke up one morning, I think in the 80s when the technology of hand-held cameras had just appeared, and he felt like he had a mission to go and film people, poorer people, and how they expressed themselves, artistically and spontaneously. So we're not talking about people who were trying to make records, just people who play the guitar and sing or whatever, just musically expressing themselves. And that man felt like these people would soon disappear, that society would disappear and it would be extinct. And I think he probably had a very strong intuition that proved to be right. I think technology will soon take us away from just picking up a guitar and singing some songs, spontaneously. It's refreshing because we don't see that on TV, where everything is manufactured and filtered. It felt so good for my brain and my senses to be connected into that, and to witness all of these expressions."

Source
  
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ClareR (5674 KP) rated Elevator Pitch in Books

Oct 4, 2019 (Updated Oct 5, 2019)  
Elevator Pitch
Elevator Pitch
Linwood Barclay | 2019 | Crime
8
7.6 (7 Ratings)
Book Rating
Elevator Pitch is a fast paced thriller that will have you taking the stairs for a good while after reading it!
An elevator accident results in the death of four people: a pointless, tragic accident. When a second ‘accident’ occurs and a witness survives, it becomes obvious that these accidents are anything but that.

Two NYPD detectives investigating the murder and terrible disfigurement of the victim don’t immediately see a connection to the elevator deaths, but when they discover that he was an elevator service technician, they begin to become increasingly suspicious.

Well, this well-written thriller had me on the edge of my seat from the start. Honestly, I was as clueless to what was going on as the characters in the book. I really liked the gritty reporter, Barbara, who was determined to hold the city’s mayor to account. She was driven, single minded, with a real sense of justice. As were the two NYPD detectives. The mayor came across as a typically corrupt politician: unlikeable and selfish.

I’d really recommend this if you like tense thrillers - this delivers in spades!
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.
  
<b>POV:</b> Multiple. <spoiler>Carter and Eliza (Lisa) are the main POVs, but we also have short passages in the POV of supporting characters. I'm not normally a fan of other POVs, but Bybee did well to keep them short and for plot progression.</spoiler>
<b>Descriptive Sex:</b> Yes. <spoiler>Not super descriptive, but there are steamy scenes.</spoiler>
<b>OW/OM:</b> No.
<b>Separation:</b> No.
<b>Content Warnings:</b> mention of rape and murder.
<b>★★★★</b>

I've been craving a hidden identity / witness protection romance, and this has satisfied that need. It's exactly what I wanted with the added bonus of marriage of convenience. There were one or two parts that I skimmed over because it was not of interest to me <spoiler>(particularly the political speeches and the scene with Agent Anderson, but that's really a me problem not a book one)</spoiler>, but Carter and Eliza are everything I want in a couple. The banter, the reassurances, and the trust. It was a pleasure to read.

This was my first time reading Bybee, but it will not be my last.
  
The Hunter&#039;s Moon (The Secret Warrior #1)
The Hunter's Moon (The Secret Warrior #1)
Beth Trissel | 2015 | Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult (YA)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Hunter's Moon is a young adult paranormal romance that starts with Morgan and her brother, Jimmy, on the run from mobsters who are trying to kill them. They shouldn't have been found as they are in the Witness Protection Program, but hey, they were. The reasons for this become clear as the book progresses.

This is a smooth-flowing book where the seventeen-year-old main female is thrust into the world of the paranormal, not knowing a single thing about it. Her ten-year-old brother is a delight to read about and certainly deserves the nickname of Batboy. Her doubts and fears about what is to come are completely relevant, and not out of character. The supporting characters are mainly a quiet bunch, with the spotlight on Okema, Miriam and Hawthorne. That being said, this is a series with a whole bunch of potential and I can't wait to read more. Definitely recommended for all fans of YA/Paranormal.

* 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!
Feb 5, 2016
  
Listening Woman
Listening Woman
Tony Hillerman | 1978 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Solving a Stalled Case
Joe Leaphorn is tackling several cases that have grown cool over the last few months. At the forefront is the case of the double murder or an old man and a teenage girl who were murdered near the man’s hogan. The only witness is the teenager’s aunt, a listening woman, who is blind. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have much she can add to the case, but Joe follows the few pieces she has given him. Will that be enough for him to figure out what really happened?

I wasn’t surprised when the various cases Joe was investigating played into this case, but I did feel like things were a little unfocused early on. Still, everything came together well, and the last third is a page turning thriller. While I like Joe, we still know very little about him or his personal life. Likewise, the rest of the cast isn’t fully developed, but they are real enough given the page time they have. I do appreciate how Joe balances the Navajo myths versus the reality of police work. It’s easy to see why these books are so well loved, and I’m glad I’ve picked them up.
  
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Li Hughes (285 KP) rated Six Four in Books

Sep 3, 2017  
Six Four
Six Four
Hideo Yokoyama, Jonathan Lloyd-Davies | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
A dense, rich plot (1 more)
Tons of interesting cultural glimpses
That dense, rich plot can be slow going (0 more)
I loved this book. Translated works can sometimes be clunky, with little nuances lost along the way, but this one was so smooth and evocative that it didn't really feel translated at all. Kudos to Jonathon Lloyd-Davies.

The basic plot involves 2 missing girls: the 1989 kidnap and murder of a 7 year old and the more recent disappearance of Press Director Mikami's teenage daughter. With the anniversary of the original crime coming up, Mikami is charged with organizing a PR visit by the police commissioner to the family of the murdered 7 year old and discovers a previously unseen clue in the case files along the way. The insight into the minutiae of Japanese daily life is fascinating: the sense of failure Mikami feels from having been transferred to criminal investigations to press director, cops stopping to purchase a visiting gift of rice crackers before stopping at the victim's home, Mikami's knowledge from the glimpse of a home shrine that a key witness has passed away.


While this can be a slow read, I suggest sticking with it. Take it in small doses. It's worth it.