Of Blood and Bone by Nora Roberts

Of Blood and Bone by Nora Roberts
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

If you mix Stephen King The Stand, Swan Song and The Fate of the Tearling you have read this Nora Roberts trilogy ---of course not having read the third book yet there is no way that I can tell if she actually has an original idea that will finish off this hot mess.

I liked most of this book somewhat more than the first, but not enough for me to actually buy it or to give it more stars and I still can't help but compare this book to the other books I mentioned. The magic (spelled 'magick'...ugh) is a cool touch but a little too Ilona Andrews in my book and Roberts goes and does it again with the heroine Fallon pulling magical stuff out of her...er well you know where I'm going with this, don't you?

The ending is just sad and the 'romance' between Fallon and Duncan. Hows could she say NO with his 'hot tongue' down her throat? Ick.

You can see the romance coming a mile away and it doesn't bode well.

While the main storyline is adult (the end of the world as we know it, the hate, bigotry torture, and deaths) the rest of the book is seen through Fallon's eyes and makes this a YA and I don't really like the mix.





Below is what I had to say to one of NR's extremely positive reviews that mention plagiarism:


"Funny how everyone is mentioning plagiarism about the title and cover art but nobody is mentioning the fact that the idea of the series comes from several different authors. As of this book- three separate and very well known authors. It is very sad that such a well-known author stoops this low."


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Saving Meghan by D.J. Palmer

Saving Meghan by D.J. Palmer
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was not a happy camper with this book. I had been so excited to read a book with such a unique premise, and then when I really got into the book I found myself skimming. It was slow to start and had a major problem with repetitiveness.

ALL of the characters were extremely dislikable and the ending was seemingly pulled out of thin air.

Had I heard one more time how Becky was so beautiful and could manipulate men -I would have gouged out my eyes. Yes, I can see by Becky's back-story that she had 'issues'...but enough is enough.

Yes, I can see that the author carefully planned the ending, but it (the denouement) should have been longer and told in the culprits' voice.

I didn't like that the story was told in so many voices, yet not from one of the most important people which was, I suppose, to push us into thinking that this unheard character 'did it'.

I didn't like being pushed so hard into coming to an incorrect conclusion. We as readers are not stupid people. We could plainly see what was going on, Mr. Palmer didn't need to hit us over the head with it.

Many people really loved this book; I did not. Yes, I was captivated enough to finish it (skimming a lot of the way through) but I will not be putting this on my 'to be re-read' pile.

*ARC Supplied by the Publisher


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Gimme Some Sugar by Molly Harper

Gimme Some Sugar by Molly Harper
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have been away from reading Molly Harper for a while now---I was offered this ARC to read and I am so happy I accepted it! It made me realize that I was missing out on some good Southern reading!
You know, the kind that has a lot of "bless her little hearts" in it while the knife is sticking out of your back. A widowed mother who is trying to do right by her young son and at the same time trying to build a new life for them...all the while falling back in love with her childhood 'best' friend, and keeping from admitting to it.

A lot of humor in this book as well as the aforementioned back-stabbing, some drama and even a little mystery.

BUT! Wait for it. What we really don't have is a set in concrete ending---you know, the HEA! I can only hope that Ms. Harper is going to set us up with another novella to let us know how Lucy and Duffy and Sam are making out. You may wonder why I didn't deduct at least a star because of this; well I didn't think I needed to since this book was as satisfying as...well, as sweet tea and deep-fried Twinkies!!! Plus I love the fact that each of these books leaves us with a good message and a lot of shocking character growth

By the way -after I finished this perfect potato chip/beach read, I went and bought all of the books in this series including the novella's (which you really don't need to buy but I suggest you do!) Also, Sweet Tea and Sympathy is a free read if you have Kindle Unlimited!

*ARC supplied by the publisher.


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The Things We Cannot Say -by Kelly Rimmer

The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm not sure just exactly how I feel about this book. I could have loved it, but I felt that there were issues with it that just didn't go over well with me.

For me, this was a depressing read that was also fascinating. I hope you can understand what I'm trying to say. This was a very deep book dealing with two heart-breaking issues. A modern woman faced with a deeply autistic child and a semi-dysfunctional family and a woman who lived through the worst that war could give.

Unfortunately what made this book difficult for me to LOVE was that both of these women in their own ways were spoiled, selfish and naive. The author also did a lot of inner-dialoguing and for me, that is just a turn-off. The only reason why I kept reading was to see how the mystery was going to come out and if it weren't for that I may have not finished this book.

I'm aware that most people love this book, unfortunately, I won't be putting this book on my "comfort books" shelf.

However, I will be recommending this book; most especially to book clubs.

*ARC supplied by the publisher.



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Spring Fever by Mary Kay Andrews

Spring Fever by Mary Kay Andrews
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Fever by Mary Kay Andrews (Summer Rental)

*ARC Supplied by Publisher*


This is a book about second chances It is about when life hands us a ‘do-over’ do we have the depth of character and maturity to take a chance on getting things right the second time around. It is about Mason’s integrity and his abiding love of a family business that will keep a town from going under. It is about Annajanes ability to love and trust someone that she has a few doubts about.

Annajane and Mason have just such a chance when Mason’s marriage to his new fiancé is interrupted by his little girl Sophie having a hot appendix and being rushed to the hospital. You see, Annajane and Mason were once married, but they didn’t quite make it. Now Mason is getting married to someone who is most definitely NOT the one he was destined to be with the rest of his life. Annajane is engaged to a musician now, but even though Mason is her ex-husband, she has been invited to his wedding to Celia.

One of the main issues this story deals with is the Bayless’s family business Quixie soda, a regional product, and the possibility that the family company will be taken over by a much larger company. There is more to it but I don’t want to ruin the story for you.

After the somewhat slightly lackluster release of last year’s “Summer Rental”, this book was just such a pleasant surprise. I was worried that Ms. Andrews would keep on with the notion that those of us who like Southern chick lit would be appeased with another book like “Summer Rental”
What she gave us with “Spring Fever” is one of the most delightful, witty, charming stories I have read in ages. The characters are so well defined that you could swear you’ve met them before or at least people just like them. Everyone knows a couple that was just perfect for each other, but too stubborn to realize it themselves. I’m sure everyone has known a back-stabbing SOB like Celia is or a money-obsessed person like Mason’s brother. And this is just one of the things that makes this novel such a delight to read. The descriptions of the area, the factory, and the secondary characters are all richly written and 100% believable. The dialogue is believable and so is the story. The ease of reading this novel was truly pleasant for me.

This will defiantly be a book I will read repeatedly every springtime.


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To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I make it a habit when reading a book I can't put down, to go to Amazon and take a look at the less than positive reviews. Imagine my surprise when reading about this CLASSIC -that someone said the novel Divergent which is listed as a child's novel (is it really?), should be substituted in school for TKaM. That Divergent would teach better life lessons.

Well, I have never read Divergent nor do I want to (yet) but I can't imagine that it would teach the lessons TKaM teaches us in all of its gritty glory. TKaM is a classic and one of the things that means is that the lessons it teaches spans generations and centuries and will be as important to learn in 1950 as it is in 2050.

Since I am 60 years old (ahem), I come from *near* the era this book was set in -my parents and Grandparents; exactly this era - I am still living with the repercussions of the mindset and politics of those closest to me. If you all know what I mean...

At any rate, this book really teaches a hard lesson for that era and one that I was surprised to be taught.

I loved this book for giving me so much -a lesson that everyone is created equal, a lesson in small-town politics (which is just as true today as it was then)that we can't really know about someone else until we walk a mile in their shoes and that when needed most, help will come from unexpected directions.

I can understand that the beginning of this book can be boring to those who are used to more action, I just look at it as yet another lesson this book is teaching me -to be patient since all good things come to those who wait.

Read this. I don't think you'll be sorry.


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Sunset Beach by Mary Kay Andrews

Sunset Beach by Mary Kay Andrews
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have been reading books by Mary Kay Andrews and her pseudonym Kathy Hogan Trocheck for years and years. She has only bombed maybe once and when I mean bombed -I mean that she got two stars from me. Most of her books are 3's, 4's and even 5's. I had a difficult time deciding what amount of stars to give this book. It is written in such a different style that I'm used to from the author. These characters are deeper with more problems to deal with and the issues they are dealing with are grittier. The fact that there are jumps in time (several different murders one forty years in the past) didn't do me any good until I really got into the book -then my unhappiness with this book flew out of the window.

I don't really like having to take so much time to 'get into a book' (the book was never bad, it just was a bit slow)but this book slowly pulled me in and I found myself liking that. Character growth abounded (I really did not like Drue at first) and the character's, like Wendy, that I disliked at first, I came to like and the character's that I liked at first I came to distrust even before the denouement. What I did NOT see coming was how the forty-year-old murder happened and why it happened and WHO made it happen!

This did turn out to be an engrossing read for me and one I will recommend to mystery lovers who like a tiny side of romance. And I do mean tiny!

*ARC supplied by the publisher.



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Boundary Broken (Boundary Magic, #4) by Melissa F. Olson

Boundary Broken by Melissa F. Olson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This series just keeps getting better and better. Although I must admit that I received this from the publisher as an ARC-I am going to be buying my own copy because I really want to support this author. I first started reading this series on a whim-I don't normally use my Kindle Unlimited (why? Mostly because I don't expect to find quality reads, but I am so glad I made an exception with this series. These books are quality reads).

This book jumps 2 years from the last book, so you need to get used to the fact that Charlie is now a toddler with a vocabulary! It was a little awkward for me at first, but I quickly got over the time jump. I don't know how to discuss the plot without giving away tons of spoilers (and I am really holding myself back from doing so!!!)

There are so many things going on and so many new people especially people that we have only met in passing in this book. An old enemy comes back, many people die or get hurt quite badly, the mystery is very convoluted but in a good way that really keeps you on your toes.

This was a very non-put-downable book filled with action and preying on some of our main characters worst fears and nightmares.

All in all, with the way things ended, I can't wait until book 5 comes out.

*ARC supplied by the publisher.


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Wolfhunter River (Stillhouse Lake Book 3) by Rachel Caine

Wolfhunter River by Rachel Caine
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a truly amazing series. I have a bad heart and at times during these first three books, I was a bit worried that I might end up in the hospital due to excitement and anxiety! Granted with the first book you really need to understand that the author takes a lot of artistic licenses and makes the literally impossible into the fictionally possible. But I have no problem with using my imagination! That's what fiction is for -to make us imagine ourselves in these situations and how we would react, to get us away from our everyday lives and problems, to entertain, amuse or horrify -and this series does it in spades.


In the last book, Gwen and her family and lover have finally gotten rid of her serial killer husband Melvin and thank goodness for that! But due to something that Sam has done, in this book, Gwen and crew decide to go help someone who calls out for help and ends up in dire straights. Sam has to confess that he has done something horrible and from there we have this next installment.

This book does end up on a different note and I find it a good one as it sets up a different sort of story for the upcoming book/s. I don't believe that Gwen and her kids have gotten rid of the trolls and stalkers, but the author is giving us something fresh.

If I had one complaint about this book is that it does too much re-hashing, but that does allow for someone to start in on this series anywhere and get caught up -tho I do not recommend that you do so.

*ARC supplied by the publisher though I did pre-order my own copy!


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