Review: A Crown of Ivy and Glass

A Crown of Ivy and Glass by Claire Legrand
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I tried; I reallly tried to like this novel. It seemed to have everything I love about fantasy novels. But I just couldn't keep getting over what a whiny b*thcy character Gemma was and what a stick-up-the-butt Talon was (borrowed that name from another author, did we???).

This book reads more like a young teenager novel, but then sex gets involved.

I could NOT finish this book and keep my sanity.

*ARC supplied by the publisher.


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Review: Moorewood Family Rules

Moorewood Family Rules by HelenKay Dimon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

4.5 stars rounded up.

It's not often that I give a new (to me) author this many stars. There really has to be something about the book that calls to me. Everything about this book called to me. I love a good story about screwed-up, bitchy, backstabbing rich families. Books that have twists and turns. Books with some mystery, intrigue, and surprises. Books that leave some of the characters with insight that they hadn't had when you first started reading. And boy, howdy, do we sure have all of that here. That and just a bit more that put the shine on the book. There is some humor and a bit of romance, too (sort of)!

This is a perfect beach read  - not too long, not too short. Perfect for a long vacation flight.

*ARC supplied by the publisher Avon and Harper Voyager, the author HelenKay Dimon, and NetGalley.

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SYNOPSIS: "One day a con man met an heiress, wooed her, married her, had two kids…and kept on conning. Jillian Moorewood is the oldest child from that meet-cute-gone-wrong marriage. The stable one. The sensible and dependable one. The one who protects and fixes. The one who went to prison to save their sorry butts. Now, thirty-nine months later, she’s out and she’s more than a little pissed.

Finally home she finds the scheming clan in full family fleecing mode. They all claim they didn’t really agree to Jillian’s previous go-legit-or-else ultimatum before she went away. They viewed it as a “suggestion” then ignored it. So, business as usual. But Jillian is done with the lies and fakery. She demands the whole messed-up crew clean up its act, and this time she’s not kidding—she has the leverage to make it happen.

Problem is, her life is in shambles, but with the help of a great aunt (crooked but loveable), a bodyguard (who is a nice surprise after three years in prison), and a few allies (all working undercover), Jillian starts to put her life back together. She kicks out a few mooching relatives living under her roof, sets limits on everyone’s access to the money, ducks from their various attacks, and sees if that bodyguard is maybe interested in sticking around for a while. For the first time, she’s Jillian Moorewood, her own woman, and she’s ready to figure out who she is."

Review: The Syndicate Spy: A Juliet Arroway Novel

The Syndicate Spy: A Juliet Arroway Novel by Brittany Butler
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

When looking at the description for this book on Amazon, I am struck by the fact that though this book is being advertised as a futuristic book, "In the near future, Earth’s oil reserves are depleted. " it was set (according to the very first page) in 1938. Unless this is a significant typo, it sure put a different spin on this book for me. So which is it? A book set in the past with all sorts of modern tech, or a futuristic book with old-fashioned tech?

In the very first paragraph, I found a distracting mistake on the author's part. COPPER DOES NOT RUST, NOR DOES IT SMELL OF RUST. Yes, this may be nit-picking, but it still made me question how good this book would be. Mistakes such as this tend to pull me out of the story and question what I had been reading.

As I kept reading, I realized that this author has an interesting command of the language. For instance, Juliet's eyes can speak to her partner Mariam. Ohhkay. "Juliet took a SHARP swig of water" ??? "A silo of light poured into the compound."

This is most likely a very good book. I do so love futuristic novels, and having two kick-butt heroines would have been just perfect. However, too many things distract me from what could have been the perfect story.

*ARC supplied by the publisher.

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SYNOPSIS:"“Sacrifices must be made; battles will be lost. It is always this way in a quest for change.” In the near future, Earth’s oil reserves are depleted. Nations grapple to find an alternative energy source. Terrorists race for control over world resources. And the Syndicate―a conglomerate of allied intelligence agencies―struggles to maintain peace. Syndicate operative Juliet Arroway and her best friend, Mariam, a progressive Saudi princess, are tasked with hunting down terrorists and putting an end to the global energy war, the same mission that cost Juliet’s father his life. But when multiple terrorist attacks result in devastating losses, including the death of Juliet’s longtime boyfriend, and the Syndicate begins to suspect that Mariam’s family is somehow involved, Juliet must rise above her heartbreak to discover the truth. In her quest, Juliet is paired with Graham―a dashing yet arrogant FBI agent―and embarks on a dangerous journey toward love and survival as they race to obtain the formula that could solve the energy crisis. But when peace demands a stunning betrayal, Juliet must decide how much she is willing to pay for the success of her mission. Brilliantly weaving fact and fiction, Butler tells a story seldom told―how female heroics can change the course of war."

Review: Advika and the Hollywood Wives

Advika and the Hollywood Wives by Kirthana Ramisetti
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

One of the things I find that is making this a difficult book to follow is that the time frame for this book is a bit wonky- I thought it was 2022 or 2023 - apparently, I was wrong. And had I done a better job of reading the book's description, I would have known this LOL! This would be why Juliians' age was not as old as I thought it was.

I kept reading this novel because I had hoped it would improve. I also wanted to know why Advika was left with that odd proposal in one of the wives will. But you know what? It never did. What this book did to me was to wind me up, and I kept hoping that the ending would be worth it, but it wasn't.
Frankly, I knew just by how the characters were badly written and ego-driven, the conversations stilted, and the plot line unbelievable that there would be no wonderful ending, not even an ah-ha moment.

I had never met two such unlikeable protagonists in my life. Advika whining, immature, and spineless. Julian - well, he was just plain crazy, and nobody ever even noticed?

*ARC supplied by the publisher Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley.

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SYNOPSIS: "Advika Srinivasan never thought she’d be someone’s fourth wife, let alone the new wife of Julian Zelding, one of Hollywood’s most renowned film producers—a gripping tale of marriage, ambition, and power from the author of GMA Book Club pick Dava Shastri's Last Day.

At age 26, Advika Srinivasan considers herself a failed screenwriter. To pay the bills and keep her mind off of the recent death of her twin sister, she’s taken to bartending A-list events, including the 2015 Governors Ball, the official afterparty of the Oscars. There, in a cinematic dream come true, she meets the legendary Julian Zelding—a film producer as handsome as Paul Newman and ten times as powerful—fresh off his fifth best picture win. Despite their 41-year age difference, Advika falls helplessly under his spell, and their evening flirtation ignites into a whirlwind courtship and elopement. Advika is enthralled by Julian’s charm and luxurious lifestyle, but while Julian loves to talk about his famous friends and achievements, he smoothly changes the subject whenever his previous relationships come up. Then, a month into their marriage, Julian’s first wife—the famous actress Evie Lockhart—dies, and a tabloid reports a shocking stipulation in her will. A single film reel and $1,000,000 will be bequeathed to “Julian’s latest child bride” on one condition: Advika must divorce him first.

Shaken out of her love fog and still-simmering grief over the loss of her sister—and uneasy about Julian’s sudden, inexplicable urge to start a family—Advika decides to investigate him through the eyes and experiences of his exes. From reading his first wife’s biography, to listening to his second wife’s confessional albums, to watching his third wife’s Real Housewives-esque reality show, Advika starts to realize how little she knows about her husband. Realizing she rushed into the marriage for all the wrong reasons, Advika uses the info gleaned from the lives of her husband’s exes to concoct a plan to extricate herself from Julian once and for all."