Review: Swamp Story

Swamp Story by Dave Barry
My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I don't know what to say! Yes, I did get two out-loud laughs while reading this book. I mean, come on, getting hit in the family jewels by a four-year-old with a golf club while acting as the stabilizer for a pinata?

I did get several chuckles and numerous giggles.

What I didn't get was a book that I absolutely loved. If the Mellon (sic) Monster and the men who made up that group had been left out, it might have been a stronger book, at least for me. I found them quite annoying, unnecessary, and not funny at all. As it was, anytime they showed up in all of their stoned glory, I just skimmed. Though I do have to say that may have worked in my favor because I was able to shave almost a quarter off of this book!

A good beach read, a great book for those who love Florida and all of her wacky citizens, and a good book for when you need something quick to read.

*ARC supplied by the publisher Simon & Schuster, the author, and NetGalley.

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SYNOPSIS:"Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times bestselling author and actual Florida Man Dave Barry returns with a Florida caper full of oddballs and more twists and turns than a snake slithering away from a gator.

Jesse Braddock is trapped in a tiny cabin deep in the Everglades with her infant daughter and her ex-boyfriend, a wannabe reality TV star who turned out to be a lot prettier on the outside than on the inside. Broke and desperate for a way out, Jesse stumbles across a long-lost treasure, which could solve all her problems—if she can figure out how to keep it. The problem is, some very bad men are also looking for the treasure, and they know Jesse has it.

Meanwhile, Ken Bortle of Bortle Brothers Bait and Beer has hatched a scheme to lure tourists to his failing store by making viral videos of the “Everglades Melon Monster.” The Monster is in fact an unemployed alcoholic newspaperman named Phil wearing a Dora the Explorer costume head. Incredibly, this plan actually works, inspiring a horde of TikTokers to swarm into the swamp in search of the monster at the same time villains are on the hunt for Jesse’s treasure. Amid this mayhem, a presidential hopeful arrives in the Everglades to start his campaign. Needless to say, it does not go as planned. In fact, nothing in this story goes as planned. This is, after all, Florida.

Review: Second Chances on Huckleberry Hill

Second Chances on Huckleberry Hill by Jennifer Beckstrand
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Since the first time I started reading this series, I think this is the first book I didn't absolutely adore. I liked it very much-I just didn't adore it.
It was an interesting and heart-warming story, but it dragged on a tad too much for me.

Martha Sue, and Yorst love each other. There is one significant problem, though, Yorsts son really really dislikes Martha Sue. To the point that he physically hurts her and eventually her 80-something-year-old Mammi, Anna. It got to the point that I started disliking Jonah (the son).

Now, since this is a book about matchmaking, you'd better believe that Anna and Felty are up to their old tricks, which means there is another man in the mix. And boy, did I ever dislike him!

But don't worry, this is an Amish romance, and everything will work out for the best, and we will all learn some outstanding life lessons!

This was a fast, sweet, clean read with several chuckles throughout the book.

*ARC supplied by the publisher Kensington Books, Zebra, the author, and NetGalley.



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SYNOPSIS: "Beloved inspirational romance author Jennifer Beckstrand continues her uplifting Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill series featuring Huckleberry Hill, Wisconsin’s, irrepressible eighty-something matchmakers Anna and Felty Helmuth! Will appeal to readers of Amish and inspirational romance and fans of Charlotte Hubbard, Amy Lillard, and Emma Miller.

Martha Sue Helmuth wishes she could just relax and enjoy her extended visit with her beloved grandparents. Instead, she is nursing a broken heart over gentle widower Yost Beiler. Yost’s thirteen-year-old son, Jonah, refuses to accept Martha Sue, and she refuses to risk coming between them. For now, she is just trying to avoid her Mammi’s choice of yet another eligible suitor. But when Yost moves himself and Jonah to Huckleberry Hill to change Martha Sue’s mind, she can't help dreaming that somehow, some way, she and Yost will have a miraculous second chance to be together . . .

After his wife’s untimely death, Yost did everything he could to help Jonah through his grief. He hopes that Martha Sue's outgoing family—and her generous ways—will show his son how loving and trustworthy she truly is. But Anna and Felty's matchmaking antics are inspiring Jonah to drive Martha Sue off for good. And when he goes too far, can Yost and Martha Sue find the understanding to forgive him—and the strength to prove they can overcome differences to make one joyous forever family?

Review: Forever

Forever by J.R. Ward
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I have been a fan of J.R. Ward for some time, but I am not a 'squee girrl. I am not writing this review at the feet of my idol like some are.

After the wonderful start to this new series? Trilogy? I was so looking forward to this book. I even paid the full price for it!

If you are going to read this book, make sure you have anti-depressants handy and maybe even a big bottle of wine and a full box of tissues.

I know that Ward has a way with words, and she has a way of injecting each story with tragedy, but this book takes the cake. By 52%  of this book, I was ready to toss it aside. I can't afford to be any more depressed than I am already.

I persevered, and it just got worse -who was dying at the end of the last book is even worse off now, people who were healthy as oxen are now dying, beloved characters are being shot and kidnapped, no questions are answered, nobody is who they seem, and the story doesn't truly move forward. Huge cliffhangers abound. And may I just add...cyborgs?

I don't think I'm going to invest my cash in buying the next book. If my curiosity does get the better of me,  will take it out from the library. At this point, I don't even recommend reading the first novel.

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SYNOPSIS: "For Lydia Susi, there is no sweet sorrow in saying goodbye to the man she loves. As a wolven hiding among humans, she’s used to being alone—until destiny gives her the kind of love she never dared to dream about. But after a sudden devastating diagnosis, grief is the only thing she sees in her future.

As an operative for a clandestine arm of the United States government, Daniel Joseph always expected to die an early death. He just assumed it would be out in the field—not in a laboratory hospital bed. With his time running out, he refuses a potentially lifesaving treatment to focus on making sure that Lydia finds her wolven clan.

Following an attack on the lab’s compound, Daniel fears his former boss is coming after the two of them. Marshaling his strength, he must call on all of his training to protect his love…even if it means her moving on without him.

GenresParanormal RomanceParanormalRomanceShapeshiftersVampiresUrban FantasyFantasy 

Review: Viviana Valentine Goes Up River

Viviana Valentine Goes Up River by Emily J. Edwards
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Except for one very glaring error, this was an exceptionally good read. We might call this an almost 'locked room' murder mystery. You may be wondering why I didn't rate it higher then. I couldn't always keep it straight because there were so many secondary and tertiary characters, especially when the author sometimes used last names and then switched to first names.

This was the first time I read a locked room mystery. The reason I call it that is because once the murder happened, everyone stayed in the house and, due to a storm, never ventured anywhere else.

This was a very clever book that kept me guessing.

Oh, and the glaring error I mentioned was the use of the word "database," which wasn't used until 1962, according to the  Oxford English Dictionary. So except for that, I found this to accurately represent the year 1950. Of course, I wasn't born in the 1940s, but not so many years after 1950!

*ARC supplied by the publisher Crooked Lane Books, the author, and NetGalley.

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SYNOPSIS: "1950, New York. Viviana Valentine–Girl Friday turned partner to New York’s top investigator, Tommy Fortuna–is drawn into a sordid new case when Buster Beacon, a wealthy man of science, beckons them to a party at his mansion north of the city. There, Buster entertains blue-blooded friends as well as investors keen to make a dollar on the many advancements made in his home laboratory, but he’s been hearing strange noises in the night coming from his expansive estate, and he doesn’t know who to trust.

Once Viviana and Tommy arrive, the party is snowed in. And suddenly, there is a dead body and nowhere to hide. Who killed the disguised federal agent in their midst? And how have details from the top-secret lab become public? Once chomping at the bit to be brought into this mysterious life, Viviana wonders if she’s ready for the risks that come with the territory—risks that rise treacherously high as the killer targets the next victim.

Set in the gritty, noir world of 1950 New York City, Emily J. Edwards’s Viviana Valentine Goes Up the River packs all the elements mystery fans love: an irresistibly clever protagonist, a posh cast of heroes and villains, and a murder case that could defy even the most seasoned investigator.

GenresHistorical FictionMystery