Roxanna Cross's Blog

Book Review: Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade

Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade




Review is also available on my site: https://roxannacross.com/2025/09/23/b...

Where to start? Dade presents a romance novel based on GoT fanfic that should have stayed on the AO3 platform. That being said, Spoiler Alert is available on Amazon in paperback, hardcover, Kindle, and audiobook formats, as well as at your local library or through the Libby App. The audiobook is narrated by Isabelle Rutther, and the story is confusing to follow. However, this is not a problem with the narrator, but Dade's book structure and writing abilities.

The simple act of copying and pasting fanfiction and adding two very unbelievable main characters does not make a book. Dade's female protagonist, April Whittier, a geologist with a secret online fandom life, writes GoT fanfic and creates Lavania costumes for cosplays. She describes herself as fat, not curvy, but very fat, with red hair. Dade's only adjective for this character is' round': shoulders, thighs, belly, round everything, so essentially a big, round ball with red hair. As for her male lead, Marcus Caster-Rupp, he's known to the world as Aeneas, the star of the biggest television show, and his public persona is that of a blond, muscled beauty with no brains who's obsessed with hair products. Why? At the age of thirty-nine, he can't admit he's shy, struggles with dyslexia, and his biggest secret of all is that he also writes fanfiction about his own show, and his co-workers and the fandom know him only as Book!AneasWouldNever. If that tidbit leaked out, he'd be finished in Hollywood.

The problems with Dade's premise for this book:
1. Kudos to her for introducing a plus-size protagonist, but April had no personality; at thirty-six, everything centered around her body image issues. She hid the most important parts of herself from everyone, including her online community and co-workers. Furthermore, everything needed to be about April all the time, to the point she came across as abusive with her mother and with Marcus. Because they didn't take into account how they hurt her feelings. That street goes both ways. Yet, Dade took the one-way approach, and somehow April always came out with what she desired, damn the feelings of others.
2. Marcus's story is even more unbelievable. With parents both being teachers at a prestigious prep school, it's simply impossible, yes, IMPOSSIBLE, for them not to recognize the signs of their child's dyslexia and not be able to obtain the best possible support for him to succeed. Dade's lousy excuse of 'they had blinders on' just doesn't jive. And not only is it far-fetched to think a responsible actor would violate their contract by posting fanfiction to work out their frustration against the show they're working on, it's ludicrous. Never mind announcing it at a con, as Marcus's best friend did when, during a Q&A with Cupid, he told everyone about his alter ego's writing of fanfic where he gets pegged. The absurdity of it turned the entire scene, which Dade probably intended to be dramatic, into a parody. The relationship with April is one where Marcus gives, and she takes, takes, and takes. When he can't give her what she wants, she lashes out until he caves into her demands. How is this not toxic?
3. It's baffling how this book managed to pass the editing process. The terrible fanfic included in the chapters, the confusion at times, wondering who's speaking, the scripts leaked on the net, everything turned into a jumbled mess. Makes readers and listeners wonder if the editors were asleep at the wheel when this came across their desk.

Honestly, read or listen at your own risk, as zero stars can be awarded to such a disastrous train wreck.



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Book Review: Lost Roses Lilac Girls #2 by Martha Hall Kelly

Lost Roses by Martha Hall Kelly

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Review is also available on my site: https://roxannacross.com/2025/09/17/b...

Kelly’s prequel to Lilac Girls tells the story of Eliza Ferriday, a New York socialite travelling to St. Petersburg with her friend Sofya, when she becomes aware that war is imminent and returns to the States, but feels guilty to leave her friend and her family behind. Sofya Streshnayva, a cousin of the Romanov reigning dynasty, seems unaware of the trouble that’s to come until it’s too late. Varinka Kozlov, a peasant Russian girl under the thumb of a cruel guardian, is hired by the Streshnayva family to care for their young son, Max, without realizing the danger they’ve just brought into their home.

The book is available in paperback, hardcover, Kindle, and audiobook formats on Amazon, as well as at your local library or through the Libby App. The book’s structure in multiple points of view is well executed, and the audiobook narrated by Kathleen Gati, Tavia Gilbert, Karissa Vacker, and Catherine Taber is spectacular. It’s well researched as it travels between the US, St. Petersburg, and Paris from 1914 to 1921, illuminating each place and its people during times of conflict, cruelty, uncertainty, and mayhem as Germany is gaining power, and the revolution overthrows the Tsar in Russia. Russian émigrés flee to Paris and the US to find refuge from the noose that the new regime promises, and each woman must overcome challenges.

Eliza in the States grows increasingly desperate for news of Sofya, as her letters have stopped coming, and rumors of her family’s demise have reached her; she can only hope her friend has escaped the cruel outcome. Eliza does all she can to help the White Russian émigrés find homes and work and starts a charity for Russian relief.

Sofya and her family had to flee to their country estate. However, it’s attacked by bandits who take it over, and they are taken hostage. She manages to escape and find help with her cousins, the Romanovs, only to discover that the Tsar is no longer in power. By the time she gets back to the estate, she finds her family burned at the stake and displayed on the manor gates. The only solace she has is that her son isn’t among the dead; no, Varinka took him, and she must get him back. She will follow her all the way to Paris if she has to.

Varinka will do everything in her power to protect little Max, even pretending to be his mother, so that the child believes she’s his mother. Suffer through being branded, humiliated, and punished by her guardian. She won’t give him back to Sofya, even if her mother and new love interest both tell her she must. Out of all the characters, Varinka is the least likable. Her attitude is petulant, childish, and although she’s lived through atrocities, it’s hard to feel sorry for her when she herself is acting like a criminal without a sense of morals.

Kelly delivers a solid 3-star read or listen in this historical fiction based on true facts.




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Book Review: Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney

Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney




Review is also available on my site: https://roxannacross.com/2025/09/15/b...

**This review contains spoilers**

Feeney’s latest mystery, published January 14, 2025, is available on Amazon in paperback, hardcover, Kindle, and audiobook formats, as well as at your local library or through the Libby App. If you’re a fan of psychological thrillers where nothing is as it seems, the twist is so illogical it’s laughable. The characters are unreliable and impossible to connect with; this one is for you. At least listen to the audiobook and enjoy Richard Armitage’s voice as he reads one of the main POVs and Tuppence Middleton narrates the other. Both do a fantastic job with the material they had to work with. The blurb promises a gripping dark thriller about marriage and revenge. Admittedly, Feeney delivers on the latter; however, it makes no sense. The opening chapter had promise, with some suspense, but then descends into a rabbit hole of ludicrousness.

Grady Green is having the best worst day of his life as he just got the news that his latest book hit the NYT bestsellers list, and he has no one to share it with since his wife isn’t home. He calls her up, hears her slam her brakes, and tells him a woman is lying in the middle of the lane, and then nothing. When he reaches the scene, he finds her car abandoned, and his wife, Abby, nowhere in sight. A year later, still mourning his missing wife, Grady can’t sleep, write, or function on a basic human level. His agent offers him an opportunity to travel to a tiny, remote Scottish island where he can get his life back on track. The warning: ‘Careful what you wish for’ comes to mind as Feeney introduces the silliest plot twist thus far, with an island carrying a depraved misandrist agenda.

Grady is at his wits’ end, believing he’s seeing his missing wife everywhere. He’s so sure it’s her; he thinks he’s going mad when the woman who looks, sounds and smells like his wife pretends not to know him. Only the color of her eyes, brown instead of blue, has him questioning his sanity. The insomnia and constant drinking could also be why he’s seeing and hearing things. Feeney dragged on the ‘Is Grady sane or not’ storyline far too long; some good editing could have tightened it up and conveyed the message without the redundancy.

Near the end of the book, Feeney finally comes out with the big reveals:

Grady was the person lying in the lane when Abby went missing. He chloroformed her and attempted to throw her over the edge of the cliff, without looking back to check she actually fell.

The timing of it all doesn’t fit the introduction from chapter one, the fact that both characters are on the phone with each other, Abby would have heard the sound of wind and sea, plus the feedback from the phones being so close to one another. And, sure, Feeney adds that the person lying in the road is wearing a coat; still, it doesn’t change the outline of a male versus female figure to the point of confusing the two. How dumb does Feeney think her readers and listeners are?

Furthermore, we are meant to believe a chloroformed Abby held on to a loose branch and pulled herself back up onto the cliff. Are we in cartoon land here? So not only did Grady not check to make sure his wife went over the cliff, he also didn’t make sure the chloroform took effect? Nothing in this explanation makes sense; it’s maddening.

Kitty, Grady’s agent and Abby’s godmother, reveals that her name is also Abby; thus, the audience now knows that the ‘alternate perspective’ they have been reading or listening to throughout the novel is hers. This technique is confusing, and it is why the characters are unreliable and impossible to connect to.

The island, where all the inhabitants are women wronged by men, decided to band together and cut off the outside world, which generates zero income, is actively losing money and must rely on a resident best-selling male author to support it! It is unrealistic, creative license or not, the storyline must remain believable. This is so far-fetched that it belongs in the same category as rainbow poop coming out of a unicorn’s rear. Abby running away to an island of female man haters to plot her revenge because she now hates her husband, who attempted to kill her, is nonsensical. Calling the police and having him arrested for attempted murder is the logical option here.

Honestly, it would have been easier for Feeney to open the book with both of them lying in bed, Abby whispering their favorite phrase to say I love you: “I hope you die in your sleep,” to Grady, and once he’s softly snoring, for her to smother him with a pillow instead of dragging her audience through all these absurd hoops. Feeney’s book is so outlandish that it doesn’t merit a 1-star rating, zero stars.



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Book Review: The Mirror The Lost Bride Trilogy #2 by Nora Roberts

The Mirror by Nora Roberts

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


Review also available on my site: https://roxannacross.com/2025/09/09/b...

Roberts’ continuation of the Lost Bride Trilogy, published November 19th, 2024, picks up where the first book left off; therefore, this is not a standalone read. Roberts’ Lost Bride series is available on Amazon in paperback, hardcover, Kindle, and audiobook formats, at your local library or through the Libby App. The audiobook is narrated by Brittany Pressley. She does an excellent job with the narration, not just of the living characters but of the ghostly ones as well.

The foundation laid in the first book is that Sonya MacTavish inherits a mansion on the coast of Maine, with the condition that she live there for at least three years. As it turns out, the mansion is haunted, cursed by an evil, murderous witch named Hester Dobbs, and she makes a nuisance of herself by banging and slamming doors, creating illusions of bleeding walls, sending imaginary vultures out the window after Sonya, Cleo, Trey and Owen, leaving the smell of sulphur lingering in the air. Her efforts to get rid of Sonya and her friends fall on deaf ears. In her second book, Roberts keeps up the evil manifestation; however, she doesn’t introduce any new ways for her to scare Sonya away, so this becomes redundant.

Honestly, the book was more like lather, rinse, repeat, on a loop. Substitute for the evil witch makes a scene, they freak out, drink wine, eat, rehash what happened, tell the witch to f*ck off, drink more wine, and everything that happens is retold in the following scene, again redundant like being stuck in Groundhog Day with lots and lots of wine. What Roberts got right is the new beginnings Sonya and Cleo created, the career paths they undertake, and how they anchor themselves in the community; however, the romance is lacklustre. There is no chemistry between Sonya and Trey, so it’s difficult to portray them as a couple falling in love. Owen and Cleo, however, the sparks flew from the start, and the audience expected them to get together. In this book, Roberts allows the sparks to continue burning and percolating until they reach combustion, so readers and listeners get some genuine romance.

Solving the mystery of the mirror, the seven murdered brides, and retrieving the rings from Dobbs are the most critical aspects of the storyline. However, by the end of the book, nothing is resolved, leaving the audience wondering if this book was even necessary. Making this regrettably a 1.5-star read or listen.



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Book Review: Time After Time by Lisa Grunwald

Time After Time by Lisa Grunwald

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Review is also available on my site: https://roxannacross.com/2025/09/08/b...

Grunwald brings the magical element of Stonehenge to New York’s Grand Central Station in the Manhattanhenge phenomenon when the sunrise or sunset perfectly aligns with the east-west streets of Manhattan, creating a stunning visual effect as the sun peeks between the skyscrapers, an event occurring twice a year, close to the winter and summer solstices. Using this as the magical element for the basis of her story, and Grand Central Station as the setting, the book, available on Amazon in paperback, hardcover, Kindle, and audiobook formats, at your local library, or through the Libby App, should be a smash read; however, it falls flat.

Joe Reynolds, a lever man from Queens working in Grand Central Station, sees her for the first time in 1937. The young woman in a smudged blue dress, red lipstick and real pearl earrings seems so out of place on the main concourse, yet the instant pull is unmistakable. When he introduces himself to her, offering his help, her electrifying handshake captivates him further.

The last thing Nora Lansing remembers is going to Paris in 1925, coming home because her father was sick and being in subway accident and she thinks she died, yet she keeps coming back here, under the clock at Grand Central Station and each time she does, years have gone by and she remains the same, young twenty-three old girl, how can that be? In 1937, when she returns again, a railroad employee Joe asks if he can help her, the connection between them is instant and Nora asks him if he can walk her home, but she disappears in the in-between, the place she goes to when she’s not in the Station and no place at all since she has no recollection of it, before he has the chance to.

The entirety of Grunwald’s storyline is Joe and Nora finding each other again, learning about Manhattanhenge and how it impacts Nora’s ability to stay or flicker out. Through experiments of her ‘ghostly’ limits, they figure out the distance she must be within the Station without fear of disappearing, and they build a unique life together; however, the story drags on. It could be cut in half without impacting the outcome.

In Grunwald’s writing and editing process, fleshing out the characters was overlooked. In four hundred pages, there is no growth, no revelations; they remain two-dimensional entities. Joe’s constant need to hide Nora out of fear of losing her grew annoying. As did Nora’s resentment of her limitations, wanting to push the boundaries to regain the freedom she once knew. This is where Grunwald’s well-founded premise with the magical sun phenomenon fell flat, as she trapped her character in the confines of the Station as if she were a medieval princess locked in a tower. Why?

The predicament of Nora’s situation, her perpetual youth, Joe’s continuing on in age, his desire to see the world, and his firm resolution to remain by Nora’s side were all indicators of where this story would end. Since the characters are paper-doll-like, they don’t evoke the emotional response Grunwald was assuredly striving for with her choice ending. Rounding this book at a 2-star read or listen.



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Book Review: Would Like to Meet by Rachel Winters

Would Like to Meet by Rachel Winters

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


Review is also available on my site: https://roxannacross.com/2025/09/07/b...

Winters brings together all the famous rom-com tropes into this quirky read, available in paperback, hardcover, Kindle, and audiobook formats, at your local library or through the Libby App. The audiobook is read by Laura Hobson, who delivers smooth narration throughout; however, her attempt to differentiate the voices to individualize the characters is somewhat lacking. This is most likely due to Winters’s writing style, which failed to give her characters individual personalities as all of them could bore readers and listeners to tears in equal measure, and they’re all immature and unlikable.

The main character, Evie Summer, must discover if people can fall in love like they do in the movies to save a job she’s held for a gazillion years, one where she’s been harassed, manipulated, overworked, and disrespected, yet she stays and doesn’t stand up for herself. Nope. She hopes doing these humiliating meet-cutes all over London will finally land her the promotion she covets. So, off she goes spilling drinks on strangers, getting herself stuck in grates, leaving her number in books all over town to see who calls, and so on, reenacting the best Hollywood rom-com scenes to prove to an unappreciative boss and an elite client who refuses to write the script he’s paid for that meet-cutes work in real life. Winters portrays a self-absorbed, without a backbone, foolish main character who blames all her mistakes on being overworked, making a terrible friend. Frankly, it’s nearly impossible to relate to or connect with Evie.

Ezra Chester, the elite client, paid yet refuses to write a script, and manipulates Evie in his own way. He’s detestable as a character, a vain peacock counting on his looks and charms to get what he wants. He will deliberately make noise when people are talking to ignore them, and somehow, Evie still manages to fall for his game, sending him reports of her meet-cutes for inspiration to encourage him to write the script, thinking she’s helping him get over writer’s block. These reports, as per his request, must be pre-formatted, well-written, with as much dialogue as possible, and edited. Come on, wake up, Evie. Big red flag here. And if that’s not enough, has he ever sent you his written pages of the script when requested? Oh, second red flag missed naïve, foolish girl. The only good part of Ezra is his dog, Ziggy.

In Evie’s boss, Monty Winters, showcases a toxic agency environment perfect for a workplace harassment suit. He purposely squashes any advancement opportunities Evie attempts by giving bad references because he doesn’t want to lose his assistant, who does, well, everything for him, including getting him out of women’s toilets and cleaning poop out of his expensive office carpet. Why introduce such a despicable personage, if it’s to make readers and listeners empathize with Evie, she would first have to stand up for herself and not lie down like a doormat.

Now for the father-daughter duo, who witness more than one of Evie’s meet-cutes gone wrong, Ben and Annette. Ben is judgmental from the start, boring as watching paint dry because he barely speaks, yet this is the love interest Winters selects? Admittedly, Annette is sweet and brave and will make attempts to bring her dad and Evie together. She and Ziggy are the bright spots in this book.

Lastly, Evie’s circle of friends run on two speeds: rooting for Evie and her meet-cutes and anger for her neglect. It’s unnerving how one minute they’re sending texts of encouragement, potential meet-cute options, not-a-pervert-Paul or drunk-driver-David, and the next they’re upset because Evie is flaking out on them, again. Why are they so up in arms when it’s been established that Evie will put her job above all else? It’s all she thinks and talks about, ultimately ruining a friend’s bachelorette party even the wedding celebration. Are the friends justified in their anger, perhaps, but they’re also participants in the meet-cute game that caused it all in the first place; therefore, it’s hard to feel anything for them.

All in all, this comes to a 1.5-star read or listen.



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Book Review: The Summer Deal Wildstone #5 by Jill Shalvis

The Summer Deal by Jill Shalvis

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Review is available on my site: https://roxannacross.com/2025/09/05/b...

The Summer Deal, book five in Shalvis Wildstone’s series, can be read as a standalone and is available on Amazon in paperback, hardcover, Kindle, and audiobook, at your local library or through the Libby App. The audiobook narrated by Erin Mallon is fantastic as she smoothly transitions between all the characters flawlessly. In this easy beach read, Shalvis introduces a group of imperfect characters that fit together like puzzle pieces, even though some of the pieces are a bit mangled and battered; the imagery she portrays is genuine. Through them, she emphasizes how family isn’t just blood relations, it’s about who you choose.

Brynn Turner returned home to Wildstone with her tail between her legs after her con artist ex emptied out her bank account, gave notice on their apartment without letting her know, and left her locked out with her boxed belongings on the property of the landlord. Brynn is embarrassed by her easy-trusting nature and her failure to notice the signs that blew up her life. Now, home with her well-meaning, yet smothering, mothers, Reina and Olive, she can’t find the room to land on her feet by herself. Meeting Eli, her childhood crush and her frenemy’s best friend, offering her exactly what she’s looking for, does she dare accept?

Kinsey Davis has so many secrets weighing her down, yet she’s not willing to let go of them. Her prickly demeanour, tough act, and fierceness are the armour she wears to protect herself and the one she loves from the illness she’s been battling for twenty-nine years. The renal failure is worsening; her body is rejecting the kidney she received at the age of fifteen. It will give out soon if she doesn’t get another transplant, and this time, Kinsey refuses to accept a kidney from a living donor, not after last time. As for her secrets, those bombshells are hers to keep or share. Even though Eli has brought Brynn into the house they share, she’ll have to deal with her frenemy, half-sister, and maybe tell her about the sister part.

Eli Yanakis is stuck between the two most important people in his life. The girl he never thought he’d see again, his childhood crush and the one he’s never gotten from under his skin, Brynn Turner. And his best friend and life mate, Kinsey Davis, whom he would do anything to make sure she’s safe and happy. Bringing Brynn into the house he shares with his little brother Max and Kinsey might be the best or worst idea he’s ever had. Eli thinks it’s time for Kinsey to face her truths; however, he won’t force her to fess up, encourage her to hell yes.

Shalvis also introduces side characters such as Eli’s younger brother, Max, who’s a sweetheart of a player with a protective streak readers and listeners can’t help but love instantly. And the one most readers and listeners wanted more of has to be hands down Deck, the delicious, tattooed, never-ending pools of patience, male nurse who’s head over heels in love with Kinsley. The dual love storyline for each sister was incredibly written and spicy. Shalvis doesn’t shy away from the intimacy; instead, she draws the audience in, showcasing how important each moment is in the trust-building.

The downside of the book was how Shalvis kept the secrets going till the very end, even after it nearly ruined the fragile relationships the trio built, and how easily Brynn forgave Kinsey and Eli seemed a bit out of character after the way her life blew up and how unsteady she still was because of it. Yet, because of the nature of a romance and the happy-ever-after requirement, she wrapped everything up neatly in a rushed manner. Still, it’s an enjoyable 3.5-star read, a good book to bring to the beach. Fans of Susan Mallery, Jude Deveraux or Lori Foster would surely find this right up their alley.



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Book Review: Liliac Girls Woosley-Ferriday #1 by Martha Hall Kelly

Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Review is also available on my site: https://roxannacross.com/2025/09/04/b...

Kelly’s debut novel, published April 5, 2016, is available on Amazon in hardcover, paperback, Kindle, or audiobook formats, at your local library, or through the Libby App. The structure of the book is triple points of view alternating between the three main characters:

Caroline Ferriday, a New York socialite who volunteers at the French consulate, assists French orphanages and ultimately Polish concentration camp survivors. Kelly took the unfortunate liberty of injecting a romantic subplot for Caroline with a married French stage actor named Paul Rodier; this romantic storyline overwhelms her thoughts, thus her chapters, which detract from the actual history of Caroline Ferriday and all she achieved before, during, and after WWII. In the audiobook, Caroline is narrated by Cassandra Campbell. Her beautiful and smooth narration doesn’t change the two-dimensionality of this character, making it hard for readers and listeners to connect with her and the causes she’s fighting for.

Kasia Kuzmerick, a teenage Polish girl arrested as a political prisoner for helping the ‘underground’ to impress a boy, is a character who maintains this attitude throughout the book, ‘How can I impress Pietrik?’. She, her sister, and her mother are sent to Ravensbrück, the Nazi’s only all-female concentration camp, where she undergoes inhumane medical procedures. Kathleen Gati narrates Kasia; her narration is on point, depicting a surly, bitter, angry, resentful, and unlikable woman. If this is Kelly’s intention to endear readers and listeners to the ‘rabbits’ and all the other horrors that transpired at the camp, she fell far short of the mark, as it’s nearly impossible to connect with Kasia.

Herta Oberhauser, a German doctor working for the Nazis at Ravensbrück, performed heinous medical experiments on the prisoners. This character is the hardest one to connect with because, although Kelly attempts to make readers and listeners sympathetic to Herta, showing us how outraged she is when she arrives at the camp and discovers she’s to euthanize a percentage of the prisoners and states she’d be gone by sunrise. Still, by her next chapter, Herta is elbow deep in a horrific experimental surgery, and her only explanation is that the salary was greatly needed. Kelly left too much out for the audience to understand this drastic change of heart. Kathrin Kana reads Herta’s character in the audiobook, keeping her narration robotic, almost auto-narrated, as if showcasing how cold, detached, and detestable Herta is at her core.

Kelly’s overuse of dialogue tags when unnecessary became annoying. The rushed pacing, where in a sentence a week or months flew by, leaving her audience behind, wondering what grew infuriating. The writing and dialogue made her characters insubstantial. Kasia’s attitude when she joins the ‘underground’ is a prime example of this, with her overexuberance for being on a mission, or Caroline’s focus on the socialites, and most importantly, Paul portraying a flimsy woman instead of a determined, capable one. Although Herta was a real person and played a significant role in the lives of the prisoners at Ravensbrück, her point of view chapters were maddening as Kelly attempted to diminish the monstrosities through her eyes. Why give her voice at all? By doing so, it’s like rationalizing the atrocities that occurred. Yes, it is crucial to understand how the Nazis justified their actions; nonetheless, in this case, Herta shouldn’t have a voice as equal to Kasia or Caroline. Kelly could have found another way to express this perspective.

The most valuable aspect of this book is the research, which provides incredibly detailed information about the ‘rabbits’, as well as Caroline Ferriday’s life through her charitable efforts with the orphans and survivors. Furthermore, in her Author’s note narrated by Kelly she summarizes her initial interest in writing this story, this where readers and listeners finally connect with the story, because there are no added dramatic extras, if she would have stuck with this honest down to earth writing style this could have been an excellent book, as it stands, it’s a 2.5-star read or listen.



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Book Review: The Librarian Spy by Madeline Martin

The Librarian Spy by Madeline Martin

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Review is also available on my site:https://roxannacross.com/2025/08/29/b...

Martin’s book, inspired by the true history of America’s library spies during World War II, was published on July 26, 2022, and is available in paperback, hardcover, Kindle, and audiobook formats, as well as at your local library through the Libby App. The audiobook is brilliantly narrated by Saskia Maarleveld. The book is in dual POV alternating between the two main characters: Ava Harper a librarian at t he Library of Congress but an offer from the US military brings her to neutral Lisbon gathering intelligence in efforts to bring an end to the war and Elaine Bélanger who’s husband has gone missing in her efforts to find him, she joins the French Resistance and begins an apprenticeship at an underground printing press.

From chapter to chapter, readers and listeners are drawn into Ava and Elaine’s lives and the raging war, as the rations in occupied France starkly contrast with the lack of food and the gaunt populace, against the backdrop of opulent, rich foods and dinner parties in Lisbon. The women put their lives at risk when they connect through coded messages to help a mother and her son escape France and get to the US. Elaine knows the Nazis are searching for the press and its printers to silence them, and Ava is being followed by a Nazi spy and the Portuguese Secret Police. Her apartment is broken into and searched multiple times. Yet, they persevere in their endeavor until mother and son are reunited with their loved ones.

Martin’s research is detailed and accurate for the time period, giving readers and listeners the chance to learn about Lisbon during WWII and the importance of librarians’ roles, the influx of refugees, the intricacies of obtaining visas, travel papers, and passage on a ship to travel. The efforts of the Resistance in France, the Roneo and Minerva presses, and the significance of the underground papers, as well as the brutality of German officers towards anyone who offers help to the ‘enemy’. The only part of the storyline that doesn’t seem to fit is the underdeveloped romance between Ava and James; this aspect required more development for it to be genuine. As it is, the relationship feels flat, underwhelming, and forced. Martin would have been better off not introducing this romantic sub-plot if she couldn’t flesh it out properly.

A 3-star read or listen, with strong female leads, offering new information and showing how courage, hope, and resilience helped them survive the worst humanity threw at them.




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Book Review: This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune

This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Review is also available on my site: https://roxannacross.com/2025/08/26/b...

Fortune brings a fun summer read that will appeal to fans of Christina Lauren or Abby Jimenez. Fortune’s latest book, This Summer Will Be Different, published May 7, 2024, is available on Amazon in paperback, hardcover, Kindle, and audiobook formats, as well as at your local library through the Libby App. The audiobook is narrated by AJ Bridel and the author herself, Carley Fortune. They both do a fantastic job of bringing the characters to live and Fortune’s amazing description of Prince Edward Island are so vivid listeners can smell the salt of sea, the feel the grit of sand under their toes, the lemon squirt over the fresh oysters and all the other excellent sea food and hear the great fiddlers play they can’t help but fall in love with the Island.

The book structure isn’t linear. Fortune built her storyline over five years, summers, going back and forth between now and then, so the audience grows along with the characters. The story opens five years ago when we meet Bridget Clark and Lucy Ashby, who are best friends living in Toronto. Bridget is originally from Prince Edward Island, and this year she’s bringing Lucy with her to meet her family, but she has rules:
1. They must eat their weight in oysters
2. They must leave the city behind
3. Lucy cannot fall in love with her brother, Wolf.
Due to a work conflict, Bridget misses their flight, but tells Lucy to go on ahead; she’ll catch the next one. Bridget instructs Lucy that there is a toad in the garden with a house key hidden underneath it, so she can get into the house. However, upon her arrival on the Island, Lucy doesn’t feel like going up to the house by herself, so she ends up at a local spot, sitting at the bar in front of the sexiest man she’s ever seen. He’s shucking oysters, one by one, they fly by so fast, the way he expertly opens and cleans them to be enjoyed. The electricity between the two strangers is instant and off the charts.

Felix is mesmerized by the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen. She’s wearing a gingham-style dress that reminds him of a tablecloth, and yet it suits her. As they chat, she makes a comment about being wide open for the evening, and his knife slips, slicing his hand open instead of the oyster. Felix doesn’t even feel the pain because she is holding a tea towel over his hand, staunching the blood, and all he can sense is her. They spend an incredible night, frenzied, unable to get enough of one another. In the morning, when she tells Felix she must go pick up her friend at the airport, everything comes crumbling down as they both realize who the other is: he is Wolf, she is Bee. And although the electricity between them is undeniable, this can never happen again, Bridget’s rule number 3.

Fortune intertwines the trials and tribulations of friendship and family as year after year, readers and listeners get to know more about Bridget, Lucy, Felix, and their circle of friends, as well as the hardships in the workplace and the loss that follows when Lucy’s aunt and mentor passes away. As much as Felix and Lucy made rules for themselves to never give in to temptation again, their connection is too strong, and they keep coming back to each other. Year after year, they seem to find themselves naked in a steamy bathroom, the family TV room, or down on the beach; they just can’t seem to keep their hands to themselves.

It’s one week before Bridget’s wedding when she flees Toronto to go to the Island and asks Lucy to drop everything to join her. Of course, she goes, her mission: to help Bridget with whatever crisis arises and steer clear of the one man she’s been unable to resist. But Felix’s kindness, easy quips, and sparkling eyes worry Lucy that her heart isn’t safe at all. And she feels terrible about the secret she’s keeping from her best friend. The guilt builds so much before the wedding, Lucy confesses to Bridget that she has feelings for her brother and they start dating only for it to fall apart after the wedding, not because they don’t want to be with each other but because Lucy is attempting to run away from her problems and is using Felix to do so, and he can’t be her scapegoat. He wants her to choose him, for him.

Setting a book on Prince Edward Island, it’s inevitable to include the historical sites of Anne of Green Gables or quotes from Lucy Maude Montgomery’s work. Fortune does so incredibly to describe moments in Lucy and Felix’s relationship, Bridget and Lucy’s friendship, and the camaraderie between the three of them. The way she’s made it easy for her audience to watch them grow into adulthood, make mistakes, learn, or repeat the same errors, along with fabulous descriptions that transport us there and characters so easy to relate to, is what makes this a 3.5-star read or listen.



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