What are you reading these days? Showing 2,251-2,300 of 2,410

[Ramla Zareen]

Tiziana wrote: "Hello everyone and hello Ramla.

I just wanted to share with you all..."

Thanks Tiziana :-)

[Christine]

I’m reading Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

[PamG]

Here is my 4.23 rounded to 4 stars review of Broke Road by Matthew Spencer:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Police Procedural
2nd book in the Rose Riley series
set in the community of Red Creek in New South Wales, Australia
Plenty of twists, turns, and suspects
Well-written
Captivating storyline
Compelling characters

[PamG]

Here is my 4.59 rounded to 5 stars review of This Fallen Prey by Kelley Armstrong:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Crime Novel / Mystery / Police Procedural
2nd book in the Casey Duncan / Rockton series
Suspenseful, entertaining, well-written, action-packed
Great characterization and fantastic world-building
Plot twists and turns

[Tiziana]

Clean regency romance with a hint of mystery, set in India.

The Secret of the India Orchid by Nancy Campbell Allen

Here is my 4.5 rounded up to 5 star review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Christine]

[Christine]

I’m reading Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

[Laura]

I know it's not Christmas time, but I read a delightful story set during Christmas. I can recommend this sweet, clean Regency Romance anytime during the year:


Yuletide Bride by Kasey Stockton

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Today, I borrowed an audiobook of another sweet, clean Regency Romance by Rebecca Connolly called The Spinster and I and I am loving Jessica Elisa Boyd's narration, she really adds to the story.

[PamG]

Here is my 4.07 rounded to 4 stars review of The Elias Enigma by Simon Gervais:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Political / Espionage Action Thriller
Covert Operations, Assassins, Spies, Government operatives
2nd book in the Caspian Anderson series
Main Setting: Bordeaux, France and surrounding areas
Overall, this book was suspenseful, riveting, fast-paced, and pulse-pounding.
There is a strong sense of good versus evil throughout the novel.

[Laura]

Finished an audiobook from an author I usually like, but this book was just mediocre for its repetitiveness and portrayal of the villains; they were too evil for my taste in a sweet, clean Regency Romance. However, the narrator, Jessica Elisa Boyd, was excellent.


The Spinster and I by Rebecca Connolly

My review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Laura]

Gave up on one book that I followed along with the audiobook, but the story was so repetitive that I stopped halfway through:


An Arrangement of Sorts by Rebecca Connolly

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I started a new to me author, Elizabeth Johns's On My Honour. I am listening to the audiobook through Audible. I hope I like it.

[PamG]

Here is my 4.48 rounded to 4 stars review of Rage by Linda Castillo:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Police Procedural / Crime Thriller / Mystery
Descriptive - great sense of place (Painters Mill, OH)
Great Characterization
Gritty, Suspenseful, Action-Packed, Gripping

[Laura]

I have two reviews. One for an audiobook, and one for an e-book I read/listened over yesterday and today.

The audiobook:


On My Honour by Elizabeth Johns

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


The e-book:


An Unexpected Bride by Ashtyn Newbold

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Laura]

Finished a two-novella series in the Regency Ever After collection by Anneka R. Walker. Both were enjoyable.

Her Three Suitors

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Lady Mary Contrary

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Christine]

I’m reading The Last Party by A.R. Torre

[Laura]

An audiobook I really enjoyed with a new-to-me author:


The Viscount and the Vicar's Daughter by Mimi Matthews

My 4**** spoiler-free review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

This one I followed along with the audiobook:


Love in the Bargain by Kasey Stockton

My 4**** spoiler-free review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Christine]

[Karen]

Just had a five-day affair with Sara Fields’ Boston Kings while shirking work responsibilities.

** ** ** ** ** **
** ** ** **

* Take Me, Daddy
* Make Me, Daddy
* Break Me, Daddy
* Watch Me, Daddy
* Share Me, Daddy
* Tame Me, Daddy
* Use Me, Daddy
* Punish Me, Daddy

I saw the description of one of the later books and wanted to read it. Though I had the series TBRed, I hadn’t started it and I really really like to read series in order. So, I started with book one and read the entire series over the past five days.

The books feature the love stories of two mafia/gang families (so far). Featured in the first five books are the Murphys, an Irish family (five brothers and their sister) who moved with their cousins from Ireland ten years prior to the events of the first book after their parents were killed in a gang war there. They set up business, etc. in Boston. The Morozovs are a Russian Bratva family (five brothers) also operating their businesses and territories in Boston after a move from Russia. They’re featured in the last three books (to date). The two families allied when a Morozov princess was rescued from a bad situation by the Murphy family (by then, the Murphy/Kavanaugh family). There are bonus scenes available for most of the books.

I don’t know how many books are planned for the series. There are two Morozov brothers still single, so I believe there are at least two more stories. Also, mentioned alongside the main Murphy family was a set of five cousins who work with/for the family. Also, the Murphys have a right-hand consiglieri, Liam. A bonus short featured him and his woman (??), but he (they) could still get a full story. There’s also a sort of next-gen romance that could come to fruition years down the road.

While I enjoyed some more than others, I’ve rated the stories 3.5/4 stars, rolling up or down based to my overall enjoyment of the characters featured as individuals and as a couple and the overall story. I love that (most of the) female leads are strong women in their own rights. While the alpha dominants rule in the bedroom, they never strip their women of their power.

My negative isn’t the stories themselves’ it’s series continuity. For example, a character in the first book has a new name in the second (to be fair, it’s the same from there on out); a character shows up and the age provided doesn’t work with the history provided in the previous books; a couple is referred to as married when their characters aren’t married at that point (though, they were a couple, so…). The “errors” don’t really affect enjoyment of the specific stories, but does affect enjoyment of the overall series—at least for me.

These are listed as standalones and they can be read as such—though you miss some of the background to other characters, events, etc. The stories take place in the same “universe” and within the same timeframes, albeit later than one another. You would think the author would have a series bible to keep things straight from book to book or that the editor would catch or question the seeming errors. I also don’t like hanging threads in stories, or things I see as unanswered—e.g., a character related to the family shows up in a story, but we never learn why she hasn’t been with the family all along because it doesn’t seem likely that she’d be left behind without a good reason. If there is a reason, we never learn it, nor is her past discussed within the family, etc. Just stupid little things like that…

Note: These stories feature rough, intense sexual scenes, including spanking. If such material offends you, please avoid this series.

[Karen]

My last read of June was a book by Liz Talley, Deconstructed from her Cricket Crosby Capers series.

I read this thinking it was the start of a cozy mystery series. While there's a sort of mystery/crime to be solved, it's really a Chic-Lit book. I read that it was supposed to be a standalone, but fans of the characters wanted more. There are two subsequent books in the series (to date). The later "capers" appear to be on the cozy mystery side. I’ll find out when I read them.

This series features main characters Cricket and Ruby. Cricket owns an antique/vintage business. Ruby works for her. In this, Cricket find her husband of 15 years has been having an affair with their teenaged daughter's tennis coach. She sets out to get the good on him, then file for divorce before he knows what hit him. Her anger is making her a bit scattered and Ruby, who has a secret past sort of decides/gets roped in to helping her. Ruby's family lives on the fringes between criminal (mainly petty stuff) and legal. Ruby has two cousins who also wind up joining the "crew" as Cricket sets out to outwit her husband--who, she finds, has moved the monies in their joint accounts to the Cayman Islands and is getting ready to skip the country with his mistress.

The other main story revolves around Ruby and her want to distance herself from the "fringy" people in her family, including her uncle who caused her to spend two years in prison. She's enrolled in college studying business and design. Her grandmother and great-Aunt taught her how to sew, crochet and tat, and knit. Ruby is a designer and part of what she does is taking/buying pieces from the discard pile of Clair's store (soiled, beyond simple repair, or otherwise unsellable), "deconstructing" them then mixing and matching the salvageable parts and designing/constructing new items.

The theme of "deconstruction" runs throughout the story. Cricket has always been seen as the good wife and mother. She put everyone else's needs above her own to the point that she didn't even notice her marriage was failing. Her husband doesn't think she’s stupid, but underestimates her intelligence, strength, abilities, and her resolve. He doesn’t think she has a clue to what he’s doing and even if she did, he actually believes she’d never risk the life she has by doing anything about it. He thinks he'll get away clean. Their daughter, Julia Kate, sees her only as a mother to do things for her, but not as a person. As Cricket begins her action plan, she's deconstructing the life she's been living, taking the best pieces of it and herself, coming up with something better.

Ruby is doing the same, taking the best pieces—including reconciling with family—and creating something beautiful.

From Cricket: “It’s an analogy, Ruby. You’ve taken the good parts and made them into something better. It’s like a theme for both of our lives... without the deconstructing, you have no history. It’s the deconstruction that matters. Without understanding who you are and accepting all the good and bad parts of your past, you don’t know the things worth keeping, and you can’t get rid of the things that need to be tossed. You can’t remake yourself... "

As mentioned, this was meant to be a standalone, but fans clamored for more Cricket and Ruby. Subsequent books appear to expand on the "caper" portion of the story with Cricket getting her PI license and wanting to work part time as a PI (one of Ruby’s cousins is a PI and assisted Cricket in book01.) Book 02, If the Dress Fits, has Ruby, who has started a dress design business, accused of theft. Cricket and crew—which I’m assuming includes at least the two cousins who assisted Cricket in book02, Juke and Griff) set out to prove her innocence. I believe Griff will be Cricket’s love interest. I’ll see as I continue the series.

It was a quick, fun, and funny read with a hint of romance between Cricket and Griffin and between Ruby and old flame, Dak. I can see this as a standalone with Cricket getting back at her husband and she and Ruby partnering in Ruby's new design business, all hinting at future HEAs, I can also see why fans wanted more. I hope the subsequent books are just as fun.

[Christine]

[PamG]

Here is my 4.28 rounded to 4 stars review of The Last Wizards' Ball by Charlaine Harris:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Alternate History / Fantasy
6th and final book in the Gunnie Rose series.
Excellent characterization and fantastic world-building

Charlaine Harris is one of my favorite authors and she did not let me down with this conclusion to the series. The characters are compelling, led by strong and capable protagonists. While I hoped for a different ending, the ending was in keeping with the somewhat dark alternative history theme.

[Christine]

I’m reading A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham

[PamG]

Here is my 4.63 rounded to 5 stars review of Watcher in the Woods by Kelley Armstrong:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Mystery
Set in a fictional sanctuary town in the Yukon wilderness in Canada.
Book 4 in the Rockton / Casey Duncan series
Excellent World-building, Great characterization
Suspenseful, Entertaining, Multiple mysteries

[Laura]

Read the first two in a the Gentlemen of Knights series:

Book #1 Duke of Knight by Elizabeth Johns

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Book #2 Black Knight by Elizabeth Johns

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Tammie P ℓօรƭเɳαɓօօҡ]

I've just read:
Fear for Her Life

My Review

[PamG]

Here is my 4.23 rounded to 4 stars review of Forged in Battle by Marc Alan Edelheit:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Science fiction military action thriller
Book 1 in the Command Decision series
Fast-paced, action-packed
Compelling characters, fantastic world-building, exceptional action scenes

[Christine]

I’m reading Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney

[Tiziana]

Historical mystery set in ancient Greece. An engaging blend of fiction, history and mythology !

Shadows of Athens by J.M. Alvey

My 4.5 rounded up to 5-star review :
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Laura]

Finished an audiobook that I really enjoyed. It was about a wounded war hero and a heroine from an abusive family who come together. I gave it a 4**** rating and review:

It is Book #1 in the Serendipity and Secrets series:

The Lost Lieutenant by Erica Vetsch

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Christine]

[Christine]

[Tammie P ℓօรƭเɳαɓօօҡ]

I just finished reading:
Ushers

My Review

[Christine]

I’m reading A Summer in Ocean City by Claudia Vance

[PamG]

Here is my 4.56 rounded to 5 stars review of Dead Line by Marc Cameron:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Crime Thriller
7th book in the Arliss Cutter series
Action, A brutal Alaskan Winter, a manhunt, ruthless criminals
Fantastic world-building
High-octane action

[PamG]

Here is my 4.48 rounded to 4 stars review of Alone in the Wild by Kelley Armstrong:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Police Procedural / Crime Thriller
Book 5 in the Rockton / Casey Duncan series
Great characterization and Worldbuilding
The killer was a too easily discerned.
I enjoyed learning more about the First and Second Settlements.

[Christine]

I’m reading When Christmas Comes: A Single Dad, Age Gap Christmas Romance by Christine Rimmer

[Christine]

[Laura]

Read an emotional story in the Regency Romance Cornwall Brides series, Something Borrowed by Rebecca Connolly. It was the third book in the series.

My 3.5*** rounded up to 4**** review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Christine]

I’m reading All for the Game by Heather Buchta

[PamG]

Here is my 4.05 rounded to 4 stars review of Hunter's Heart Ridge by Sarah Stewart Taylor:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Historical Mystery / Police Procedural
2nd book in the Franklin Warren and Alice Bellows Mystery series
Set in November 1965 in Bethany, Vermont and the surrounding area
Good characterization and world-building
Well-developed and intricate plot
Somewhat slower paced

[PamG]

Here is my 4.16 rounded to 4 stars review of Construction Site Preschool Activity Book: Fun Learning with Trucks, Tools, and Mighty Machines by Brightly:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Preschool Activity Book
Combines fun and education
Variety of activities
Aimed at 3-5 year-olds

[Tiziana]

An engaging cold case mystery, with a subsided plot of romance, against the backdrop of British Burma ( today Myanmar ) in 1936.

The Missing Sister by Dinah Jefferies

Here is my 5-star review :
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[PamG]

Here is my 4.2 rounded to 4 stars review of Throwing Shadows by Claire Booth:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Police Procedural
Excellent world-building
Compelling characters
7th book in the Sheriff Hank Worth series
Setting: in and near Forsyth, MO - largely in the Ozark backwoods

[PamG]

Here is my 4.43 rounded to 4 stars review of A Stranger in Town by Kelley Armstrong:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Police Procedural / Crime Thriller
6th book in the Rockton / Casey Duncan series
Excellent worldbuilding and characterization

[Laura]

A disappointing 2** read for me. Hardly any action, too much repetition, and no plot. The first book in the Cornwall Brides series:


Something Old by Rebecca Connolly

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Laura]

Even though I DNF Books #1 & 2 of the Arrangements series by Rebecca Connolly, I gave Book #3 a try because I liked the premise that much. I'm glad I gave it a chance. I liked it a lot. I gave it a 3.5*** rating.


Secrets of a Spinster

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Laura]

Since I enjoyed Book #3 of the Arrangements series, I gave Book #4 a try, and I had mixed feelings about it. I gave it a 2.5** review.


The Dangers of Doing Good by Rebecca Connolly

My review with hidden spoilers: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[PamG]

Here is my 3.23 rounded to 3 stars review of Girls, Crimes, and the Ruling Body by Barry R. Ziman:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Political Thriller
Descriptive
Lack of dialogue in the first half
Much improved second half of the novel

[Laura]

Listened to the 5th book in the Arrangements series by Rebecca Connolly. Audiobook narrated by Jessica Elisa Boyd. I gave it a 4**** review:


The Burdens of a Bachelor

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Laura]

I listened to the 6th book in the Arrangements series by Rebecca Connolly as well which was also narrated by Jessica Elisa Boyd, who did a fantastic job at voice acting (again). However, the story was somewhat of a letdown.


A Bride Worth Taking

My 2.5** review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...