Reading Fanatic Reviews
All Kindle Unlimited ReviewsNOTE: These books were in Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited program at the time that I posted the reviews. They may not still be in the program, as authors can opt out every 3 months. If you find a book that is no longer in the program, don’t hesitate to contact me, and I will update the review.
The Sunshine Girl by Grace M. Jolliffe
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The Sunshine Girl*
Transported to 1970s Liverpool
What a fantastic read! The author has done an exceptional job of recreating the time and space of Liverpool in the 1970s as well as fashioning a delightful heroine to follow. After reading far too many books that have a big information dump to start, I actually quite enjoyed the slice-of-life first chapter that introduced us to the heroine. She comes across as such a typical teenage girl; having been one myself many moons ago, I could completely relate to her. Her head was a very interesting one to be in. There is definitely a lot of humor, especially of the family variety. The author has shown very clearly what it is like to be a teenager in a complex world, where you feel so adult, but you’re still underneath your parents’ thumbs. There’s a little bit of romance and intrigue thrown in here as well. All in all, a well-written, true-to-life story that pulls you right into its world, making it so that you don’t want to put it down.
Unto Death by Lena West
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Unto Death*
Odd Book
I found this book to be rather odd. There is something off with the tone, but I don’t know if I can describe it accurately. It comes across as if an excited child was telling it, so it has some melodrama as well as a certain level of naivete. I actually found this tone hard to read as it felt distancing. The narrators didn’t come across as adults; they felt childlike. So some of the discussion about the romantic aspects felt more than a little creepy. I understand that the author is Australian, I believe, but certain grammar and punctuation rules supersede the variant of English one writes. Unfortunately, I found this author to be woefully ignorant about the proper use of semicolons and commas, to the point that it was distracting, and some words were repeatedly misspelled.
Forest of the Fearless by various authors
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Forest of the Fearless*
Delightful Fantasy Collection
If you like tales of mythical creatures—like nymphs, seelies, and the other similar creatures–you will most likely enjoy this anthology containing stories of varying lengths from six different authors. I particularly like the ones by Nikki Landis and Laura Greenwood. I have read both authors before, and I generally like their books. Both authors are able to weave worlds that draw the reader right in and allow us to visualize and be a part of the world. I love that Thumbelina had a retelling of her story. I so enjoy modern redos of fairy tales. There were some issues with grammar, punctuation, and usage; this definitely varied by author and was sometimes distracting. All in all, a wonderful collection if you enjoy a good fantasy or paranormal read.
Cognitive Behavorial Therapy Box Set
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Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Box Set*
More Pop Psych than Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
This box set contains two books that purport to be about cognitive behavioral therapy. To me, the first book seems like it is more like a short pop-psych book with a little CBT window dressing. The second book gives a lot more information, relatively speaking, about actual cognitive behavioral therapy. I actually think that the order of the books in this set should be flipped. Interestingly, the first book seems to be relatively well edited while the second book needed a good copy editor to help with grammar, punctuation, and repetitiousness. At times, I thought the author’s tone was a little harsh, to “get real,” so to speak. I don’t think that kind of tone actually helps people who want to change their lives positively. All in all, the box set is disappointing because the bulk of it, book one, really isn’t about cognitive behavioral therapy beyond the first introductory chapters.
Manners and Monsters by Tilly Wallace
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Manners and Monsters*
Regency… and Zombies
Mercy, what a completely different read! Think Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies with a little bit of suspense, romance, and gothic and steampunk sensibilities. The women of high-society Britain have suffered from a nasty, zombie-making affliction since the close of the Napoleonic Wars; some nasty Frenchmen created an expensive face powder that made this happen. I liked the heroine; she is a strong and smart woman in an era when that is not appreciated. The hero feels relatively weak in comparison, but he is still a fascinating character to watch. I didn’t like the information dump at the start of the book. It’s a long enough novel that the author could have started with a nice impactful action scene and dribbled in the backstory of the world little by little. Since this is essentially a zombie novel, at times it gets a little too gory for me. I like the author’s writing style, which was at times quite humorous and quite fitting for the type of book. Even though I am not one who particularly enjoys zombie literature or movies, I found this to be a fun read.
The Last of the Firsts by G. J. Ogden
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The Last of the Firsts*
Exceptional End to Amazing Series
This was an exceptional wrap up to a wonderful series. The author touches on so many themes in this book (and in the series). Like with the earlier books, he does so with a gentle and personal touch. While the underlying themes of the book are very serious–the effect of what we do on our environment, teamwork, taking responsibility for our actions, understanding the repercussions of difficult choices, and acceptance—they are brought to life through characters that we’ve come to know and appreciate through these three books; we’ve seen them grow and change, so to see them grapple with these themes seems very organic and natural. Therefore, it doesn’t feel like sermonizing or preaching. Instead, seeing the characters work through the difficulties makes you aware of these themes, and you find yourself thinking about them even after you’ve put the book down. I like a book that does that for me. I don’t believe that this is necessarily an easy thing for a writer to do, but when it is done well, it truly resonates—as it does here. These books definitely need to be read one after the other. They are not meant to stand alone. Only then will you get the full sweep of the character arcs for the main characters as well as the greater story. This series is just so well done in terms of characters, themes, and story. I highly recommend it.
His Scandalous Lessons by Katrina Kendrick
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His Scandalous Lessons*
Victorian Romance Steeped in Politics and Personal Pain
If you read a lot of historical romance, you find that most of it is relatively light and fluffy fun. This book is not historical romance in that vein. Rather, the heroine has led a very sheltered and controlled life. Both her father and fiance treat her harshly, trying to break her will and form her into what they want her to be rather than accept who she is. She knows that she is about to marry a brutish older duke, and so she approaches one of her father’s enemies and a notorious rake—her father is the prime minister—and asks him to help her find a kind husband; she wants to learn how to properly seduce a man so she can gain his favor before the clock runs out. In return, she will give him information that would hurt her father.
The author has done a lot of research into this time in Victorian England; she also seems to understand the psychological trauma like the heroine has been through and has her act very appropriately. There is much brewing on the political front, and both the hero and the heroine are caught up in it in some way. The heroin with at times hard to read about because how much she suffered both at her father’s hand and her betrothed’s. She was really in a difficult position, and you could understand why she wanted to break free of her very strict constraints rather than suffer more as the cruel man’s duchess. The hero is a rogue with a good heart, and something within the heroine calls to him, and he knows he has to help her. I also quite enjoyed the painter duchess who works with them on their scheme. The hero really comes through for the heroine, in more ways than one. He’s the only one in her life who has treated her kindly and with respect. It actually was quite lovely to watch her blossom under his care. A very well-done Victorian romance, so long as you don’t expect a light and breezy read.
Spirit Chasers: The Complete Series Box Set by Carrie Pulkinen
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Spirit Chasers Box Set*
Romantic and Spooky Reads
What a fun and spooky set of paranormal romances! I like how the heroes were often the ones in distress, especially in the first and second books. The author pulled me right in with the first book, and she set the second book up perfectly by having those two characters be an integral part of book one. There’s definitely suspense as well as romance in all the books; both sides of the couples had issues that needed to be worked through. The author does well describing the setting, not too much and not too little, and I felt like I was right there with the characters. The characters are relatable, even with all the magical and haunted-type of surroundings. Just a delightful set of books with wonderful couples.
Falling for the Wrong Guy by Tami Franklin
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Falling for the Wrong Guy*
Love and Forgiveness in Holiday Junction
In this latest installment of the Holiday Junction series, the author is able to convey such realistic, humorous interplay between the characters. I’ve read some books lately where the humor just doesn’t work; it falls flat or tries too hard. I enjoyed the funny little moments between Joey and her mom and Joey and Braden. Children often do appear in romances where the characters are a bit older, but I absolutely love how sometimes Joey was actually the viewpoint character. I don’t think I’ve often seen romances do that, and it was very well done here. Joey was a fantastic character, and I love the way that she looked at the world, her approach to it, and how much she cared about her mother. Abby and Braden definitely have chemistry, even at first when they are clearly at odds. I like the way the author slowly revealed their backstory that showed how their somewhat turbulent relationship came to be.
As in all the other Holiday Junction books, the residents of the small town were deeply embroiled in the story between Abby and Braden. Gotta love those Matchmaking Mamas! It certainly adds an undercurrent of fun to this book in particular and the series in general. The way the characters came to understand one another and grow and evolve seemed natural, not forced in any way. One of the elements that I really liked in particular in this story was how Abby was dealing with her grief of losing her husband; it seems so real when she would have little conversations with his photo while she was trying to figure out things. This is definitely a story that delivered all the feels that you want in a romance. I enjoyed seeing a little bit more of Lena and Gage; their story is a particular favorite of mine from this series. The only thing I didn’t like about the story is that it didn’t end with the definite HEA. Yes, it seems like things are heading in that direction, but they’d barely gotten straightened around when the book ended. I like my HEAs! No matter; I still highly recommend this book and the series.
Three Wishes by Nikki Kardnov
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Free with Kindle Unlimited
Three Wishes*
Unusual Spin on 3-Wish Trope
We’ve all seen or read stories of trickster genies who give the lamp owner three wishes, but then twist them so that they get what they want but not in the way that they imagine (or want). This book takes that old mythical trope and plays with it in a most delightful way. The hero is jinn (I know it is usually spelled djinn, but not here), and in this world, jinn live to make contracts with people who want three wishes, and then they do their best to do bad things (usually) with those wishes. When the story opens, Dae thinks his next mark is going to be just a regular job, but from the start, it is very different for him. This story had all sorts of great elements to it: a budding but unlikely romance that surprises both in the couple, complex family dynamics, and moments where characters really question themselves. The book pulled me right in, and I felt empathy for the heroine right away because of how her future ex-husband was treating her. I enjoyed the varying characters of the Blackwood brothers and look forward to future books in the series that might feature them. A compelling and fascinating read!
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