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.
Rogues Like It Hot by Various Authors
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Rogues Like Ir Hot*
Nine Steamy Reads
I am a sucker for a collection of Regency romance! Even if I don’t like every book in a set, I will usually like enough of the books to make it worth my while. This book had the standard dukes and marquesses along with a couple of pirates and a prince of a made-up realm that existed in the channel between real Regency England and France. Some of these books don’t appear to be available singly. I’ll admit I wasn’t too wild about the pirate stories (because pirate romance is not really my thing), although the authors still did a good job writing them. I thought, too, that some of the heroes were more rakes than rogues… and I prefer my Regency rogues to be just a little naughty, but not too much. Still, I found the books in this collection to be enjoyable, steamy reads.
Marked for Revenge by Jennifer S. Alderson
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Marked for Revenge*
Cross-Europe Art Heist Suspense
Oh, my! The author must have done much research for this book. So many topics were gone into deeply. It is almost overwhelming at times, as sometimes too much detail can bog down a narrative and distract from what is actually going on. (Or if you don’t have knowledge of an item or setting, the detail overload can make it seem more opaque.) This book ranges all over Europe and is a classic art heist thriller with the Croatian mafia thrown in along with the band of art thieves. I felt like I learned a lot about modern art and museums while reading this. In all, it was a solid page-turning thriller.
Writing to Heal the Pain by Mateja Klaric
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Writing to Heal the Pain*
Too Intensely Personal
When I read the blurb for this book, I mistakenly thought that it was at least partially about how to do what the title says. Instead, this is a book that contains the author’s writings as she herself was healing from what she perceived as trauma when she lost her job, and perhaps, her identity. The writing reveals her anger. Indeed, she strikes out at the world that has done her wrong. I found the writing to be a little too intense for my own liking. I understand that some of the book is from her blog. I understand the concept of writing as a way into your emotions and as a way to give clarity into your world, but I don’t necessarily believe that such mental musings, especially when they express such anger and bitterness, need to be shared with a greater world. I found this book to be a bit too much.
UPDATE July 16, 2019: It has been brought to my attention that Mateja Klaric has taken my review and posted it on her blog with commentary, ripping it to shreds and making personal attacks. She has done shared my review without my permission and in clear violation of the Goodreads TOS and my personal copyright. I have also heard that she is slandering me personally on at least one authors’ group.
I am a book reviewer, and I firmly believe in my right to give my opinions about a book. My opinions are just that–one person’s thoughts. If an author cannot handle criticism, then I suggest they not make their works public. Clearly, the author does not understand the purpose of consumer reviews.
I have heard that she harassed another reviewer enough to make that reviewer take the negative review down. I, however, will never be cowed. Perhaps it’s my American nature to believe in free speech… and never to be silenced by a bully.
If you want to read more about my thoughts on this, please see my July 16, 2019, post on my Facebook page.
Enigma: What Lies Beneath by Ditter Kellen
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Enigma: What Lies Beneath*
Bonds Reinforced in Harrowing Circumstances
Abbie and Hauke have had a bond since they were children when he saved her from drowning. That comes alive when they meet again as adults when Hauke has been captured and is being kept for further study; he is due to be transported to Area 51. He is from an underwater race of beings that are unknown to humans. Abbie and Hauke are soon on the run, trying to protect each other and figure out all that is going on with the deadly virus. I like how this couple could communicate telepathically; the author made their bond, even before mating, seem very real. Abbie is a supposedly intelligent woman, but some things that she thought or said didn’t come across that way to me. I also thought that the beginning of the book was told in a too-detached fashion, almost clinical in places. The book is surprisingly sensual, and this is described in great detail. This is a very steamy read; it was a bit over-the-top on occasion. However, I enjoyed their relationship and watching the conflicts they faced unfold.
His Competent Woman by Ellen Whyte
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His Competent Woman*
But How Competent is She?
The author draws you right into this story when we see the heroine being told the news that her beloved son may have dyslexia. Emma is a single mother whose husband died while serving in the military, and she is struggling to make ends meet as it is now. The National Health Service does not cover dyslexia, so the diagnosis and any extra costs associated with it would have to be borne by her. She has had mostly short-term, dead-end jobs, but she manages to finagle her way into an office manager position at a local corporation by not being entirely truthful about her working history. The boss, the hero, comes across very strongly, an alpha male with a bad attitude towards women working in the office after three quit in the same week for personal reasons.
This is a short read, so the characters didn’t really have time to develop or have an arc. The author did broach to potentially difficult topics, being overweight and dyslexia. Honestly, the heroine didn’t seem to be that overweight by description—is someone whose clothes are a little too tight necessarily a BBW?—sometimes I wish that supposed BBW series actually had really overweight women and explored the topic deeply and sensitively. The dyslexia wasn’t handled as well as I would have liked, but this is a romantic novella, so I guess I can understand that fault. All in all, I found Emma’s head an interesting place to be in during her chapters, which made this a fun read.
The Neglected Garden by Suzanne Winterly
eBook available at Amazon only
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Paperback available at Thalia
The Neglected Garden*
Imbalance Hampers Story
Gilly the garden designer is asked to make a bid on a garden redesign for a swanky home. The relatively new owner lives there with his young son, and there are some apartments for tenants on the grounds. It’s a beautiful estate in County Kildare, Ireland, but danger and secrets lurk beneath its tranquil surface. A surprising amount of gardening talk takes up valuable story room. Clearly, the author either has a deep understanding of gardens and their designs, or she did a lot of research for this book. I found the level of detail perhaps to be a little too much. I don’t know enough about gardens and plants for the minutiae to make much sense to me without a Google search or five. I felt like the scenes at the beginning didn’t have enough motion; not enough happened or was revealed. They felt like slice-of-life moments and weren’t terribly interesting, which actually waste time in a story that supposed to have both romantic and suspense elements. I don’t feel that the romance was pulled off 100% successfully. I liked both Gilly and Marc as characters, but they just didn’t gel for me as a couple. All in all, I felt like it needed more romance and suspense and a little less gardening and day-in-the-life scenes.
Care of the Duke by Eliza Heaton
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Care of the Duke*
Romantic Novella with Good Characterization
What a sweet and lovely story! Anna is the sickly daughter of an earl. Her mother and maid coddle her to the extent that she is not even allowed out of her bedroom most of the time. However, when the book starts, the entire family is off to enjoy a hunting party in the north. Anna makes the acquaintance of the owner of the house, the Duke of Richmond, while not knowing who he is. In this moment, the duke is able to just enjoy the company of a lovely young woman without her viewing him as one of the most eligible bachelors in England. They fall into easy conversation, and during the house party, they get to know each other better.
I really enjoyed this relatively short read. Even though it is a novella, the author actually has done a good job of characterization for both Anna and the duke. In the opening scene, Anna reveals some of her inner struggles as she relates what the landscape she is traveling through looks like; this was rather cleverly done exposition that creates empathy for Anna. We meet the Duke when he is in a brooding mood as well, so we learn a bit of his backstory and the emotion behind it. These are two wounded souls who come to find comfort, compassion, and genuine caring in each other. It doesn’t seem unnatural or forced, as it often does in a novella. Their relationship was lovely to watch unfold. While the duke was understanding of her delicate nature and frailty from years of ill health, he did not coddle her like the others in her life. They both knew that she wanted more than to be treated as an invalid, and he was good at making that happen for her. I thought the end was a little strange, as what the author called an epilogue really seems more like a continuation of the story (even if it was a few months later). I would have liked to have seen a proper epilogue. I would like to think that under the excellent care of the duke’s physician, as well as being in a loving relationship, Duchess Anna would continue to regain her health. A delightful historical romance with that setup that is different from most.
Falling for Her Opposing Counsel by Tami Franklin
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Falling for Her Opposing Counsel*
Another Charming Trip to Holiday Junction
I’ve read one other book in the Holiday Junction series, the book that was formerly known as Lena’s Lucky Charm and is now known as Falling for her Headache. I enjoyed that visit to Holiday Junction, and so I looked forward to another installment. The heroine in this book gradually fell for both the hero and for this small town; I’m in agreement with her on both! I thought Evie was a good heroine as she isn’t just a hard-bitten New York businesswoman who is dismissive of small-town life (though she doesn’t like camping!), as they can often be portrayed in romances. Even before she engages with the locals over the development issue, she understands the need to respect the place that her company wants to develop, and she understands the need to negotiate. Liam, the hero, is passionate in his defense of his town; this is believable and understandable. At times, these two butt heads, but not in an overly acrimonious way. In fact, as they get to know each other, some of their banter is quite witty and engaging; I loved the stories they told as they became better acquainted. Their evolving relationship and the delightful town and denizens of Holiday Junction are just utterly charming. I enjoyed this book as I did the first one, and I am looking forward to reading more in this series.
The Key to Her Heart by Blanche Dabney
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The Key to Her Heart*
Romance Didn’t Have Enough Time to Develop
I found this to be an odd story. Except for the prologue, the hero and heroine don’t meet until after the 33% mark. Because they met so late in the novel, there really isn’t enough time to develop a proper romance. It felt like the early time spent in Scotland dealt with mostly inconsequential things, like Daisy getting her bearings and trying to figure out what was going on. This book did have a different element when it flipped back to the present. It was mildly amusing, though in a serious way, that Jock really thought that a demon possessed her because of all of her talk about the future. The idea of the scourge, though, seemed a bit extreme. Wasn’t the use of that only for priests? In other ways, too, the author makes the Highlanders very superstitious, with a healer not even wanting to help Daisy in case she was possessed and his soul would be damned because of his involvement with her. I don’t think this is historically accurate; not everyone would be a religious zealot. I’m not precisely sure when this book is supposed to take place, but it is clearly in medieval times. Some of it just felt off to me in these respects. I didn’t feel like there was enough external conflict going on. There was some, but it felt like it was just kind of stuck on and not fully integrated into the entire story arc. In all honesty, even the Highlander aspect of this story seemed like it was more for window dressing than the actual firm bedrock of a setting; it actually didn’t seem integral for the story or the characters. So for me, the story fell flat in several respects, including an undeveloped romance and not much really going on in the story.
The Prisoner of Fate by Jacob L. White
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The Prisoner of Fate*
Girl Masquerades as Boy, Even to her Father and Siblings
This story looks to be setting up future adventures. Noah is a girl, but at the start of the story, only her mother knows this. The position of the seventh son in a family is very important, so her mother decided that she would take on the guise of the seventh son even though she is not male. Her brothers and father have no clue. She is sent off to a magical academy where seventh sons and mages are trained and treated with particular respect. But the term does not go well for her on several counts even though she does well academically Will it be found out that she is, indeed, not a seventh son? What would be the consequences, for her and for her family?
I found it hard to believe that no one in the family except her mother knew that she was a girl. It just seems that with so many people living in such close proximity that they would have to know. I don’t feel it was adequately explained why keeping it a secret was so important. To have her family actually be in jeopardy if she is found out seems extreme. Other than that, I found this to be an interesting setup for a magical world, and given the ending, I am curious about what Noah’s future holds.
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