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.
Yoga for Beginners by Elliot Wood
Available at Amazon only
NOT with Kindle Unlimited
Yoga for Beginners*
Maybe Not the Best Book for True Beginners
While this book does offer some useful information on yoga practice, Parts of it were just strange, the organization of the book was not quite right, and I thought it could be confusing for beginners.
Some common yoga terms were thrown around a bit too much without proper explanation when they were mentioned, which I think could be confusing for a beginner. By the way, this book doesn’t have any photos in the eBook version, so if you are truly a yoga beginner, you will most likely have difficulty following the directions for the poses without any visual reference. I thought some chapter titles were slightly bizarre. The title for Chapter 3, Most Common Reasons Why You Must Start Yoga, seems a bit commanding. Maybe the author should have said something along the lines of “most common reasons why people start yoga” or “most common reasons to consider yoga.” But I think a gentler title for this chapter should have been used. Chapter 8’s title is How You Can Supercharge your Diet with Easy Yoga Stretches. When I read this in the table of contents, I did not see how diet and yoga stretches had anything to do with each other, and when I looked at the chapter itself, the author didn’t draw any parallels.
I also thought the organization of the book was a bit strange. In a book like this, where there’s straight-up information and practical things like poses, I think it should be organized so that all the straight-up information is at the beginning of the book and all the different pose chapters should be at the end. Some topics are split into two chapters, like the brief chapter about yoga for weight loss followed by a chapter with poses and exercises for yoga with weight loss. Sometimes the informational chapter was so short, like for weight loss, that I just think they could have been combined into a single chapter that first listed on the benefits and considerations for the topic and then good yoga poses and exercises for it.
In eBook form, I don’t think this book works as it doesn’t have pictures or diagrams of the poses. I don’t know if the physical version of the book has these. I think this book could be a little confusing to true beginners. Therefore, I do not feel like I can recommend this book.
Give Me a Christmas by Zoe Ann Wood
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Give Me a Christmas*
Too Much Emphasis on Heroine’s Side Story
WARNING: Some spoilers
I am not quite sure what I think about this book. I liked the hero and the heroine as characters. But the romantic story felt disjointed and rushed to me, almost as if it were two or more different stories that weren’t quite interwoven as well as they should have been. This is a second-chance-at-romance book. I didn’t feel like the romantic aspect was given enough time to grow and evolve in a natural fashion. I also had a hard time buying the heroine’s choice at about the two-thirds mark; she had worked so hard to have Christmas away from her toxic parents, why wouldn’t she try to convince Finn to stay on in Switzerland rather than them both go back because he had a plane to catch? Given all that we had learned about her family dynamic, I found it to be a surprising and nonsensical choice. and she didn’t even discuss options with Finn. Then, of course, once they were back Stateside, the story shifted to being more about the parents than the romance. The story just did not gel for me.
The Novelist’s Rake by Ava Douglan
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Free with Kindle Unlimited
The Novelist's Rake*
Not Enough Conflict and Tension
I so enjoyed the first book that I read by this team of authors who goes by the name of Ava Douglan, The Soldier’s Poem. So when I found this book at my favorite book review site, I snapped it up immediately. I found the other book to be such a different and compelling spin on time-travel romance; I truly enjoyed the unique characters. Unfortunately, this book didn’t give me the compelling read that I was hoping for. It disappointed me on a couple of different fronts. For one thing, I didn’t think it accurately reflected the way that publishing works on several levels that I won’t detail here. Since this is so integral to the story and how Catherine reacts, I think it is actually important to get right. Another thing that I didn’t like was that it felt like there was no true tension or conflict. It felt like we were just shown scene after scene of slice of life moments in the heroine’s studio apartment or out and about in New York. I felt like I kept waiting for something to happen. Things got more interesting as it got to the end, but by then, it felt a little too late. So while I would definitely recommend the previous book that I talked about, I don’t feel like I can really recommend this one.
Spark by Bradley Charbonneau
eBook available at Amazon only
Audiobook also available at Kobo
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Spark*
Uneven Book But Great Ideas
It is hard for me to define precisely what this book is. The author’s heart is definitely in the right place, but the book feels a little scattered and disorganized to me. As stated in the book blurb, this book encourages parents to write a book with their child or children. The first part of the book seems more motivational than instructional, with several case studies of parents or other adults who have worked on creative projects with children. The author does inject quite a bit of humor into the book and also scatters fragments of moments when he interacted with books and/or his children in a meaningful way. The later part of the book is more of a how-to about what to actually do if you want to try this out, including lots of comments about how it went for him and his sons on their projects. Even though the book itself is a bit uneven, I think it is a great idea. It’s a fantastic way to spend quality time together and connect on a completely different level, and you do have something cool as a result of it. While this book focuses on writing, the ideas within it could be used for a family project for just about any creative endeavor depending on the preferences and inclinations of the adults and children involved.
Double Fudge Drowning by Diana DuMont
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Free with Kindle Unlimited
Double Fudge Drowning*
I’ll Take Some Double-Fudge Rum Pie, Please!
I have read all the books, I think, of the Drunken Pie Cafe cozy mystery series. Sometimes I swear that I enjoy the names of the drunken pies more than the mystery! I wish the author included recipes. Anyway, about this book. I like that the author got to the first dead body rather quickly. I do get frustrated with cozy mysteries that spend too much time on the quirky characters or other world-building, delaying the murder and therefore not allowing much time for twists and turns and red herrings necessary for a mystery plot. This did have an extended scene before the crime was discovered, but it was relatively confined (at a town event) and necessary to set up the murder. This time, one of Izzy’s friends looks like the prime suspect, and her alibi doesn’t look too good and cannot be corroborated. Even Sheriff Mitch doesn’t like having to investigate her as he had considered her a friend as well. This book does have a few red herrings and blind alleys, which I always love in a mystery. I think, though, that the number of characters in Sunshine Springs that we know of needs to be expanded to give us more possibilities for suspects. It felt like the suspect pool was limited in this book. All in all, I still found it to be an enjoyable cozy mystery read.
Beyond the Pale by Jennifer Millikin
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Beyond the Pale*
Potentially Good Story Ruined by Excess Profanity and Abrupt End
I enjoy a lot of different types of romance novels. I will admit that it took me a little longer to warm up to the contemporary romance field, especially as it is written today in this wide-open, anyone-can-publish book marketplace created by Amazon and perpetuated with other online booksellers. I actually love that new authors have a chance to publish as they never could have before. An unfortunate side effect is that indie books aren’t always of the same quality as traditionally published works. The bar is lowered because there are no gatekeepers.
Anyway, back to this book. I don’t mind angsty romance. I usually like a second chance romances and don’t mind love triangles if they are well written. Unfortunately, in the case of this book, I found myself completely turned off by the profanity. That is one of my problems with contemporary romance and other modern novels; I just do not believe that heavy profanity is needed in any book, and it is a major turnoff for in any novel. I found myself very distracted by it. I wish the author had stated in the book description that this level of profanity was used (over 50 F-bombs), and I would have skipped the book completely.
The story itself had some twists and turns, some expected and some not, but the author did not reveal who the woman would choose until the very literal end of the book. Honestly, I just dislike that about a book, too. Something needs to follow the answer to the primary question besides just a tease about the next book in the series. The story needs time to breathe and wind down for it to feel like the promise of the book has been fulfilled.
I think this book had potential because the characters and their story were interesting. I did enjoy the weaving back and forth between the present time and when they were younger. I just couldn’t get beyond their profanity and the unsatisfying ending.
Twelve Dates of Christmas by M. T. Knights
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Twelve Dates of Christmas*
Second Chance During the Holiday Season
I have been reading quite a few Christmas romances lately because, as soon as the weather gets colder, I like to dig into holiday books! Unfortunately, so many have fallen shy of the mark of the types that I like. I want a Christmas romance to actually reflect the holiday season. Surprisingly, quite a few don’t integrate Christmas well enough into the storyline to make it feel like a true holiday romance. I also don’t really like ones that are too heavy. They can be a little serious if needed, but that Christmas spirit should lift a slightly serious story into something that is heartwarming. And yes, I do like a holiday romance that tugs just a little (or more) at the heartstrings.
Luckily, this book filled all of my requirements for what a good Christmas romance should be. It is written in the alternating perspectives of the hero and heroine, Derick and Ivy, who are six months into their trial separation. We first meet Ivy as she is scrambling to start her morning after waking up too late after not setting her alarms. On top of getting the kids to school, her best friend calls in a panic because the party planning firm in charge of the big town holiday events, starting with that night’s Christmas tree lighting and parade, has quit at the last moment. She desperately wants Ivy’s help to pull it off. Ivy is a party planner who wasn’t chosen by the city to organize the events. The author did an excellent job writing this initial scene, showing how frantic Ivy was and how she was struggling to keep it together on all fronts. I also loved the breakfast meeting scene, as the author slowly doled out bits of information that let us in on some of the reasons why Ivy and Derick had separated.
The main impetus for the plot is that Ivy’s estranged husband wants a second chance. He proposes to use the time before Christmas Eve to show her that he’s changed and that they can start again. I thought the author did a good job showing how the couple had problems in the past; it seemed believable and realistic. Both have grown and changed during their separation so that they could both better appreciate each other and bring more to their marriage—if only they can forgive the past and find their way back to each other. The way the children were written was excellent as well. Mallory in particular, the oldest, definitely acted realistically–both in her reactions and taking on more responsibility with her younger siblings—for a child in such a difficult situation with her parent’s marriage.
This book definitely brought the holiday romance feels with such nuanced, believable, and decent people at its heart. I particularly enjoyed the setup for all that this small town did during the Christmas holidays. Ten years ago, I lived in just such a small town that kicked off its Christmas season with a tree lighting and lighted truck parade, quite similar to what happened in this book. If you’re looking for an enjoyable holiday romance, this one fills the bill.
Black Widow by Lucy Leroux
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Black Widow*
Good at First, Then Goes Off the Rails
I am not quite sure what to write for this review. I was surprised by this book, but not in a good way. When I read the book description, I just read the summary, not the quotes from other reviewers within the blurb; I never read those or other reviews before I read a book. From the couple paragraph description, I was expecting a somewhat standard historical romance. And the first part of the book and delivered on that, along with a little romantic suspense—which I also enjoy. The heroine has a variety of secrets that neither we nor the hero is privy to for a while. We learn from the first chapter that the heroine is not a murderer, as first suspected by the hero. I actually enjoyed watching their initial dance, shall we say, as they became reacquainted with each other and he tried to figure out if she had anything to do with her husband’s death.
But then it got weird. And, frankly, I didn’t see it coming. I read a variety of books, so I don’t have anything necessarily against weird so long as I am prepared for it. I certainly did not expect the book to go the way it did in the last roughly 40%. Actually, I kept thinking it would straighten back out into a standard story instead of going into a paranormal aspect that wasn’t appropriately foreshadowed and therefore felt entirely out of place. It almost felt like a deus ex machina move, which I never like in a story as it feels like a cop-out. I did enjoy watching the push-me, pull-you relationship of the hero and heroine at first, and the heroine’s naivete was surprising (in an intriguing way) in a story about a widow (and I liked watching the hero’s education of her). I do feel that there were too many intimate scenes after a certain point in the story; they did detract from the rest of the plot because, at times, it felt like the plot existed as something to happen between the intimate moments so it wouldn’t be just all that. So, I actually enjoyed the first part of the book, but the second half fell apart for me once it appeared as though the paranormal aspect was meant to be real.
Henry and Sophie by Grant Eagar
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Henry and Sophie*
Elements Out of Place
I was not wild about this book. I’m having a hard time putting a finger on precisely why I didn’t like it. Maybe part of it is the opening scene where there was a catfight, brief though it was, that didn’t seem to fit with the story. I felt other elements seemed out of place. I was so looking forward to digging into a steampunk story, as I don’t read them that often and I usually find them quite fun. The book does have some action, though, so if you read it, you won’t be bored. And perhaps you won’t find it to be such an odd combination as I thought it was.
Strian by Celeste Barclay
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Strian*
Extreme Violence and Hatred
I have read this entire book series. While I quite enjoyed the first book about Leif and Sigrid, I have had varying opinions of the ones that followed. I had trouble with this book on several levels. I just didn’t understand the extreme hatred that all of Ivar’s tribe, except for a few, seemed to have for the heroine. Gressa grew up among them and was even treated like a daughter by the jarl. Yet on her return after being enslaved by captors for ten years, they treat her terribly—as an outsider and a traitor. In fact, if you have any triggers about attempted rape, do not read this book. It just seems hard to fathom the way nearly everyone treats her. It feels like the author tried too hard to make everyone against her. I also didn’t understand the way that Gressa acted when she first arrived back, preferring to be treated like a thrall or servant instead of as her husband’s wife. It just seemed nonsensical to me.
I found this particular installment to be incredibly violent, and not just in acts of war—which may be justified—but in personal violence: man against man, woman against woman, and man against woman. It also seemed strange that Strian could murder several of his tribe without any sort of punishment, even though he was in the right to protect his wife. Another thing I found nonsensical was the stupidity of Strian and Gressa in getting caught in the middle of the book. They both knew the dangers. Why would it just happen like that? The answer is actually a simple one. It is what the author needed to happen, and therefore it was done. But that’s not the way things are supposed to be in fiction. Rather, the plot should have turned on points that were driven by the essence of the characters she created instead of plot necessity.
I also thought that the story felt fractured, like there was one story about the couple and another about the political intrigue—but that they didn’t mesh well. Obviously, I’m disappointed on several counts of this book: the violence, out-of-character, pivotal action, things that weren’t explained, and events that happened only because the plot needed them to happen (not because they grew out of character).
NOTE: After this review, the author banned me from reviewing her books on Booksprout. My review was honest and very specific even if it wasn’t unfavorable. Readers, don’t support authors who aren’t willing to accept honest reviews. Authors, don’t pump out poorly done books if you want good reviews!
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