Reading Fanatic Reviews

General Mysteries & Suspense

Let the Shadows Fall by Terri A. Wilson

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Let the Shadows Fall*

Quirky Combo of Genres Makes for Fun Read

This is the first book that I have read by this author. This book is a quirky and fun combination of–of all things–the Old West, steampunk, and the paranormal. It is such a surprising and delightful combination. The heroine, Elizabeth, is as plucky as any we see in a traditional western romance. She wants so much to help keep the inn that she believed her family owned. When presented with a way to do so, a whole new world is opened up to her. She had no idea that she was living amongst paranormal beings (dragons, shifters, witches) and had no clue that she was descended from a magical lineage. Elizabeth is a likable and relatable character. In fact, most are in this book, except the ones you aren’t supposed to like. What a very different, pleasing read.

Time Tourist Outfitters, Ltd. by Christy Nicholas

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Time Tourist Outfitters, Ltd.*

Time Travel Medical Thriller

How fun to combine a medical thriller with time travel! I love the protagonist, and I so appreciate that the author chose to use an older one. In these days of the popularity of magical academies and dystopian worlds, younger people seem to be the stars the most often (and the older generations often the villains). I actually think authors miss out by not at least experimenting with older characters in novels. An author could give such a character a great background (more time for the character to have done cool stuff in his or her life), which can greatly really enhances the story as it does here. The times and places traveled to in this book were so fun to visit. It is clear that the author did some excellent research. I felt like the book was a bit repetitive in places. It could have used some tightening in general. But all in all, I found this book to be an engaging read.

Lowcountry Incantations by C. J. Geisel

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Lowcountry Incantations*

Not My Type of Southern Gothic

This is a nouveau Southern Gothic story for sure. You just know that things aren’t as they seem, and things certainly do go bump in the night. I didn’t particularly enjoy this book despite the author’s wonderful ability to put you right into a scene with her deft sensory descriptions. I was turned off by the very first chapter. I really think authors need to put warnings in the blurb when a book tackles, or even mentions, certain taboo subjects like incest. While I have no experience of that personally, thank goodness, I actually have no desire to read a book where it is at all a factor. The book is a page-turner and otherwise well written, so if the incest doesn’t bother you, you might enjoy this book. 

Secret Sky by J. P. McLean

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Secret Sky*

Good Fantasy Elements; But Unbalanced Overall

This book is a quirky combination of fantasy, romance, and suspense. I know the description of the book says it as a thriller, but I wouldn’t call it that. Even the suspense part doesn’t really happen until the end. The heroine is given a gift that feels more like a curse until she meets others who have it. Much of the book has to do with her trying to understand her gifts, first on her own and then with the group. The middle section seems to be heavily into the romance aspect of the story while the end is more suspenseful; the book did feel unbalanced to me; I would have liked to see the suspense element woven more throughout.

The first scene pulled me in right away because the action was just allowed to happen without a lot of backstory; authors of fantasy worlds are usually too tempted to describe their world (and sometimes in great detail) and let that to take up much of the beginning pages. But after these good early scenes after her “accident,” the pace of the book really slowed down as the heroine tried to figure out her gift. There was quite a long lull period before things got interesting again.

The author did an excellent job creating a fantasy world that coexists alongside the normal one; it felt believable. I felt like there were some cringe-worthy moments in the romance aspect of the book. This book is a long one, and I do feel it could have benefited from some judicious developmental editing.

Mission: Impossible to Love by Jacki Delecki

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Mission: Impossible to Love*

Tech Aspects Interesting, Other Elements Not

Sometimes, it’s the little things that irritate you. For some reason, I had a hard time just getting past the names of these characters, Izzy and Sten, especially the hero’s. His name, in particular, seems like a cheesy romantic hero name, Sten Jenkins. I was intrigued initially by this book because of the hacking and dark web aspects of it. I find technical thrillers and suspense to be fascinating subgenres. This book was interesting in that respect, but I felt like it lacked in others. I didn’t quite buy the romantic relationship between Izzy and Sten. Some of the story was just implausible, like the idea that Izzy went to Stanford at 15 and got her first Ph.D. by 19–even if you’re smart, there are mandatory classes that must be taken in a certain order in college. I felt like the beginning spent a little too much time on information that didn’t really end up to matter. I like my pacing to be a little tighter in a suspense book like this.

Special Agent Charli by Mimi Barbour

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Special Agent Charli*

Loved Gramps; Good Suspense Plot

I thought there were good points and bad points to this book. The beginning was arranged a little strangely, starting chapter one with a very exciting scene where a young girl witnesses a murder and then going into Chapter 2 to something that happened a week earlier. It reminded me of certain police shows where they show you the inciting incident (or an exciting one), and then the screen shows something like “24 hours earlier” or “16 days ago.” I don’t think it works as well in novels. Perhaps make it a prologue. I think prologues are perfect for out-of-time-sequence scenes. When I finish a prologue, I have no expectation of where the timeline starts. I didn’t quite buy the romantic aspect of this story. I did like the suspense part of it; I thought it was well paced, which is so important for suspense. The author did a good job of describing character and setting. I can feel the young girl’s terror as she witnesses the murder and realizes what could happen to her. I thought there was a little too much profanity, though it did seem to have be contextual for the most part. I especially liked the character of Poppa John, and I found the author’s explanation for his character in her dedication to be quite sweet and heartwarming. I imagine, if the character is any indication, that he was a wonderful man.

The Stolen Papyrus by Cate M. Turner

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The Stolen Papyrus*

Some Flaws Mar Total Enjoyment

I was very nearly turned off this book when on my first Kindle screen I saw two words that were misused, the close-but-no-cigar type words. This did happen throughout the text, as if the author was grasping to sound either more erudite or poetic. This book did hold a few surprises but not of the good kind. The cover is a bit misleading. While there is a romantic element, it is relatively mild and feels minor compared to the rest of the story. Given that romantic feel of the cover, too, I wasn’t quite expecting the level of violence, and I am not really a fan of that. The author did do a good job, however, of showing the world through the characters’ eyes. I especially thought she did a good job with the heroine. You could feel her excitement about joining what she knew could be an amazing dig. You could also sense her disappointment when she realizes that the hero, with whom she has a complicated past, is also a part of it. The author did a fantastic job of showing the setting, both Egypt and the alternating senses of boredom and excitement of an archaeological dig. The visual descriptions were particularly detailed, but not overly much so, and engaging. So to me, all in all, this book was an odd mixture of parts, some that were very good and some that were disappointing.

Justice Lost and Found by Mika Kosey

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Justice Lost and Found*

Love This Tarot-Themed Series

I think I enjoyed this second book of this fascinating series more than the first. I absolutely adore the tarot theme, as I have been interested in the tarot for over 30 years. What a delight to see it woven so seamlessly into a book. I like how the author works on building the emotional relationships between Dee and her soulmates. Just because one has a destined love, with a past and future, doesn’t necessarily doesn’t mean it’s easy! But all the emotional feels did not detract from the action and suspense of the story. I don’t think it is necessarily easy for an author to pull that off, so I love it when it is done well. I particularly enjoyed watching Dee as she continued to evolve in all things magical and mystical. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I am curious to see where the tarot will take us next. I can recommend this book, but you definitely should read the first book before this one as it is not a standalone.

Curtains for Romeo by Jessa Archer

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Curtains for Romeo*

Good World but Too Much Backstory

I usually enjoy the amateur sleuth mystery stories by this author. Even though this book is long enough to support a more drawn-out peppering of backstory all throughout, this book suffered from some large info dumps in the first part of the book. Don’t get me wrong; the backstory for this series is actually interesting. The amateur sleuth, Tig (a name I actually found annoying) is a former actress who once played a teenage detective on a TV show in the 1990s. She and her teenage daughter move from the west coast to North Carolina, where the heroine takes a job as a drama professor. Their new life is upended when the former professor turns up dead, making the heroine the number one suspect. Will her skills as a fake detective help her puzzle out the present? I actually thought the book was better written from the middle on, after the backstory had been fully disclosed. I enjoyed the second half of the book more than the first. I did enjoy some characters and the world the author created. I look forward to the next book, hoping that it won’t be drowning at the start with too much history all at once.

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.

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The asterisks (*) by the book title denote the source of the book copy.

One star = I received it as a free advance/review copy or directly from the author.

Two stars = I borrowed it through my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

Three stars = I purchased the book outright (sometimes for free).

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