Reading Fanatic Reviews
Books to Add to Your TBR list... or Not!Hey, ya’ll! I’m VERY behind getting my reviews up on the website! I’ve increased the reading and reviewing, leaving less of my leisure time available to update this website. I’ll do weekly posts with links to my reviews at Amazon; you can also check out my Amazon and Goodreads profiles.
By the way, I’m now a top 50 Amazon.com reviewer (#12 currently) and the top 8 US reviewer of all time on Goodreads (and top 9 in the world)… and the #6 US reviewer and #8 in the world in the past year. Cool stuff!
I hope to make updates to this site soon!
Listen to Your Art by Wendy Meadows
Listen to Your Art*
Enjoyable Characters but Mystery Lacked
I typically enjoy cozy mysteries by Wendy Meadows. This book does have the quirky community that one needs to have in a good cozy, and I do like the characterization for the most part. I felt this book lacked a little in the mystery department, and I found the end somewhat disappointing. For a paranormal cozy, it didn’t feel it was “paranormal” enough. I know that Mimi is grappling with accepting that she has any sort of witchy powers, but I would have loved to see that aspect of the book explored a little more. All in all, I still found it an enjoyable read because Ms. Meadows is a good storyteller and has a way with words.
Murder in Bloom by Carly Reid
Murder in Bloom*
Murder in Small-Town Scotland
Having visited Scotland last September, I could just about the picture what the author and the heroine described. A small town in Scotland just seems to be a perfect place for a cozy mystery. Lots of quirky characters in town, which you have to have for a solid cozy mystery. The heroine’s aunt is moving out of Edinborough to a small town to open up a small flower shop, and Jessica is going to help her out. (She’s been looking forward to a holiday since graduating from college and breaking up with her boyfriend.) But this being a cozy mystery, a dead body is found in the cellar of the flower shop, and who would be the prime suspect? The aunt, of course. So now Jessica has something more challenging to handle than just renovating a small shop and helping her aunt with it; now she wants to make sure that her aunt doesn’t end up imprisoned for murder. I enjoyed this cozy mystery and all of its delightful characters. I sincerely hope the author continues with this series and these characters. There is definitely some potential here. I am sure there is much more than this small town has to offer cozy mystery fans!
Anti-Cancer Smoothies by Kristina Johnson
Anti-Cancer Smoothies*
Simple Recipes, Light on the Science
This book has a variety of smoothie recipes, from fruit to green to beverage based (tea and coffee). I don’t necessarily see the cancer connection with particular recipes or groups of recipes. Specifically, she divides the recipes based on the main ingredient or a nutrient like fruit or protein, and then says that that particular group is either good for cancer prevention, for use during treatment, or both. Nowhere does she explain how a particular recipe or a particular ingredient fits into that scheme. In the early part of the book, before the recipes, she does talk a little about how some of the ingredients relate to cancer, but much of it is general, and it doesn’t really give as much information as it should. It seems like she’s presenting information in various parts of the book, but wanting the reader to make the connections instead doing it for us. The smoothie recipes look pretty simple and tasty, so if you enjoy smoothies, you will most likely enjoy this combination of recipes. (Although they might be TOO simple; most just seem to combine a few fruits and/or vegetables with a liquidy base.) I just suggest looking past the cancer part. And this might be a small thing, but I didn’t like the stupid little cartoon of a blender that came before every recipe. There weren’t pictures of the individual recipes, which is common in little cookbooks like this, but to use the little cartoon graphic over and over and over again was just a little much.
The Legacies of Brigadier Station by Sarah Williams
Available at Amazon, Kobo, Scribd, 24 Symbols, Thalia, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Bol.de
The Legacies of Brigadier Station*
A Book with an Exceptional Sense of Place and Relatable Characters
This is the second book I have read of this series, and I find it a pure delight. The author has done such a good job giving a strong sense of place. I have never been to Australia, but with her descriptions of the land and the use of language, I felt like I was right there. (I even had to look up some Aussie slang.) I really enjoyed this story of Lachie and Abbie’s relationship. Lachie is trying to set himself to rights as a recovering alcoholic; he wants to be a better man than his father was. Abby is a nurse and a single mother to a young girl, who is completely adorable. I am an RN myself, and I did see some issues with the medical parts of it. For instance, they would need to operate on a strangulated bowel coming through a hernia not because of the patient’s pain but because of the potential problems for ischemia (lack of blood flow) and subsequent death of bowel tissue. I can’t quite imagine, too, that it is ethical for a nurse in Australia to take a patient into her home after a hospital stay. But this is fiction, and I won’t give too much of a quibble.
The characterization in this book was excellent as well. You can get a strong sense of both the hero and the heroine, and I love the extended family of Brigadier Station. I love books that realistically portray what it is like to be in a loving, though sometimes too involved, family. While you don’t need to read any of the previous books as this one does stand alone very well, reading other books in the series will give you a firmer sense of place, this family, and all the difficulties they are facing in the Outback. Another exceptional story by this author and in this series.
The Christmas Tree Inn by J. L. Jarvis
Available at Amazon, iBooks, Kobo, Google Play, Scribd, 24 Symbols, Thalia, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, Indigo (Chapters), and Bol.de
The Christmas Tree Inn by J. L. Jarvis*
A Little Snow, A Charming Inn, All the Christmas Bells and Whistles . . .
This is a typical holiday romance with a self-sacrificing heroine and a hero who is on the cusp of a major life change. I could just about visualize it all, the snowy inn with all the holiday trimmings. I felt that the pacing was a little off in places, at times moving too quickly while in other places moving too slowly. I wasn’t a fan of the heroine’s best girlfriend. She was unappealing right away because most of the time she acted and reacted more like a young teenager rather than a grown woman. All in all, though, I enjoyed this Christmas romance.
Apple Crumble Assault by Diana Dumont
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Apple Crumble Assault*
Another Enjoyable Trip to Sunshine Springs
I have read all the books in this series, and while I have enjoyed them all, I found this one to be a particular delight. I think it is because I have read the previous ones and gotten to know the community and the characters, so it was like putting on a pair of comfortable slippers to reenter the world in this novel. I enjoy Izzy’s relationship with her grandmother, who always does have her interest at heart (even if Izzy doesn’t want to listen). Seriously, what’s up with Izzy and Theo? I loved how Izzy got involved with the murder in this particular book. She does have some skills, and they’re not all in the baking department!
Visions of Love by C. M. Albert
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Visions of Love*
Slightly Paranormal Twist on Contemporary Romance
This is a contemporary romance with a little twist, a paranormal twist! The heroine, Rosalie, is an empath and medium. Honestly, the romance reads more like any contemporary romance where there is at first an uneven relationship, and one of the characters has a pressing external conflict. The hero, Zade, fell hard and fast for the heroine and pursued her with intensity. He’s a sweet hero who loves dorky, cheesy pick-up lines. I love his compassionate, good-guy nature. Rosalie has had a fair amount of bad experience with men in her young life, and she’s just not sure if she wants to give up a chance for a TV show for something that most likely won’t work out. The romance is a bit more slow burn than you might imagine given the way the hero feels. My only complaint is that is the very interesting empath/medium aspect is not as well integrated into the story as it could and should have been. It’s only mentioned here and there. I would have loved to have known more about all the various things that she perceives about people.
Lethal Waters by J. P. McLean
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, 24 Symbols, Thalia, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, Indigo (Chapters), and Bol.de
Lethal Waters*
More Danger for Em
When you review a book that is a part have a long series, there’s always the danger, it feels like, of telling too much. So, I’m going to try to avoid that. Em’s adventure continues. One thing I can definitely say is that the author does create a very different plot for each book of this series. In this one, Em has to make a hard choice that definitely puts her in danger. She interacts with some new people as well as some old ones. The author does do a good job showing this parallel paranormal world that exists within the greater nonparanormal society.
Renegade Dragons by Laura Greenwood
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Google Play, 24 Symbols, Thalia, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Bol.de
Regnegade Dragons*
Delightful PNR RH Story
There’s always something so nice about box sets of a series: having all the books together makes it so easy to binge read! I’ve read other books by this author, and I do like her style. She is always able to create interesting paranormal worlds with characters who feel real even though they don’t exist in our reality. As this is a reverse harem story, I was surprised at the relationship between the females and how it evolved over the course of the books, but it seemed right. It is definitely an interesting group of characters, and I enjoyed watching their interactions.
Braydon’s Bride by Kathleen Lawless
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Braydon's Bride*
A Fun Old West Romance
I’ve been enjoying reading this series about the seven Mason “brothers” (only two are actually blood-related brothers.) This particular story is about Brayden and Henrietta, Sir Percy’s very able treasure-hunting assistant. At the beginning of the story, there’s almost an enemies-to-lovers vibe to the story, though you couldn’t really call them true enemies. It’s more like they annoy each other. Henny is a pull-no-punches woman who has had to do much to make her way in a man’s world. Brayden considers himself quite the ladies’ man. There are some interesting plot developments, including a wager and the potential victim’s knowledge of it (without the perpetrator knowing), so the would-be victim tries to turn the tables somewhat and keep the wagerer guessing. There are definitely some good elements of humor, and it was a delight to watch the relationship evolve between Brayden and Henrietta. Hawkes is still up to no good, and it’s definitely fun to get a glimpse into the previous couples’ new marriages. A nice addition to the series.
Jamie Brydone-Jack
Reader, Editor, Writer
I’m an avid reader, for both fun and work/business. I enjoy a wide variety of books, including literary fiction, romance, thrillers, cozy mysteries, and fantasy for fiction and history, contemporary issues, philosophy, music, medicine, and cookbooks for nonfiction. I’m a freelance copyeditor who also does beta and alpha reading. I have two websites that are all about romance and mystery. You can also follow my reviews at Amazon, Goodreads, and Bookbub.
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