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!
The Diamont Hunt by Wendy Meadows
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
The Diamond Hunt*
Not Her Best Work
I am a fan of Wendy Meadows’ mysteries in general, and I have enjoyed other books in this series. I like books with groups of strong women, so I have enjoyed the interaction between Hillary, her daughter Annabelle, and their friend Rose. Not only was this book too short to fully explore the mystery, but Annabelle and Rose were only in it for a very short time. I missed their group dynamic. Given the shortness of the book, I thought there was a little too much description in places of what went on before in the other books of the series. I found this book to be a disappointment, but I know the author normally has the chops, so I am hoping that the next book of this series will be a more enjoyable one.
Steeped in Murder by Kirsten Weiss
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Google Play, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Indigo (Chapters)
Steeped in Murder*
Tea and Tarot… What’s Not to Like?
“In my defense, the day did not ‘seem’ that murdery.” And so begins this absolutely delightful culinary cozy mystery. I will admit that I was drawn by the series name, as I am a fan of both tea and tarot. I actually lived on the northern California coast for some years, and I think that Abigail’s tearoom would have been perfect where I lived. Why didn’t we have one? As a tea person, I loved all the descriptions of the teas, and I could imagine being in a little tearoom on the California coast, eating some delightful scones and drinking some of the wonderful blends that were mentioned. I will admit that I am drawn to fictional books that include tarot as a part of the story, and it was perfectly integrated here. This book is a little zany, which–of course–is a delight in a cozy mystery. The small town where this takes place, I believe in southern California by the description, is full of a cast of quirky characters that I’m sure we’ll get to know and enjoy more in future books of the series. Just the names of the two main characters who were swindled by the same man tell you this book is as light as a murder mystery can be: Abigail Beanblossom (tearoom) and Hyperion Night (tarot reader). The book was long, but the author was able to maintain suspense and keep a good focus on the evolving mystery plot. The length of the novel allowed for the little tangents and red herrings that must occur in a satisfying mystery. In all, this is a perfect cozy mystery beach read, if you like bringing murder mysteries with you on vacation!
A Tempting Wager by Karen Sommers and Emilee Harris
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
A Tempting Wager*
Charming, Well-Written Regency
What a charmingly well-written Regency! Sometimes, it feels like it is so rare to find an author who knows how to create well-drawn, emotionally resonant, and sympathetic characters who are dealing with personal conflicts that makes sense for them and the times as well as evoke the scenes in such beautiful word pictures that a reader can immediately feel immersed in the world of the story. The couple’s meet-cute was perfect for Regency. Her carriage is mired in the mud, and even though he doesn’t want to, the hero’s gentlemanly conscience does not allow him to pass up a damsel in distress. The attraction was instant and mutual (though they both charmingly felt that they’d acted the buffoon and made a terrible impression), but the author made it feel realistic; it didn’t seem like the insta love that seems to happen too often in romances these days. The language of the text was how I like it to be in a good historical, elevated but accessible. I loved the hero’s interactions with his father; he was appropriately quite biting at times. If you like Regency, this is one you should add to your reading list.
Second Chances, Fake Fiances, and Weddings
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Second Chances, Fake Fiances, and Weddings*
Clean but Uninspired Romance Box Set
This collection contains six novellas, two each from three of the author’s series: Second Chances for Love, The Gazette’s Fake Fiance’s, and Marrying Nashville.
For the two from Second Chances for Love, I felt the stories lacked a certain emotional honesty that we expect in romance. These are second chances at romance, so the reasons for the couples to part need to be solid. In these two novellas, the backstories of the romances didn’t seem realistic, putting both stories on shaky ground. In the first, Mark decided that he was more interested in pursuing his own wants and needs, and instead of just moving on, he insults the heroine’s art, which ends up having a ripple effect in her life, first causing her to doubt her abilities and then to stop believing in herself in a broader sense. When they meet again and have to work together some years later, he is contrite, but much has changed about her. In the second story, it might be a stretch even to call it a second chance at romance because they never really had a romance. The couple shared a kiss in the past after which the hero became distant because he was unsure if he wanted their relationship to move forward. Second chance? This one never had a first.
I did enjoy the two from the Gazette series more, but I think I might have because I found the concept of having a newspaper as a backdrop for the stories to be interesting. I enjoyed Samantha’s story more than Opal’s. I thought Opal was a bit too shallow; she didn’t seem to give her decisions and actions much thought. The two novellas from the marrying Nashville the series weren’t quite my cup of tea because I’m not a particular fan of billionaire or Cowboy romance.
The books had some of the common issues with punctuation, grammar, and usage. All in all, these are six relatively quick reads that are clean, but that is the most I can say to recommend them. If you are wanting to see if any of the series interest you, this sample pack could help you figure it out.
The Surf of Time by Mariah Stone
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
The Surf of Time*
Fun But Sometimes Sad Viking Time-Travel Romance
I have read some of the other books in this series, and I find this one a worthy addition to it. I quite enjoyed this love story of Andor and Cathy. The author explored some serious themes, like letting go of a painful past, self-forgiveness, and when to let someone go. I was pulled right into the story by the prologue, and I couldn’t help but feel empathy for the hero for what he suffered. Sympathy for the heroine was similarly garnered in the next chapter. While this book definitely has some heavy moments for both of the main characters, there was also a fair amount of humor. I especially enjoyed the running gag about the Vikings and yoga! (The heroine was a super crunchy vegan yoga instructor in California before she time travelled.) I thought both of the main characters were well drawn and their motivations and fears understandable. All in all, I thought this was a well-written story.
The Janusite Trilogy by Anna Durand
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Google Play, 24 Symbols, Thalia, Smashwords, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, Indigo (Chapters), and Bol.de
The Janusite Trilogy*
Supernatural Romance with Classic Fight of Good vs. Evil
If you’re familiar with Anna Durand’s work, you know she writes contemporary and paranormal character-driven sensual romance. This box set is all of her Undercover Elemental trilogy, and she delivers the goods in terms of character, plot, and steam factor. It is a supernatural romance that features the classic fight of good vs. evil as the impetus for the over-arching plot.
Lindsey, the heroine, discovers that while she’s mortal, she is also the Janusite, given some of the abilities of that god. She becomes involved with Nevan, king of the sylphs boyfriend. I love Lindsey, by the way. No matter what the story throws at her, she is strong and resilient. She has a way of looking at things that keeps it all in perspective. She even helps lift Nevan out of brooding, nonhelpful thoughts.
The twists and turns in the stories keep Lindsey guessing as well as the reader. Time shifts. Pasts are forgotten… or come back to haunt the characters. The author does an excellent job of showing us these wildly dramatic shifts through Lindsey’s eyes. We can sense her frustration, fears, and sadness and appreciate her doggedness to get through it all. The author has a natural writing style that pulls you right in, even though the books are about such fantastic events. She makes them feel like they could actually happen and do happen to the characters.
If you enjoy paranormal/supernatural romance with a high steaminess factor, this trilogy may be right up your alley.
How to Find Your Passion by Steven Hopkins
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
How to Find Your Passion*
Not the Definitive Guide, But Some Useful Tips
At the beginning of this book, the author states that he believes this is the ultimate guide for finding your passion. While I don’t quite agree with that broad statement, I do think this book does have some worthwhile tips and processes that will help you figure out more about yourself as well as give you clues as to what could drive a more passionate life for you. There are some familiar tools here, like the Myers-Briggs test, but there are also some concepts that were relatively new to me, and I found to be actually quite helpful. I had heard of ikigai before but had never seen it really explained or explored. It fit in perfectly in this book and actually gave me quite a bit to think about.
This is a relatively short book, so there is no way that it could be the ultimate guide to finding your passion. In fact, in the section on how to turn your passion into a career, the length of the description of the steps is almost laughable. Still, in each chapter, the author does give some useful pointers as well as some exercises and other food for thought. All in all, I found this to be a good read that got me thinking. I like books that do that!
If You Give a Smuggler a Secret by Chloe Flowers
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
If You Give a Smuggler a Secret*
Well-Written Story, But…
I am of several minds about this book. I actually found the characters engaging. I thought the hero and heroine had good chemistry. The plot kept moving, and there was a lot going on. So, in general, I liked the story as given. But I had other issues with aspects of this book. While I wouldn’t call what happens at the end to be a true cliffhanger, the book does end very abruptly, in the middle of a pivotal scene (it feels like). I chose this book to review on a book review site because I enjoy historical romance, but I am accustomed to romances–even those in a series–that end the couple’s main story. This series is actually a set of episodic novels that tell the full tale of the couple. As a series isn’t typically set up this way, I think the author should let readers know in the book blurb that the book doesn’t stand on its own and that you will need to buy the other books to get the couple’s full story. That way, people can decide if they want to invest in an entire series or not. Not everybody likes episodic tales. Some readers prefer to have the full story all at once. My other issue with this book is that I prefer my Regencies to be written in a somewhat elevated style. I don’t mean in an inaccessible, hoity-toity way, but rather I equate the use of one word or phrase paragraphs and sentence fragments with contemporary romance writing. I think historical romance needs to have full sentences and proper paragraphs, or else it doesn’t feel wholly historical.
EDITED August 2019: I just wanted to give an update because I noticed now that the blurb for this book has been amended to at least hint that the books in this series are episodic in nature. I appreciate the author doing that. I still won’t change my rating, because I think the ending of this book was too abrupt, even knowing that it is episodic in nature.
Vikings by various authors
Available at Amazon only
NOT with Kindle Unlimited
Vikings*
Well-Written Prologue But Concerned About the Other Books
I was given an ARC of just the prologue for this series. I found the prologue to be well written and engaging. It pulled me right into the story. Even for just a relatively short piece of writing, the author managed to get in a fair amount of drama and a twist at the end that changed everything. One thing that I hadn’t gotten from the book blurb, and one thing that concerns me about the rest of the books in the series, is that there is a hint towards the end of that at least some of the future books will have some form of “marital discipline.” I am not a fan of those types of books, so I hope that I am reading that wrong. The setup for the series is intriguing, but I would hope not to be disappointed if the series turned out to be about men “disciplining” women. That would be a hard pass for me.
Four Gamers and Me by Arizona Tape
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Scribd, 24 Symbols, Thalia, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Bol.de
Four Gamers and Me*
Didn’t Quite Do It for Me — Too Much Head Hopping
I have read other books that this author has co-written with another author. But this is the first book that I have read that is just written by her. I find myself a little disappointed compared to the others. I didn’t really find the characters engaging or the plot interesting, and I was totally annoyed by the constant head hopping. It happened frequently. Books are like that cause problems with story flow as it is hard to maintain a sense of coherence and cohesiveness. I found the language in parts to be too crude for my taste. There were also issues with grammar, punctuation, and usage.
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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