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!
Blow by Tracy Ewens
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Indigo (Chapters)
Blow*
Didn’t Like the First Part; Second Part Much Better
Millie is just hoping for some time away to write her first, what she calls, serious book–one that her father would respect. She is actually a best selling romance writer, and her father sees such books as trash. What she hopes will be quiet times to inspire her muse turns out to be quite loud because of her next-door neighbor’s penchant for loud music as he runs his glass-blowing business. They butt heads for a while, but as they get to know each other, their attraction grows. They both have inner demons that they wrestle with. Which will triumph, inner demons or love?
As a sometime writer myself, I enjoyed all of the author-ly bits in this book. (I loved the discussion on romance covers!) I am actually quite familiar with this part of coastal California as I lived for ten years north of the story setting in Fort Bragg. Having been a foggybottom in a tourist town, I was a bit put off by the way the author portrayed life in a small coastal village. In our city, we didn’t treat tourists like the author has Drake and some of the others treat Millie (and as they refer to having done to other tourists). The book definitely had some formatting issues (words ran together) and errors with grammar and punctuation (comma splices aplenty).
I also thought that Drake just acted so rude for the first part of the book–so selfish and unrelenting–that I almost stopped reading because I couldn’t get past his attitude and see him as a potential hero. However, I’m glad I stuck with it, as he does have a stream of revelations as he wrestles with his demons that made him reevaluate himself, making him more interesting and allowing me to stick with the story. As the characters got to know each other, the extent of their personal issues (their backstories and how they were impacting them in the present) became apparent gradually, and this was actually masterfully done by the writer. By the end, I was wholly invested in the characters and cared about what happened to them. Drake’s gift at the end was lovely and heartwarming; while it didn’t end the book, it was probably the most satisfying part of the end; the symbolism and the beauty of his words was a delight. There are several heartrending and poignant moments in this book as well as some humor; I like a book that can have both. I thought their first sex scene was perfectly done because it was so true to these characters as they had been developed. The road to romance is rocky for so many reasons, and after being put off by the first part, I was completely pulled into their evolving relationship because of the depth of the characters and the emotional honesty of their portrayal. That is rare to see in a romance book.
Murders, Curlers, and Cruises by Arlene McFarlane
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Google Play, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Indigo (Chapters)
Murders, Curlers, and Cruises*
Tries Too Hard to Be Funny
This is my first time reading a book by this author, and I’m not sure if I would give another one a try. I was turned off immediately by a pretty serious info dump right the start of the book. That seems to be a significant failing in many first-person novels and novellas, though authors commit the same crime in stories told in the third person. Much has been ballyhooed in other reviews about the humor in this series and this book in particular. To me, I felt like the author was trying too hard to be funny, which made it unfunny for me.
The Eyewitness by Nancy C. Weeks
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
The Eyewitness*
Romance Fell Flat, But Suspense Plot Was Good
This contemporary romantic suspense starts with an unfortunate bang as the heroine’s father is murdered just after they had a big argument. The book details the investigation into this as well as the budding romance between the heroine and the hero, who happened to be her dead father’s partner.
This book was mostly well written, but I didn’t quite buy the romance aspect. This is an enemies-to-lovers spot, and I think that is hard to pull off in general but especially when there’s so much else going on in the story (like there is in this one). We need to see a pivotal shift for both characters that’s believable and contextually correct. Yes, I got that the two had a bad history, which sets up the enemies part, and they continue to butt heads even while they have an undeniable attraction to each other. Neither part rings true for me. Another thing that didn’t quite sit right for me was the idea of a hot-headed person being a forensic scientist; the two ideas just don’t blend well together in my mind. I know one of the themes that runs throughout is that she is working on that aspect of herself, but it seemed like an oil-and-water combination that would be unlikely to happen in real life. I also didn’t feel like the initial hospital scene was accurate in several ways; I won’t detail all the reasons, but I am an RN, and I wondered if the author had done much research into what goes on in a hospital and what it’s really like (including security).
The familial relationships in this story are complex in a way that feels accurate to real life. I enjoyed the dialogue in that it seemed natural, but I didn’t think that the key characters had enough differentiation in their voices. The suspense aspect was better done than the romance aspect. There were plenty of twists, turns, and surprises. While the book didn’t technically end on a cliffhanger, there are some unresolved issues. All in all, despite the glowing reviews for this book, it doesn’t inspire me to read the next book in the series to see how those loose ends to tie up.
Work Ethic: The Lost Credential by Michael R. Hogan
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Scribd, Smashwords, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Indigo (Chapters)
Work Ethic*
Odd Combination of Topics
This book is a strange combination of what should probably be two separate books and one pamphlet. It is split into three sections: work ethic and related ideas, how to get a job, and what do after you have a job (surprise answer here).
The bold line in the blurb suggests that something is inherently wrong with today’s workforce that makes getting and keeping a job difficult. The answer, it would seem, is that we have lost our collective work ethic, and the author purports to address that issue in this book. This rankles me to some degree because I do not see the problems in contemporary business to rest solely on the back of the rank-and-file employee; if workers have abandoned the work ethic (which I do not believe they have), the argument can be made that businesses have abandoned the worker with slash-and-burn policies that are focused solely on the bottom line or covering the company’s posterior.
For a book that is supposedly all about the work ethic, that topic itself is a small fraction of it. Part one of the book does have a small section that is specifically labeled “work ethic” and then goes on to explore what might make that up, like attendance and accountability. I found this section to be rather generic and quite banal. The author made broad, sweeping statements, usually about how terrible workers are, but didn’t back it up with any sort of research or quantifiable facts. Part two gives details on the standard way of getting a job, like a cover letter, your resume, and the interview. Having participated in the job-getting process at various times over the last 30 years, I find his examples to be mired in the distant past. In this age of online job applications, even for higher-level positions, cover letters and resumes are a wholly different beast. Part three seems to come completely out of left field. After all the previous writing in the book had been about being an employee and getting a job, these few throwaway pages seem to be about becoming an entrepreneur.
While I don’t know much about the author beyond what he stated in his Amazon bio, I get the impression that he has been an entrepreneur for a long time, and while he might have worked with businesses, he has not truly been an employee in one for some years. So I don’t think he actually has any great authority to speak on this topic, and this is borne out by what is actually in the pages.
The Simple Life Guide to RV Living by Gary Collins
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, 24 Symbols, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Indigo (Chapters)
The Simple Life Guide to RV Living*
Beginner’s Guide to RVing
If you’ve ever considered giving up your home or apartment and living in an RV, this book has information about the different types of RVs as well as tips for RV living. The first third of the book or so isn’t so much about this but more about the author’s take on downsizing your life (perhaps a little repetitious if you’ve read his other books), the history of vehicles and RVs, and his own personal story about taking this path. I found some of this part of the book a little tedious, as I was just wanting to get to the information. The rest of the book, though, is chock-full of information and insights for those who are completely new to the idea of RVing permanently (or those considering doing so). You won’t learn everything you need to know about making this lifestyle leap, but it will give you much food for thought and practical guidelines.
Covens and Coffins by Lily Webb
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Google Play, Scribd, 24 Symbols, Mondadori, and Angus & Robertson
Covens and Coffins*
Another Zoe and Crew Paranormal Cozy
I have read several books in this series now, and I always enjoy a trip to Zoe’s magical world. I like that she isn’t an experienced, know-it-all witch as often happens in these paranormal cozy mysteries. In fact, this book starts with a scene of one of her areas of witchy ineptitude: she can’t fly a broom like the other witches. Despite her lacks, she has decided to run for Head Witch because of all the mysterious events she has been involved with previously. All does not run smoothly, of course, when a rival is murdered at a town hall meeting of the candidates just before the election. Zoe becomes a suspect, and she has to use her skills to ferret out the real murderer. In an interesting subplot, some are proposing wand reform (in a way that mirrors gun control in our world).
I like how the author has made this series stand-alone but interrelated, and she gives necessary backstory in tiny bite-sized chunks that are easy to assimilate. Backstory seems to be one of those things that authors quite often trip up on, either giving too little or too much in an info dump. That doesn’t happen here. For those of us who have read previous books, the relationships between Zoe and her friends and her grandma are a delight to watch as the friendships, like with Mallory and Raina, are realistic in showing both closeness and humor, and the familial relationship shows a deep love and understanding. I just like watching Zoe and her peeps interact. I thought that the murder should have happened a little earlier in the context of the story to give a bit more time for the mystery to play out, but it was still a solid read.
Copy Cocktail by Kerrie Legend
Available at Amazon, iBooks, Kobo, Scribd, 24 Symbols, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Indigo (Chapters)
Copy Cocktail*
Solid Information but Bad ToC and Annoying Theme
As I have several businesses myself, I am definitely interested in creating better copy, so I was drawn to this book. The author does have enthusiasm for writing compelling copy. In this book, she discusses good and bad copy with a lot of examples, both made up and real world. If you’re relatively new to marketing, you will find a lot of useful information that will help you on your path. She even goes into a little about which English rules you can (and should) break and effective use of language in copy. There are lots of numbered lists to give you ideas from topics about figuring out your optimal customer to how to best target them, whether in a headline or on a sales page.
The biggest drawback to this book has nothing to do about its information but its organization. For whatever reason, the author has built up this whole book idea around alcohol and cocktails. I think the metaphor is stretched far too thin and actually becomes a bit tiresome. But it created a bigger problem. To me, the best non-fiction books are very transparent at several points, like the blurb and table of contents. The clear blurb gets me to buy, but well done table of contents not only preframes me for what I’m about to read but can also be the signposts needed when I want to refer back to a particular book topic. It is part of the old “tell him what you’re going to tell him” that is crucial for a non-fiction reader. Unfortunately, the author instead chose to make a table of contents that was more cutesy than practical, with chapter headings that tell you nothing about the content like Mocktail Style Writing and Magic Cocktail Syrups.
That said, I think the book has solid information that can help you with marketing and better copywriting. Just be sure to bookmark the pages that you might want to refer back to because the table of contents will not help you at all in that regard.
The Colonel and Her Sergeant by Shana Figueroa
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
The Colonel and Her Sergeant*
Such a Downer!
This is a well-written story, but oh, my gosh, it is such a downer! The author clearly understands the military from the inside, as the military is truly front and center in this book. The book’s title, and even the blurb somewhat, mislead you into thinking that this is a romance, but it is not. There are some romantic aspects to it, as one might guess, but these are consumed by the military aspects. I think the themes could have been touched on in a way that was uplifting rather than being so dark and depressing. I had just finished reading a book that addresses difficult themes but in a way that gave hope. This book didn’t do that. I found it to be a difficult read.
Last Words by Shari J. Ryan
Available at Amazon and Scribd
Last Words*
Stunningly Beautiful Novel About the Triumph of Love and Human Spirit
I read and review a lot of books. I’m generally able to dictate a review rather quickly. But when a book truly is exceptional and moves me, I feel like my meager words cannot do it justice. This is one of those outstanding books I am trying very hard to do proper justice to. This is simply an amazing book about the power of true love to triumph over hate and time. The book is an emotional journey not just for granddaughter Emma in the story but for the reader as well. In this book, the author has rendered beautifully both the greatest potential of the human soul as well as what we are when we are at our worst. The writing draws you right into Grandma and Emma’s story effortlessly. The story alternates between the points of view of Grandma (in the form of her diary) and Emma. The author has given them each a distinct voice; you know which is which even without referring to the note at the top of each chapter. Grandma’s story gives Emma a vision of what true love is and empowers her to live a better life with a man who treats her right. Grandma and Charlie’s story is full of so much pain but also love and hope in what was one of the darkest hours of human history. The author tells the harrowing tale with a brutal honesty that is at once inspiring and heartbreaking (though that word does not do it justice). As Emma starts to turn her life around, her story is the perfect counterpoint to her grandmother’s story, adding sweetness and a little levity. An exquisite, beautiful work that should be read by people who enjoy good love stories that touch the heart.
It’s In His Song by Shelly Alexander
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
It's In His Song*
Lovely Contemporary Romance Novella
What a delightful contemporary romance! Even though this is a novella, and a very fast read, the author did a good job with characterization and providing just enough of a plot that would fit a novella. (Some authors, unfortunately, make a novella plot that is too big for the length of the story.) These characters had enough history and present that this could have been a full-length novel, but it works well in this shorter form. The author did a good job of focusing the story down to a few critical days in the characters lives that would change them forever. And she even snuck in some is symbolism about walls that was definitely appropriate to the story and the characters. There was a surprising amount of humor as well. I loved both the hero and the heroine, although I don’t think I would want to be a customer of the heroine while she was fixating on Dylan! Even within this short tale, both characters grew and changed in a way that made sense for them. The only way to improve this story would have been if more time had been spent showing what happened to this newly formed family. I would have loved to see more of how Dylan was as a father and how the hero and heroine flared as they claimed a new life together. Kudos to the author or pulling off such a lovely romantic story.
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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