Reading Fanatic Reviews
Romantic FantasyCursive, Foiled Again by Jessa Archer
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iBooks
Cursive, Foiled Again*
Good Start to a New Series
Well, I have to say, an author always puts me on her good side when she names a character Jamie! Especially a female Jamie. LOL. But seriously, I enjoyed this very brief introduction to a new mystery series by an author whom I am familiar with and already enjoy. I liked Jamie Lang, and I thought it was very cool that she does hand lettering. What an unusual practice and business! I used to do calligraphy myself. So, Jamie Lang is my mystery soul sista! I enjoyed the introductions to the other characters that I assume will be a part of the full series. All in all, a delightful introduction to what I hope will be a long series. Long Live Jamies, fictional and real!
The Last of the Firsts by G. J. Ogden
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The Last of the Firsts*
Exceptional End to Amazing Series
This was an exceptional wrap up to a wonderful series. The author touches on so many themes in this book (and in the series). Like with the earlier books, he does so with a gentle and personal touch. While the underlying themes of the book are very serious–the effect of what we do on our environment, teamwork, taking responsibility for our actions, understanding the repercussions of difficult choices, and acceptance—they are brought to life through characters that we’ve come to know and appreciate through these three books; we’ve seen them grow and change, so to see them grapple with these themes seems very organic and natural. Therefore, it doesn’t feel like sermonizing or preaching. Instead, seeing the characters work through the difficulties makes you aware of these themes, and you find yourself thinking about them even after you’ve put the book down. I like a book that does that for me. I don’t believe that this is necessarily an easy thing for a writer to do, but when it is done well, it truly resonates—as it does here. These books definitely need to be read one after the other. They are not meant to stand alone. Only then will you get the full sweep of the character arcs for the main characters as well as the greater story. This series is just so well done in terms of characters, themes, and story. I highly recommend it.
His Scandalous Lessons by Katrina Kendrick
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His Scandalous Lessons*
Victorian Romance Steeped in Politics and Personal Pain
If you read a lot of historical romance, you find that most of it is relatively light and fluffy fun. This book is not historical romance in that vein. Rather, the heroine has led a very sheltered and controlled life. Both her father and fiance treat her harshly, trying to break her will and form her into what they want her to be rather than accept who she is. She knows that she is about to marry a brutish older duke, and so she approaches one of her father’s enemies and a notorious rake—her father is the prime minister—and asks him to help her find a kind husband; she wants to learn how to properly seduce a man so she can gain his favor before the clock runs out. In return, she will give him information that would hurt her father.
The author has done a lot of research into this time in Victorian England; she also seems to understand the psychological trauma like the heroine has been through and has her act very appropriately. There is much brewing on the political front, and both the hero and the heroine are caught up in it in some way. The heroin with at times hard to read about because how much she suffered both at her father’s hand and her betrothed’s. She was really in a difficult position, and you could understand why she wanted to break free of her very strict constraints rather than suffer more as the cruel man’s duchess. The hero is a rogue with a good heart, and something within the heroine calls to him, and he knows he has to help her. I also quite enjoyed the painter duchess who works with them on their scheme. The hero really comes through for the heroine, in more ways than one. He’s the only one in her life who has treated her kindly and with respect. It actually was quite lovely to watch her blossom under his care. A very well-done Victorian romance, so long as you don’t expect a light and breezy read.
Spirit Chasers: The Complete Series Box Set by Carrie Pulkinen
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Spirit Chasers Box Set*
Romantic and Spooky Reads
What a fun and spooky set of paranormal romances! I like how the heroes were often the ones in distress, especially in the first and second books. The author pulled me right in with the first book, and she set the second book up perfectly by having those two characters be an integral part of book one. There’s definitely suspense as well as romance in all the books; both sides of the couples had issues that needed to be worked through. The author does well describing the setting, not too much and not too little, and I felt like I was right there with the characters. The characters are relatable, even with all the magical and haunted-type of surroundings. Just a delightful set of books with wonderful couples.
Falling for the Wrong Guy by Tami Franklin
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Falling for the Wrong Guy*
Love and Forgiveness in Holiday Junction
In this latest installment of the Holiday Junction series, the author is able to convey such realistic, humorous interplay between the characters. I’ve read some books lately where the humor just doesn’t work; it falls flat or tries too hard. I enjoyed the funny little moments between Joey and her mom and Joey and Braden. Children often do appear in romances where the characters are a bit older, but I absolutely love how sometimes Joey was actually the viewpoint character. I don’t think I’ve often seen romances do that, and it was very well done here. Joey was a fantastic character, and I love the way that she looked at the world, her approach to it, and how much she cared about her mother. Abby and Braden definitely have chemistry, even at first when they are clearly at odds. I like the way the author slowly revealed their backstory that showed how their somewhat turbulent relationship came to be.
As in all the other Holiday Junction books, the residents of the small town were deeply embroiled in the story between Abby and Braden. Gotta love those Matchmaking Mamas! It certainly adds an undercurrent of fun to this book in particular and the series in general. The way the characters came to understand one another and grow and evolve seemed natural, not forced in any way. One of the elements that I really liked in particular in this story was how Abby was dealing with her grief of losing her husband; it seems so real when she would have little conversations with his photo while she was trying to figure out things. This is definitely a story that delivered all the feels that you want in a romance. I enjoyed seeing a little bit more of Lena and Gage; their story is a particular favorite of mine from this series. The only thing I didn’t like about the story is that it didn’t end with the definite HEA. Yes, it seems like things are heading in that direction, but they’d barely gotten straightened around when the book ended. I like my HEAs! No matter; I still highly recommend this book and the series.
Three Wishes by Nikki Kardnov
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Three Wishes*
Unusual Spin on 3-Wish Trope
We’ve all seen or read stories of trickster genies who give the lamp owner three wishes, but then twist them so that they get what they want but not in the way that they imagine (or want). This book takes that old mythical trope and plays with it in a most delightful way. The hero is jinn (I know it is usually spelled djinn, but not here), and in this world, jinn live to make contracts with people who want three wishes, and then they do their best to do bad things (usually) with those wishes. When the story opens, Dae thinks his next mark is going to be just a regular job, but from the start, it is very different for him. This story had all sorts of great elements to it: a budding but unlikely romance that surprises both in the couple, complex family dynamics, and moments where characters really question themselves. The book pulled me right in, and I felt empathy for the heroine right away because of how her future ex-husband was treating her. I enjoyed the varying characters of the Blackwood brothers and look forward to future books in the series that might feature them. A compelling and fascinating read!
The Secret Mrs. Darcy by Georgina Peel
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The Secret Mrs. Darcy*
Not a Good Variation
I am a big fan of Jane Austen fanfiction, as I have often said in these reviews. I especially enjoy the stories by Brenda J. Webb, J. Dawn King (and her alter-ego Christie Capps), Jan Hahn, Elaine Owen, and several others whose names I cannot recall, but whose stories I have loved. I’m always game for a new story and a new author of Pride and Prejudice fanfiction, and I secretly hope that I’m going to find a great new story or author, but I do have high standards. The ones I seem to like the most are typically something really different than canon, which take our beloved characters and put them in new situations or settings. So I had high hopes for this book, which places Darcy and Elizabeth in the American south of the 1880s. Specifically, Elizabeth traveled from Mississippi to Texas, believing that Jane and Mr. Bingley had set up for her and Mr. Darcy to marry. Not quite a mail-order bride, but more like a pre-arranged betrothal that seemed to have developed while Jane and Mr. Bingley corresponded. Imagine Elizabeth’s surprise when Mr. Darcy has no clue who she is or why she’s there after Bingley drops her off on his doorstep.
As you might be able to guess by the cover, this story’s setting—the American South—seems entirely overshadowed by the setting of the original story. The cover, at least the one that I see, shows a very Regency-looking Darcy in front of a very English manor-style home. This is supposed to be 1880s Texas? Especially a small town with only 12 families around. This disconnect is reflected in the story as well. I don’t get a sense of the south from it at all. The way the characters talk and interact is more Regency than anything remotely southern. Given what I was supposed to understand the setting was, I found the speech and mannerisms of Regency England jarring and out of place. I have read a few variations that place the couple in a different time and place. Some successfully pull this off while others do not. I’m reminded of a book by J. Dawn King in which she places them in pioneer-time Oregon. While the characters remained true to themselves in their essentials, that setting was accurately reflected in the story. In this story, however, it is not. So, the entire book just felt completely off to me. There are also issues with grammar, punctuation, and usage, some quite glaring and distracting. I also felt like parts of the book were drawn out excessively. Like in the beginning, it takes a bit for Darcy to figure everything out. And Darcy isn’t terribly Darcy like despite the way he insulted her, this time to her face, like in canon. Before he realized what’s going on, he actually laughs quite often and seems to be highly amused at times, neither of which is terribly Darcy like. All in all, if you enjoy Jane Austen fanfiction, I would give this book a pass.
Musings of Malu by Mary Louise Graham
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Musings of Malu*
A Wonderful Legacy
What a wonderful tribute from a family to a beloved matriarch who was a writer for much of her 80 years, I believe. Her granddaughter has gathered her short stories and poems into one collection. Nothing has been edited or altered; these are her grandmother’s words as they were written over the course of her long life. The stories offer a fascinating slice-of-life glance at a very personal world through the decades. I especially enjoyed the poems, which are in the back of the anthology. The author did understand how to use spare but artistic language to convey thoughts and moods. Malu, short for Mary Louise, has left her family a beautiful legacy in these writings, and how wonderful of that family to share Malu’s artistic vision with the wider world.
Justice Lost and Found by Mika Kosey
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Free with Kindle Unlimited
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.
The C Word by Michelle MacQueen and Ann Maree Craven
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The C Word*
Another Good Installment in Amazing Series
This book wraps up the story of the six teens that were intimately involved in a car crash that killed one of their group. The authors did an excellent job of wrapping up the various loose threads in the previous books as well as what happened in this book. We finally got to see the whole picture of what happened on that fateful night; Addison’s and Julian’s parts fleshed it all out. I was pleased to see a friendship renewed in this story; this was wholly separate from the romance. Addison and Julian’s story didn’t feel like it had quite as much depth as the first two books of the series, but the authors did still address some very weighty issues in this book, including sexual assault, bullying, peer pressure, and drunk driving. I hadn’t liked Addison in the other books because of the way she treated her former friend Peyton, but this book goes a long way to show how and why Addison changed. I absolutely loved Julian in this book. Honestly, he has intrigued me in the little part he played in each previous book because he seemed to be such a quiet, thoughtful, and helpful young man. I absolutely adored that his way of coping with all that happened was writing a romance story—one in which he could take the hero’s role and create a happy ending that was harder for him to attain in real life. What a delightful and good metaphor! I enjoyed how Julian and Addison’s relationship deepened in real life while they were carrying on an anonymous online relationship as well. In the latter, neither knew that it was the other that they were chatting with. Again, another well-done book in this series. I think that this series could do with one or two books more, one focusing on Becks (who is such an interesting character) and one focusing on Meghan (because I think she needs to learn a lesson or two about life!).
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