Reading Fanatic Reviews
Romantic FantasyShift of Destiny by Carol Van Natta
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Google Play, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Indigo (Chapters)
Shift of Destiny*
Danger for Woman Newly Coming into Her Power
Heroine Moira is on the run from a man who believes she has magical powers and wants to harness them. She doesn’t believe she has these powers. She chooses a small town in Wyoming as her destination. This little tourist town has secrets of its own; it is home to all manner of magical creatures who are able to hide themselves from the tourists by wearing a special charmed pendant that only shows what the wearer wants the non-magical person to see. Moira meets Chance on her first night, and the shifter handyman sees her to the place she will be staying. The book follows their blossoming romance and the attempts by more than one person to capture her.
I enjoyed the quirky little town that Moira ended up in. In fact, I wish more time was spent there as it was such a fun place to hang out with all the different types of magical beings present. I thought Chance was a good hero. He is a decent and kind person/shifter who is protective of those he cares about even if he has been a loner for much of his existence.
I was surprised at the level of profanity and crude words in this book, especially as the book went on. I just personally find this off-putting and distracting from a story. The book was mostly well edited, but I did find one peculiar fault, given that it was professionally edited—commas were used with compound predicates (verb phrases), and they don’t need to be.
If you enjoy shifter romance, you will most likely enjoy this book with a well-imagined world and well-drawn and sympathetic characters.
In the Land of the Vultures by Paula Scardamalia
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Google Play, Scribd, Mondadori, Angus & Robinson, and Indigo (Chapters)
In the Land of the Vultures*
Beautifully Written Tale of Love and Death
Samara is the priestess of the goddess of death in her small community, which is now on the move after no rains and the river drying up. Her people seek a better land that can sustain them after many of their numbers have died. When a child appears to be at death’s door, the head of their village asks her to do her duty and take the child’s spirit to the land of the dead while they continue forward. Samara knows that this most likely will mean her own death, as survival in the desert in a group is hard enough, let alone on your own. After performing her duty, Samara is rescued and brought to a palace to be healed by the queen. The queen herself has suffered a significant loss and is grieving, and Samara’s rescuer believes that Samara will be a good distraction and may perhaps help bring the queen back to herself.
I quite enjoyed this story. The author’s description of Samara’s difficult journey through the desert was palpable; you can sense her thirst and feel the burning soles of her feet. Her time at the palace was fascinating. She never expected, as the priestess of the goddess of death, to fall in love, but she does with her rescuer. But all is not simple. I love how Samara could see the dead child’s spirit still hanging around his mother. It sounds morbid, but it was actually beautifully done. There is a truly evil villain in the story in the form of the king’s illegitimate brother. The road to true love was not easy either, as the hero had issues with a very essence of what Samara was and represented.
The only things that I didn’t like about this book were some sexual aspects. The king’s half-brother was particularly vile in this area, and perhaps this is one instance where more could have been told than shown (and the “told” parts done so in less detail). I thought, too, especially considering that Samara is a maiden, that things progressed rather quickly with Samara and the hero in their sensual scenes. Especially in the one after she deals with the villain; I don’t think she truly would have been ready for consummation after that.
The author’s description of the palace settings is vivid so that they can be easily imagined. The queen’s grief is very real, and the resolution of it gave me great satisfaction. Part of what Samara sees in her last crossing (in the book) of the bridge between life and death was a surprise, but looking back, I could see hints of how this could be. So the author did an excellent job of delivering an expected and fitting end but with an element of surprise.
Just Rose by L. T. Marshall
Available at Amazon
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Just Rose*
Toxic Triangle
I’m not quite sure what I was expecting with this book, but when I got wasn’t quite it. The book review site where I got it from stated it was a small-town romance and chick lit. I was curious to see which way it would lean more, as I find that chick lit is often more of a romance with an unhappy ending.
The book was slow to start, detailing Rose’s move to her aunt’s old cottage in the Highlands of Scotland. While she was from Edinborough originally, she had spent the last six years in London pursuing her career. She used to enjoy the visits to her aunt’s cottage when her family vacationed there, so her aunt left it to her. She soon meets the local laird in a near traffic accident. What follows is a strange romantic triangle, where she and the laird develop an intense attraction to each other, but he is bedeviled by his ex-girlfriend whom he believes is a danger to herself. In fact, he makes Rose secondary in his life to placating this ex-girlfriend. Things at the end of go completely psycho, which I was not expecting.
In the end, I didn’t really find this romantic much at all. I thought the hero was a bit spineless where the ex was concerned, and Rose should have given him his walking papers instead of sleeping with him right at the start! The book is overly long and at times repetitious. I do understand Rose’s confusion and hurt, but going over and over everything again and again was a bit much. I didn’t get the sense of rising action and progressive complications that would have made this interesting.
I didn’t appreciate either the multiple digs at Americans and “Yanks.” I would think the author would know that there are a lot more Americans who have the potential to buy her book then Scots, so why would she shoot her own foot and annoy a potentially vast audience? While Americans are only peripherally mentioned or briefly shown, it is never a good light. I find myself wondering if the author just has a bias against Americans or if it does reflect the Scottish small-town mentality.
Unleash Your Creativity by Michael R. Hogan
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Scribd, 24 Symbols, Smashwords, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Indigo (Chapters)
Unleash Your Creativity*
Long on Story, Short on Substance
As I have been working through ideas about my own needs for creativity, I was attracted to the concept of this book. The setup of it, unfortunately, didn’t help me with any insights or guidance as I hoped it might. A full half of the book is in story format describing how family and society can squelch creativity and dreams. This didn’t leave much room for the actual discussion of creativity or exercises to help you find your spark and passion. It talked more about the philosophy of creativity than creativity itself.
How to Analyze People by Steven Hopkins
Available at Amazon
Free with Kindle Unlimited
How to Analyze People*
Introduction to Nonverbal Communication
In this short book about nonverbal communication, the author lays out a simple plan to improve your ability to read and understand the nonverbal clues about the thoughts, plans, and emotions that people can’t help but communicate. The author’s experience comes from his own life as a trainer and personal coach, and he also has a master’s degree in behavioral psychology. After he explains the basic concepts of nonverbal communication, he lays out chapters that go essentially from head to toe: facial expressions, voice, posture, body language of the upper body, and body language of the legs and feet. The main section of the book ends with two specialized chapters, how to spot a lie and how to spot romantic interest. There was a bonus chapter on well about nonverbal communication in the workplace.
The book is basic in what it explains about each of these topics, but it does get you thinking about others and your own nonverbal communication. If this is a topic that interests you, you might find this short read a very interesting introduction.
I’ve Decided to Live 120 Years by Ilchi Lee
Available at Amazon, iBooks, Google Play, Kobo, Scribd, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Indigo (Chapters)
I've Decided to Live 120 Years*
A Gift and Blessing to Those Middle-Aged and Beyond
What a delightful book that will get you thinking differently about aging. The title is shocking, which is what made me choose the book at a book review site that I use. In the introduction, the author states that while he doesn’t know when his end will be, he has in fact decided his life span will 120 years. For him, this has caused a paradigm shift in his thinking about what to do with what he views as the second half of his life. This book discusses a lot of his philosophy and what it can mean, but it is also practical, giving direct suggestions and activities that will help you if you decide to live 120 years. Topics he discusses include our physical power, sources of joy, letting go of attachment, solitude, mental power, continuous cultivation of self, sharing and giving, and the importance of nature. He does also discuss death in various chapters, and the final chapter discusses the many ways that one could leave a legacy, whether through mentorship directly or by leaving a small, but compassionate footprint on the Earth.
As one who has just passed the half-century mark, I found this book to be inspiring and invigorating, making me desire to live as much of a life as I can for as long as I can despite my age. The author has given a gift to people who see themselves as middle-aged or senior citizens. It opens up the possibilities of all that we can be.
The Last Van Gogh by Will Ottinger
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Scribd, 24 Symbols, Mondadori, Angus & Robinson, and Indigo (Chapters)
The Last Van Gogh*
Compelling Mystery with Historical Backstory
What a well-written page-turner! This book is essentially a quest to find the last painting that van Gogh created and weaves in the story of how it became lost. Three distinct time periods are followed throughout the narrative, Van Gogh’s time, the 1930s before World War II, and present day (2018). The author does a fantastic job keeping these threads separate so they are not confusing. He does this both visually and using the writer’s toolbox. Van Gogh’s scenes are written in italics and from an omniscient viewpoint (well done for once by a modern writer), the pre-World War II scenes are in alternating third-person viewpoints, and the modern-day sections are written in the first-person vantage point by one intimately involved in the quest.
The characters in all timelines are well drawn, and I appreciate that the bad guys are complex, not just two-dimensional villains. The pace is tight, making you not want to put the book down. I found myself wanting to get to the next sections in the three different threads. The mystery here is complex in its heart as is the quest to unravel it.
I enjoy mysteries that have a historical element like this one, and this is one of the better ones that I have read. If you enjoy mystery like that as well, you might enjoy this book.
The Medium Place by Erin Huss
Available at Amazon
Free with Kindle Unlimited
The Medium Place*
Another Paranormal Cozy in this Humorous Series
I had thoroughly enjoyed the first book of the series, so I was very pleased to see this show up at one of the book review sites that I use. I looked forward to starting it because I had hopes that the author would continue to amuse me with the delightful Zoe, her zany neighbors, and her spirits.
I was not disappointed, I am happy to report. This book is as humorous, if not more, so than the first but not in the way that feels over the top. It feels just right and very appropriate for Zoe and the crazy characters that live in her small town. What an unusual spirit to approach her! One with terrible wounds and such a mystery to figure out, made all the more difficult and conflict-inducing because the sheriff sees Zoe as a suspect.
If you enjoyed the previous book, with Zoe’s humor and interesting relationships with those living and dead, you will most likely enjoy the second book of the series as well. If you enjoy paranormal cozy mysteries, you should give this author and this series a try.
Lords for Love box set by Charlotte Fitzwilliam and Eliza Heaton
Available at Amazon
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Lords For Love*
Uneven Set of Books
This box set contains three books written by two different authors. Eliza Keaton writes the first two, and Charlotte Fitzwilliam writes the last one. Side note: That has to be a pseudonym for a fan of Jane Austen and perhaps Jane Austen fanfiction. Charlotte, of course, is a key character in Pride and Prejudice, and Fitzwilliam is, of course, the first name of Mr. Darcy and the last name of his cousin.
Both authors are new to me. The first book, The Duke’s Baby, I found to be a little unusual, but in a good way, because the hero and heroine are childhood friends, but their relationship does not come to fruition as soon as they become adults. Rather, he married another woman and had a child with her. So the romance part of the book springs from the time when the Duke is dealing with his grief, the heroine’s mother is suffering from ill health, and the heroine is trying to do her best to help them. I quite enjoyed this first book.
I was not as enamored of the second book by the same author. I felt like she spent too much time with the stories and imagination flights of the heroine, so much so that we didn’t really get to know the hero until the end. The romance was not center stage like it should be in a love story.
I enjoyed the story of the third and final book in this set except for one crucial thing. This is a story where parents try to force their children into marriage, but neither is interested outwardly. So they had to fight a growing attraction, which was fun to watch as it is clear that they are well suited to each other. Unfortunately, I was very distracted by the strange formatting in the book. In parts of it, the first few words of a new paragraph were capitalized, making it seem like the characters were always shouting the first bits of dialogue at each other. In an early section, too, the paragraph breaks weren’t done correctly, making many of them run together, which made for awkward reading. This did clear up some in the middle of the book, but then it returned. I did receive an ARC of this book, so this may have been corrected by the time it actually is published. As this is the last book in the collection, I couldn’t see if this had been fixed before publication.
So on the whole, I found this to be an uneven set of books. By the way, these are clean Regencies, if that matters to you.
A New Witch in Town by Jenny Bankhead
Available at Amazon
Free with Kindle Unlimited
A New Witch in Town*
Paranormal Cozy is Missing Some Pieces
Lorna has inherited an English cottage from an old aunt. She decides to give up her job and no-good fiance in Tennessee and start a new life in England. The cast of quirky characters starts coming around the new place and introducing themselves. Lorna has barely settled in when a murder rocks the sleepy town of Tweed-upon-Slumber. Lorna’s inquisitive nature makes her want to help figure it out.
I was intrigued by the concept of the book. I love a good witchy paranormal cozy mystery. However, I was put off by several elements. There was quite a bit of head hopping, even just for brief moments. Occasionally, the author switched to an omniscient viewpoint, telling us things that the character couldn’t know or wouldn’t know yet. At the very outset, several things just didn’t ring true to me. They are tiny details, but enough to affect my suspension of disbelief. For instance, her aunt has only recently died, but the house is in total disarray with cobwebs, lots of dust everywhere, and rotting furniture. Even if it took Lorna a while to settle her affairs in the States and get to England, this doesn’t seem like it would be accurate; could the place get so bad so quickly. Another tiny quibble was that the author stated that Lorna only was given a small snack on her transatlantic flight; having just done one not too long ago, you usually do get a proper meal.
The book started with a bit of an informational dump about Lorna’s past and all that brought her to claim her inheritance in England. The parade of neighbors didn’t feel quite right either. Cozy mysteries definitely need to have a cast of quirky characters, but we’re not usually introduced to them one right after the other in one setting. Typically, the protagonist will meet someone around town or at an event. It almost felt like an information dump for characters!
Inexplicably, this cozy mystery takes place in the 1990s. I’m not sure why the author felt the need to make it happen that long ago. It was simply jarring when I first read the word “nineties” in relation to time. Before that, I had assumed it was contemporary, so I had to read that line more than once to understand the context of the word and that it’s a story that supposedly takes place twenty years ago.
Because of the odd setup on several points, I can’t fully recommend this book.
Used To Build My Websites
NetGalley Badges