Kelley Armstrong: First Sign of Danger

Kelly Armstrong is back with the next instalment for her Haven’s Rock series and their sanctuary is under the biggest threat yet: 

I guess I’ll just come out and say it but this one did not hit for me. I think I went in with too high expectations as the book before this one was one of my favourites in both the Rockton and Haven’s Rock.

I felt like this book lacked the suspense from the other book, the mystery was just okay and felt familiar like it had been done before in this series. This book just was lacking when I think of the other books in the series. I found I was not picking this book up and was reading others book I had on the go over this one.

I enjoyed seeing Casey and Duncan adjusting to the new life that they have in Haven's Rock and the additional responsibilities that they now have. I think of how great a life there sounds, even with all the dangers that lurk by and not just forest creatures. Casey and Duncan are for sure a power couple in my books.

I miss the side characters, the man ones from Rockton will have a sentence here and there but nothing like it was before. I felt having them more engrained in the story made you feel like you were in the town and interacting with them as well. I will say I like how April’s character has developed and she is the only secondary character who get some page time.

I’m glad we get some closure in this book with a few aspects and so would have been fine with Armstrong ending the series here, but it looks like there will be one more book in this series. Of course I’ll read it, I want to see how Armstrong ends it all after this many book and storylines from both series.

This book was fine, but personally I don’t think it was up to par with her other books. Armstrong is one of my favourite authors so I’ll continue to read her books.

Cheers!!!

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Megan Crane: The Reveal

The first in a new series, Megan Crane shows that the future is held in the cards:

This is the first book that I have read by Crane so I was not sure of her writing style or anything like that going in. Alright to be totally honest, I thought that this book was going to have tarot card magic and I was wrong on that front. Crane was very nice when i had posted about reading this book on Instagram that the card were Oracle card and not Tarot Cards. I don't know much about Oracle cards but I think both have the ability to see the future but i think the oracle ones are more accurate. 

On the cards in general, I think this aspect took way to long to get there, it is in the latter half of the book and Tarot cards or not, this was the aspect that drew me into the book. I think the overall plot of the book took it's time to be known and there were times when i was bored while reading the book and then when it does happen I found it predictable.

I don't mind spice in book, but I want there to be a purpose for it and while in this book the purpose and attraction are explained (once again in the latter part of the book) at the time of reading it, it felt like Crane was just putting spice in as that was what readers want these days. I don't always want a slow burn book, but I think I am not one for just instant lust and hop into bed kind of reader.

Ariel is a tenacious character, who knows how to adapt to survive and I like that she has an acceptance of the Others but at the same sense knows that she is at the bottom of the food chain and needs to have a weapon on hand. Also her loyalty to her brother is commendable but you cant help but also feel hurt when she does with the life choices that he has made. Also the power of the cards aspect in this book was not fully developed for me, and really had me a bit confused especially in the battle at the end. 

I don't think that I will continue on in the series, I just didn't feel a connection to the characters at all and felt that the plot of the story was secondary to the spice.

Cheers,

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Simone St. James: The Broken Girls

In The Broken Girls Simon St. James show that the voices of the dead will not be silenced:

This is the second book that I have read by St. James and I really enjoyed this book. I thought that St. James did a great job of developing the storyline for both timelines and keeping the reader interested and entertained for both. I think this in part with the slight paranormal aspect of the book (ghost) as well as wondering haw St. James is going to bring the two timeline together.

I was completely engrossed while reading this book and mystery surrounding the murders in this book. This book is dealing with colder cases which are some of the hardest to figure out. In the 2014 timeline, the person who murdered Fiona's sister has gone to jail but how he was able to murder her sister has never sat right with her. There are aspects of it that don't work out and don't make sense that she wonders if they do have the right person. It all appears to be connected to the boarding school, that is now closed in her timeline.

I loved the setting for this book, small town, where everyone knows each other and for the 1950s timeline an all girls boarding school, where people send their problem girls. Each has this darker gray feeling to them that helps keep you on the edge of your seat.

Fiona is a fine character, and a great journalist that knows how to dig up information. I would just say that this book is not character driven but plot driven. We don't really get to know Fiona as a character, other than her obsession with her sister's murder, but I think that is the point. That is really the only thing that matters to her, especially when she get the opportunity to tell the story of the abandoned boarding school.

This book is all about setting and atmosphere and if this is something that you are looking for in a book, you need to check this book out. I can't wait to read more by St. James.

Enjoy!!!

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Emily Henry: People We Meet on Vacation

Emily Henry takes readers around the world and shows that just one more trip may just change everything:

This may be shocking but this is the first Henry book that I have read and it is easy to see why she is such a popular author. This book was a fun and easy breezy read that not only give your heart warm feelings but make you want to travel as well.

For me this book is very much a palate cleanser from the darker book I read as well as changing up the genres. I have found that by changing genres every few books makes reading as whole more enjoyable for me.

As what is typical with the romance genre you know how this book is going to end but it is really not the ending that matters but the journey the characters take to get there. Oh and what a journey Poppy and Alex go on, one that spans years and countries.

Right from the beginning you want to know what happened two years ago to cause a rift between Poppy and Alex and you’re going to have to be patient to get there. As the reader you don’t really understand why they didn’t see what was right in front of them with each other.

Poppy and Alex are a fun friendship and I love how different they are from each other but it just works. Their inside jokes are cute and there are some funny moments along their journey. I just really enjoyed them and the friendship that they have with each other.

I think my main complaint about this book is that this books starts to feel long as you get to the end. I feel like their relationship with each other has been established and Henry did not have to go back so many years or have as many vacation trip to get to what happened.

This was a good read, that made me want to travel. I would read another book by Henry.

Enjoy!!!

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Vera Kurlan: Never Saw Me Coming

Vera Kurlan shows that you should never judge a book (person) by their cover, there may be a murderer lurking underneath:

This book pleasantly surprised me, I wasn't sure how Kurlan was going to portray Chloe as a character as writing of psychopaths can be unpredictable. This book is very much a psychopathic academic thriller book, that has two murderers going about their business at the same time. The first one you are aware of is Chloe's own personal revenge, from events that happened when she was a child and a secondary one (not secondary in plot though) with someone killing the psychopaths enrolled in the program there. This second one kept me guessing throughout as there were so many prospects as to who the stalker and killer could be. I guess this is a little be easier to have so many prospects when there are a proportionally higher amount of psychopaths at this university. 

I enjoyed reading about Chloe, her thought process and how she perceived the world and what she was willing to do to not only figure out who the Stalker/Killer is but for her own personal vendetta as well. Chloe is methodical but sometimes her needs to be spontaneous things when she wants to get things done. Chloe knows how to work her looks to her advantage and realizes what she needs to go to her looks to either blend in or stand out.

Although the premise seems centered around Chloe I was really happy that Kurlan expanded the POV that we get to have not just one psychopath's POV but three. I think this story needed it in order to feel more well rounded and to have a break from Chloe's self-centeredness. It was also interesting to see the different elements of psychopathy in each person that has POV.

You are either going to love or hate the ending i think. For me the ending was not for me. I wanted more, I wanted Kurlan to push things a bit and I wanted to know what was going to happen next. It seemed like an odd place to end things to me.

I enjoyed this book and they way that Kurlan wrote each of the psychopaths in this book and the multiple plot points were interesting and well done. If you like psychopath books, and want a different POV in them, then i recommend checking this one out.

Enjoy!!!!

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Sable Sorensen: Dire Bound

In the first in a series Sable Sorensen show's how far a woman will go to save her sister:

This is Sorensen's debut novel and I applaud her for wanting to take on a book that is in the fantasy genre and leans more now into what people call Romantasy. I love that Sorensen decided to write a book with Dire wolves as the companion instead of dragons as I have not read a series (other than Game of Thrones) that featured Dire Wolves. This book was also darker that I thought it would be in not only content at times but the choices that the characters make.

It is hard to not like Meryn as a character. All of her decisions are not selfish they are to protect her family or to try and makes things better for her family. Even her relationship with Lee at the beginning features this as she would not be with him if he was not kind to those that she loves. I think the main problem I have with Meryn was more of Sorensen's portrayal of her at time. To begin with she is this rough and tough cage fighter but for some reason she looses this along the way in the book and I wish that Sorensen would have been consistent in this.

I think my other complaint about this book was that I found it predictable at times, that Sorensen did follow some tried and true formula within these genres. There was one twists I did not see coming but other than that I was able to predict how things were going to play out, even the ending. Don't get me wrong the book was good and the ending is quite a cliffhanger and well done, just I knew what was going to happen.

This book is brutal at times and I am here for it. I enjoyed that Sorensen did not shy away from what need to happen in a warrior training especially when there are Dire Wolves involves. I would have been fine if Sorensen pushed it even farther at times, really giving into the darkness.

I look forward to Meryn growing her bond with Anassa. I also want to know more about Anassa and for her to have more of a personality in the next book, maybe even a chapter with her POV, I feel like she has so much more to give than the time that she got in this book.

If you are looking for a bit of a change up in the Romantansy genre, a book that will keep you hooked and on the edge of your seat, I recommend this book. It is really well done especially for a debut.

Enjoy!!!

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