Audiobook Review: Only Bad Options by Jennifer Estep

Only Bad Options
Author: Jennifer Estep
Narrator: Lauren Fortgang
Series: Galactic Bonds (Book 1)
Publication: Audible Studios (September 20, 2022)
Length: 12 hours and 35 minutes

Description: New York Times best-selling author Jennifer Estep blasts off with an exciting new science-fiction/fantasy adventure with a dash of historical romance. This action-packed space opera features a mix of magic and technology, along with a soul mates and enemies-to-lovers story. Perfect for fans of Star Wars, Bridgerton, and Pride and Prejudice.

A woman who sees everything...

Few people know the name Vesper Quill. To most folks, I’m just a lowly lab rat who designs brewmakers and other household appliances in the research-and-development lab at the powerful Kent Corp. But when I point out a design flaw and a safety hazard in the new line of Kent Corp spaceships, everyone knows who I am—and wants to eliminate me.

I might be a seer with a photographic memory, but I don’t see the trouble headed my way until it’s too late. Suddenly, I’m surrounded by enemies and fighting for my life.

I don’t think things can get any worse until I meet Kyrion Caldaren, an arrogant Regal lord who insists that we have a connection, one that could be the death of us both.

A man who can’t forget his past...

The name Kyrion Caldaren strikes fear in the hearts of people across the Archipelago Galaxy. As the leader of the Arrows, the Imperium’s elite fighting force, I’m used to being a villain, as well as the personal assassin of Lord Callus Holloway. Even the wealthy Regals who live on the planet of Corios are afraid of me.

But everything changes when I meet Vesper Quill. I might be a powerful psion with telepathic, telekinetic, and other abilities, but Vesper sees far too many of my secrets.

Thanks to an arcane, unwanted quirk of psionic magic, the two of us are forced to work together to unravel a dangerous conspiracy and outwit the deadly enemies who want to bend us to their will.

My Thoughts: ONLY BAD OPTIONS is the first in a space opera series. Vesper Quill is a lab rat for Kent Corp primarily working on brewmakers. She has a talent for being able to fix things and she is also a seer. Abandoned by her Regal mother for not having enough psionic power, Vesper has made her own way. But when she discovers a flaw in some new spaceships Kent Corp is building for the Imperium, she finds herself deep in a conspiracy to overthrow the Imperium. And then she finds herself offered up as cannon fodder in a battle between the Imperium and the Techwave.

Rescued by Kyrion Calderan, an Arrow for the Imperium, she finds herself again in the heart of power. She and Kyrion find themselves bonded which is something neither of them wants. Kyrion witnessed the bond her parents had and the way Callus Holloway, the leader of Imperium, used it to his advantage. He doesn't want to give Halloway any more weapons. 

All Vesper wants is to get away and find a safe place to build her own life. Being bonded with Kyrion isn't a life goal for her either. But many people are eager to use her or blame her for the upcoming revolution and she will have to find and master some new psionic gifts if she hopes to survive. 

The pair goes to a friend of Kyrion's who believes that he can break the bond between them and leave them free to pursue their own goals. Both find themselves missing the bond and the comfort of having someone else of their own, but a broken bond is much safer for each of them. At least, they believe it is broken...

Filled with action, political intrigue, and romance, ONLY BAD OPTIONS was a great start to a new series. 

I bought this one March 10, 2023. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Beyond Reasonable Doubt by Robert Dugoni

Beyond Reasonable Doubt
Author: Robert Dugoni
Series: Keera Duggan (Book 2)
Publication: Thomas & Mercer (October 22, 2024)

Description: A master manipulator accused of murder. An attorney sworn to defend her. Keera Duggan returns in a riveting novel of suspense by New York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni.

When Jenna Bernstein, disgraced wunderkind CEO of a controversial biotech company, is accused of murdering her former partner and lover, she turns to Seattle attorney Keera Duggan to defend her. Keera is more than a master chess player who brings her intuitive moves into court―she’s Jenna’s childhood friend. But considering their history, Keera knows that where Jenna goes, trouble follows.

Five years earlier, Keera’s father successfully defended Jenna when she was tried for the killing of her company’s chief scientist who threatened to go public with allegations of corporate fraud. Keera knows Jenna too well. When she was a kid, Keera saw Jenna for what she was: a manipulative and frighteningly controlling sociopath. Now, with only circumstantial evidence against Jenna, Keera is willing to bury any trepidation she might have to defend a woman she believes, this time, to be innocent.

As the investigation gets underway and disturbing questions arise, Keera puts her trust in a client who swears that this time she's telling nothing but the truth. If this is all just another devious game, Keera might be working to set a murderer free.

My Thoughts: The second Keera Deegan mystery has Keera defending a woman who has been arrested for murdering her business partner and lover. Keera has known Jenna Bernstein since they were children and knows her as a sociopath and liar. 

Her father Patsy has agreed to take the case since he feels he owes something to Jenna's parents. Also, he defended her before when she was accused of murdering her chief scientist after he told her that their groundbreaking medical procedure was much further from reality than she had been touting to potential investors. He managed to free her because he raised enough reasonable doubt that she didn't murder the man. 

Keera isn't at all sure that Jenna was innocent of the first murder and she's not at all convinced that she's innocent of this crime either. She knows Jenna is a sociopath and a liar and can't believe anything she tells her. As she and her investigator look into the case, she is looking for the truth and finds lots of things that might or might not clear Jenna.

With Patsy finally agreeing to in-patient treatment of his alcoholism, Keera is on her own in defending Jenna. Hopefully her genius at chess with let her make the correct moves to get her client off. Finding out whether or not she's guilty would also ease Keera's mind.

This was another excellent legal thriller with an engaging cast of characters. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Much Ado About Margaret by Madeleine Roux

Much Ado About Margaret

Author: Madeleine Roux
Publication: Dell (October 22, 2024)

Description: Madeleine Roux’s next season in Regency England follows a rebellious writer and the man who risks everything to publish her.

Margaret Arden yearns to live like the passionate and daring women in her novel. The idyllic life at Mosely Cottage with her two younger sisters and mother is fine, but Margaret wants more than the demure and dainty existence she’s known. After a particularly brutal rejection from an annoyingly attractive publisher, Margaret fears being forced into marriage to protect her family if their financial situation doesn’t improve—until her cousin’s glamorous wedding masquerade brings her onto a collision course with scandal, notoriety, and even love.

Captain Bridger Darrow is starting over after fighting for his country. Now home, he is struggling to save his family from destitution and succeed in a new venture of passion: book publishing. It’s all going rather poorly, until he stumbles upon loose pages of an astonishing novel while in attendance at his dearest friend’s wedding. Bridger knows he must publish it. But upon meeting the author, Bridger is stunned to discover that he—she—is a woman, and he has already told her off in grand fashion.

While Bridger is keen to gain her trust and rescind the initial rejection, Margaret can’t help but be skeptical of his intentions. Sparks fly between the two, just as the wedding of the season starts to descend into chaos when a masked dance leads to a case of mistaken identities.

My Thoughts: This was an entertaining historical romance. Margaret Arden dreams of becoming an author. Since her father's death, she has lived at Mosely Cottage with her mother and two younger sisters. They are living on her aunt's charity and the aunt wants Margaret to marry well to secure her family's future. 

Things go awry at her cousin Lane's wedding. She meets Bridger Darrow again which is distressing since he's the publisher who said very unkind things about her novel. And then her manuscript is blown out and open window and scattered over the grounds of the estate inaugurating a treasure hunt to find all the missing pages. Bridger finds a few of the pages and becomes intrigued by the story and determined to publish the work. 

This story has a little more depth than the usual Regency Romance. Bridger Darrow is a war veteran who still suffers from the horrors he witnessed. The wedding fireworks cause him to collapse to the ground. He also suffered from abuse at the hands of his father when he was a child and has an older brother who was also abused but turned to alcohol and bad behavior to overcome his childhood. 

Fans of Regency romances who might want some added depth will enjoy this story. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Fondue or Die by Korina Moss

Fondue or Die
Author: Korina Moss
Series: Cheese Shop Mysteries (Book 5)
Publication: St. Martin's Paperbacks (October 22, 2024)

Description: In Korina Moss's Fondue or Die, the lazy, hazy, dairy days of summer are coming to a close in the Sonoma Valley. . . and so is someone’s life.

The small town of Yarrow Glen’s neighbor, Lockwood, hosts an annual Labor Day weekend bash: Dairy Days. And Willa Bauer and her cheese shop, Curds & Whey, refuse to miss out on the fun. Willa is thrilled to celebrate her favorite thing―she is a cheesemonger after all―and this festival goes all out: butter sculptures, goat races, cheese wheel relays, even a Miss Dairy pageant. Too bad the pageant runner, Nadine, is treating Dairy Days prep like it’s fondue or die and is putting everyone around her on edge. When Willa finds Nadine’s dead body under years’ worth of ceramic milk jugs, the police aren’t sure whether the death was an accident. But fingers are pointing at Willa’s employee, Mrs. Schultz, who steps in to help the pageant after Nadine’s death. Someone wanted Nadine out of the whey, and Willa is going to find out who.

My Thoughts: The fifth Cheese Shop mystery takes place at Dairy Days which is held over the Labor Day weekend. Willa Bauer and her crew are manning a booth where they are selling taster boxes of their various cheeses. 

However, her staff has other responsibilities at the festival too. Mrs. Shultz is busy assisting with the pageant to crown the next Miss Dairy and award a $15,000 scholarship. Mrs. Schultz's job gets more difficult when someone murders Nadine who is in charge of the pageant. With the police deciding to cover up the murder investigation so as not to blight the festival, it is up to Willa and her friends to track down the killer. 

This was another fun episode in this cozy series. I enjoyed reading the recipes at the back too. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

Audiobook Review: Victory Conditions by Elizabeth Moon

Victory Conditions
Author: Elizabeth Moon
Narrator: Cynthia Holloway
Series: Vatta's War (Book 5)
Publication: Tantor Audio (February 3, 2009)
Length: 15 hours and 40 minutes

Description: For Kylara Vatta, it's not just about liberating the star systems subjugated by Gammis Turek and defending the rest of the galaxy's freedom. There is also a score to be settled and payback to be meted out for the obliteration of the Vatta Transport dynasty...and the slaughter of Ky's family.

But the enemy have their own escalation efforts under way - including the placement of covert agents among the allies with whom Ky and the surviving Vattas are collaborating in the war effort. And when a spy ring linked to a wealthy businessman is exposed, a cracked pirate code reveals a galaxy-wide conspiracy fueling the proliferation of Turek's warship fleet. Matching the invaders' swelling firepower will mean marshaling an armada of battle-ready ships for Ky to lead into combat. But a violent skirmish leaves Ky reeling - and presumed dead by her enemies.

Now, as Turek readies an all-out attack on the Nexus system - a key conquest that could seal the rest of the galaxy's doom - Ky must rally to the challenge, draw upon every last reserve of her strategic skills, and reach deep if she is to tear from the ashes of tragedy her most decisive victory.

My Thoughts: The conclusion to the Vatta's War 5-book series sees Ky Admiral of the combined fleet assembled to end the threat of the pirate Gammis Turok who has assembled a fleet of over 300 ships. Turok has also embedded spies in the major planetary systems who are helping him overthrow the existing governments.

As Ky deals with the loss of her first ship and most of its crew, Stella is dealing with rebuilding Vatta Enterprises and overseeing the manufacture of shipboard ansibles which will bring parity to Ky's fleet since the pirates already have them. Stella is also dealing with an adolescent tech genius ward who has fallen in love for the first time. Unfortunately, Toby's girlfriend's father is one of Turok's plants and a traitor to his planet. 

Rafe is dealing with ISC on his homeworld of Nexus II which is squarely in the sights of Turok's fleet. Rafe has a brain-damaged father who is still influential on the board of ISC and who is unreasonably prejudiced against any and all Vattas. His venom finds fertile ground since most of the board resents that Stella Vatta is manufacturing ansibles which leaves ISC's monopoly on communications in jeopardy. 

Ky has to pull together forces from various jurisdictions and convince much older ship commanders that she is the best one to lead the fight against Gammis Turok. 

This was a great space opera series and this volume a satisfying conclusion. 

I bought this one in paperback sometime before 2008. I recently bought the Kindle version and added the Audible Plus version to my Audible Library. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Sleep in Heavenly Pizza by Mindy Quigley

Sleep in Heavenly Pizza
Author: Mindy Quigley
Series: Deep Dish Mysteries (Book 4)
Publication: Minotaur Books (October 22, 2024)

Description: Sleep in Heavenly Pizza is the fourth book in Mindy Quigley's delectable Deep Dish Mystery series, set in a Wisconsin pizzeria.

Pizza chef Delilah O’Leary and her kitty companion, Butterball, get into the holiday spirit as Geneva Bay, Wisconsin hosts the nation’s premier snow sculpting championship. The annual event transforms the charming resort town into a wonderland of snow castles, ice rinks, and cozy cups of cocoa.

On the eve of the festival though, a too-good-to-be-true Chrismukkah catering gig brings some frosty tidings and heralds an unexpected visit from Delilah’s high-intensity older sister. Suddenly it seems that the holidays may not be the hap-happiest season of all. And when one of the town’s snowy sculptures reveals a chilling surprise, murder threatens to put the celebrations―and Delilah’s crew―on ice for good.
 
My Thoughts: The fourth Deep Dish Mystery takes place around the Christmas/Hannukah holiday period. Delilah O'Leary and her crew are catering a party when she is surprised to see her niece and brother-in-law. They hadn't told her they were going to be in town. 

The next day. when a body is discovered in one of the piles that was to become a snow sculpture, Delilah is on the case. Too many of the suspects are her employees and family. It is hard to remain in the Christmas spirit when someone connected to Delilah might be spending the holidays in jail. 

I enjoyed this mystery. The characters were interesting and complex people. I also enjoyed the holiday recipes that ended the book. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (October 14, 2024)

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

Want to See What I Added to My Stack? links to Stacking the Shelves hosted by Marlene at Reading Reality.

Other Than Reading...

This was a pretty nice fall week. The leaves are really changing color now. I just saw that some places in Northern Minnesota got a dusting of snow last night. As far as I'm concerned, it can wait a month or two to snow here. I'm good with puffy flakes on Christmas Eve and an early Spring. 

My medical tests this week were inconclusive. Apparently, whatever is going on is not Crohn's flareup which is good news but there are still questions to be answered. The good part is that I am feeling much better except for the cough that just won't go away. 

I spent a lot of the week listening to the Tinker series by Wen Spencer. However, the newest is not yet an audiobook which means that I need to read this one with my eyes - all 530 pages of it. I could wait until the audiobook appears, but Harbinger ended on such a cliffhanger that I just have to finish the series. I also used on Audible Credit to get Rebel, the next in David Weber and Richard Fox's Ascent to Empire series even though I already have a copy on my Kindle. The audiobook is 22 hours and 38 minutes long! I'll probably do a combination read/listen for that one. 

Those Currently Reading books are each at 11% complete which means that I might be reading them most of the coming week. I do have the next six on my calendar listed for next week but don't know how many I will actually get to this week. 

Even though my Braves are out of the playoffs, I'm still watching a lot of baseball in the run-up to the World Series. Baseball season is my favorite part of the year, and I really miss having games to watch during the long winter months. 

Read Last Week

• The Gardener's Plot by Deborah J. Benoit (Review; November 5) -- Debut mystery stars a woman coming home to make a new start. The Master Gardener discovers a body in one of the beds of the new community gardens and has to search for a missing friend. My review will be posted on November 2.
• An Ace and a Pair by Blake Banner (Mine since November 3, 2018) -- First in a series that introduces a veteran police officer and his new partner as they are assigned to the cold crimes division. My review will be posted on October 31.
• Out in the Cold by Steve Urszenyi (Review; November 12) -- Second Alex Martel thriller. Alex needs to stop a war in this alternate future thriller. My review will be posted on November 5.

• Burn This Night by Alex Kenna (Review; November 12) -- Contemporary mystery with flashbacks to an earlier crime. My review will be posted on November 7.
• Burning Water by Mercedes Lackey (Audiobook) -- First Diana Tregarde urban fantasy mystery. My review will be posted on November 7.
• Wood Sprites by Wen Spencer (Audiobook Reread)

• All's Fair in Love and Treachery by Celeste Connally (Review; November 12) -- Second Lady Petra Regency mystery. Entertaining story with a heroine prone to jumping to conclusions. My review will be posted on November 6.
• Harbinger by Wen Spencer (Audiobook Reread)

Currently

• Rebel by David Weber & Richard Fox (Audiobook; Mine)
• Storm Furies by Wen Spencer (Mine; Reread)

Next Week

• Cold Welcome by Elizabeth Moon (Mine since April 11, 2017)
• Duck the Halls by Donna Andrews (Chirp Audiobook; Mine since march 22, 2023)
• A Legend in the Baking by Jamie Wesley (Review; November 19)

• The Mirror by Nora Roberts (Review; November 19)
• Children of the Night by Mercedes Lackey (Audiobook; Audible Plus)
• The Muse of Maiden Lane by Mimi Matthews (Review; November 19)

Reviews Posted

• The More the Terrier by David Rosenfelt (Review copy)
• Death at a Scottish Christmas by Lucy Connelly (Review copy)
• Long Time Gone by Hannah Martian (Review copy)

• Buried Lies by Steven Tingle (Review copy)
• Rockin' Around the Chickadee by Donna Andrews (Review copy)
• The Wrong Hostage by Elizabeth Lowell (Mine)

Want to See What I Added to My Stack Last Week?

Review:

• Star-Crossed Egg Tarts by Jennifer J. Chow (Review; January 21)
• Head Cases by John McMahon (Review; January 28)
• A Slash of Emerald by Patrice McDonough (Review; February 25)

• Dead Man's List by Karen Rose (Review; March 5)
• One Final Turn by Ashley Weaver (Review; June 3)

Bought:

• The Lord Peter Wimsey Collection Books 1 - 5 by Dorothy L. Sayers (Kindle and Audiobook)
• Rebel by David Weber & Richard Fox (Audiobook; Audible Credit)

What was your week like?