Monday, October 31, 2022

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (October 31, 2022)

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.

I will be combining my YA and adult reading and purchases on this one weekly roundup.

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 week with a couple of medical appointments. I had a follow up with a pharmacist at my primary care doctor to check whether a new prescription was doing what it should without side effects. This is a first for me. I don't ever recall having to have a follow up appointment after being prescribed a new medicine.

The second was an eye exam which showed no change in the status of the cataract in my left eye and a change in my prescription so small that I don't need new glasses. The only problem with the eye exam was that I had to be there more than an hour earlier than I usually get up. 

My brother found a new recipe in the newspaper which he decided we had to try. After an unsuccessful search all over town for orzo, he successfully made the dish which was a hit with both of us. Luckily, we had enough orzo left from another recipe to make this one. Apparently, pasta is the latest casualty of the faltering supply chain. We are always looking for uses for leftover rotisserie chicken. This one is definitely worthy of being repeated. 

I've let myself get sidetracked with rereading favorite books this week. I have to dive into my review pile again this week. This is also the week I need to write my monthly State of the Stack post to take a look at my review books. 

Read Last Week

If you can't wait until the review shows up on my blog, reviews are posted to LibraryThing and Goodreads as soon as I write them (usually right after I finish reading a book.)
  • Scout's Progress by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (Audiobook Reread) -- One of my favorite stories in the Liaden Universe. 
  • Harbinger by Wen Spencer (Reread this time via Audiobook) -- The latest in the series that began with Tinker was a complicated story with lots of plot threads and characters. My review will be posted on November 22.
  • The Wrong Bones by Melinda Leigh (Kindle; won at Goodreads) -- This tenth Widow's Island novella was an entertaining suspense story. I reviewed it on LibraryThing and Goodreads.
  • The Last Mile by Kat Martin (Borrowed from Amazon) -- Second in a romantic suspense trilogy features a search for hidden gold. My review will be posted on November 16.
  • Bury the Lead by David Rosenfelt (Mine; Audiobook) -- Another Andy Carpenter cozy mystery. My review will be posted on November 17.
  • Wild Country by Anne Bishop (Audiobook reread) -- This is a book set in the World of the Others.
Currently
Next Week

Time to get back to my Review stack.
Reviews Posted
Want to See What I Added to My Stack Last Week?

Review:
Bought:
What was your week like?

Saturday, October 29, 2022

Book Review: The Sea King's Daughter by Barbara Michaels

The Sea King's Daughter

Author:
Barbara Michaels
Publication: HarperCollins e-books; Reprint edition (October 13, 2009)

Description: Since Sandy Frederick first set foot on the volcanic Greek isle of Thera, this breathtaking place of ancient myth and mystery has haunted her dreams. Joining her estranged, obsessed father on a dive to find astonishing secrets from the ocean's floor, she cannot shake the feeling that she was meant to be here; that some ancient, inscrutable power is calling to her. But there are others who have been eagerly waiting for her arrival to drag her into a tangled and terrifying web of secrets, dark superstition, betrayal, blood, and death. And suddenly Sandy's heritage and her destiny could be her doom.

My Thoughts: This retro read stars recent college graduate Sandy Frederick. She has been raised by her mother and stepfather in Florida and has almost forgotten that her father is an archaeologist. When she is contacted by her father who wants her to help him with his current search for Atlantis.

Sandy is eager for the adventure, but she has questions about diving alone in waters that she doesn't know. She finds herself in the middle of a situation that has its roots in the past. Her father and some of his fellow scholars were assigned to the same island where they are now during World War II as part of the underground efforts against the Germans. The main characters of that time period have gathered again.

But Sandy is also having dreams about the long distant past where she is Ariadne, and the minotaur is active. I really liked the vivid descriptions of Sandy's dreams. All the descriptions of the land and characters were vivid.

There is also a romance. Sandy meets Jim who is a budding archaeologist who is working for her father's rival. The two of them have all sorts of adventures ranging from a mob of believers to a volcanic eruption. 

This was an entertaining story. Written as a contemporary romantic suspense title in 1975, it has aged into a nice historical romantic suspense story. 

Favorite Quote:
"The age-old struggle between evil and good is eternal, but the definitions vary, depending on which side you happen to be."
I recently bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

Friday, October 28, 2022

Friday Memes: The Sea King's Daughter by Barbara Michaels

 Happy Friday everybody!

Book Beginnings on Friday is hosted by Rose City ReaderThe Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice. Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

Beginning:
Don't call me Ariadne. That's not my name anymore.
Friday 56:
Afterward I must have found the house where I had rented a room... Yes, one of the memory fragments concerned the house, and the smiling, motherly Greek lady who owned it. She had shown me the room and brought me water so I could wash. After that -- blank.
This week I am spotlighting a recent addition to my TBR pile. The Sea King's Daughter by Barbara Michaels was first published in 1975. I was a huge fan of this author in the 1970s. I probably read this one then, but the blurb doesn't sound familiar. 

Here is the description from Amazon for this retro read:
Since Sandy Frederick first set foot on the volcanic Greek isle of Thera, this breathtaking place of ancient myth and mystery has haunted her dreams. Joining her estranged, obsessed father on a dive to find astonishing secrets from the ocean's floor, she cannot shake the feeling that she was meant to be here; that some ancient, inscrutable power is calling to her. But there are others who have been eagerly waiting for her arrival to drag her into a tangled and terrifying web of secrets, dark superstition, betrayal, blood, and death. And suddenly Sandy's heritage and her destiny could be her doom.

Thursday, October 27, 2022

Audiobook Review: Revenge of the Wrought-Iron Flamingoes by Donna Andrews

Revenge of the Wrought-Iron Flamingoes

Author:
Donna Andrews
Narrator: Bernadette Dunne
Series: Meg Langslow Mysteries (Book 3)
Publication: Dreamscape Media LLC (March 1, 2019)
Length: 8 hours and 1 minute

Description: Yorktown, Virginia, is reliving its role in the Revolutionary War by celebrating the anniversary of the British surrender in 1781. This year, plans include a reenactment of the battle and a craft fair. Meg Langslow has returned to her home town for the festivities - and to sell her wrought-iron flamingos

Meg's also trying to keep her father from scaring too many tourists with his impersonation of an 18th-century physician - not to mention saving her brother from the clutches of a con man who might steal the computer game he's invented. It's a tough job - until the swindler is found dead, slain in Meg's booth with one of her wrought-iron creations. Now Meg must add another item to her to-do list: Don't forget to solve the murder!

My Thoughts: Meg is back in Yorktown, Virginia, for a craft fair and reenactment of the battle that ended the Revolutionary War. Michael's mother is in charge of the event and is causing Meg lots of problems as she runs interference between the crafters and her future mother-in-law. Between crafters needing to be in costume and festival guards looking for, and fining, any anachronism they encounter, Meg would be busy enough.

Meg's brother has a meeting with a man who wants to buy his computer game and market it, but other friends know of the man and know that he is a crook who defrauds anyone who tries to do business with him. Meg is also dealing with a distant cousin who writes for tabloids and is looking for a scoop. 

When the shady businessman is found dead in the back of Meg's stall with a knife she made in his back, Meg needs to find the killer before her brother or one of her friends are arrested for the crime. The investigator is a new hire at the police department and is overeager to make a good impression on the sheriff. 

Just to add to the fun and confusion, one of Meg's mother's friends is running against the sheriff and looking to Meg for campaign ideas. She's already commissioned a dozen wrought-iron flamingoes for her yard and wants to take delivery at the craft fair. Meg is proud of her work but doesn't want to be known as the blacksmith who makes flamingoes. 

Meg and Michael are also having some trouble with their courtship. He's trying to convince her to move to the town when he teaches. She's reluctant. They also have trouble coordinating their busy schedules to find time to be together. 

This was a fun episode. I look forward to reading more in the series. The narrator did a great job with the various voices and with the pacing of the story.

I bought this one at Chirp. You can buy your copy here.

Book Review: Kris Longknife: Intrepid by Mike Shepherd

Kris Longknife: Intrepid

Author:
Mike Shepherd
Series: Kris Longknife (Book 6)
Publication: Ace (October 16, 2008)

Description: Kris Longknife has been assigned to The Wasp, the best warship beyond the Rim of Human Space. But while hunting for pirates, Kris stumbles upon something. It’s a plan to kill one of the members of the aristocratic Peterwald family—and the would-be killers are setting her up as the assassin.

My Thoughts: Kris Longknife should be far enough away from the centers of civilization to keep out of trouble. Assigned to The Wasp and packed with scientists who are exploring the Rim for new planets and new opportunities should keep her out of politics.

However, just because she's far away doesn't mean she's trouble-free. After all, pirates and slavers like to be away from the center of civilization too. She and her crew capture the Compton Maru and find it filled with cargo and slaves. She takes her captures ship to Cuzco in hopes of selling the cargo and ship for prize money and dumping the pirates on Cuzco' legal system. While there she has a chance to connect with a couple of old enemies - Captain Kratz and newly made Ensign Vicky Peterwald. 

While stuck on Cuzco where the legal system makes the pirates look good, Kris and her crew meet Andy Fronour of Pandemonium - one of the illegal colonies beyond the Rim - and are convinced to take him and his cargo home on their way to doing the exploration the scientists are agitating for. Upon arrival, they find that the colony has been captured by another set of pirates hired by businessmen to loot the planet for their profits. 

Kris and her crew come to the aid of the first group of colonists in retaking their planet with lots of nice maneuvers which make use of Kris's ingenuity. This second group of pirates is commanded by Kris's own first captain who left the Wardhaven Navy just ahead of his own court martial and who blames Kris for his problems. 

After solving problems there, Kris and her crew go to Xanadu which has been settled by Abdicators who were agitating for all humanity to return to Earth to get away from alien hordes that they believed were coming. Only they have gone beyond agitation and have sent out a group of young fanatics to start a war between Wardhaven and the Peterwalds. It is up to Kris to find these terrorists and stop them. Since it is well known to her that a war between parties of equal strength doesn't do much beyond creating a lot of devastation and can have no clear winners.

Now Kris has to find a way to save her and her planet's greatest enemy before they can be edged into outright war. 

This story was entertaining science fiction with a larger-than-life main character and many other intriguing characters too.

Favorite Quote:
"I'm not a princess," Vicky snapped, "except I guess you have a point. My dad is acting like an emperor or something, and I guess that makes me a princess or something."

"Mostly, it makes you a target or something," Kris observed.
I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

Wednesday, October 26, 2022

ARC Review: A Book Club to Die For by Dorothy St. James

A Book Club to Die For

Author:
Dorothy St. James
Series: Beloved Bookroom Mystery (Book 3)
Publication: Berkley (November 1, 2022)

Description: When a member of an exclusive book club is checked out, spunky librarian Trudell Becket must sort fact from fiction to solve the murder.

The Cypress Arete Society is one of the town’s oldest and most exclusive clubs. When assistant librarian Trudell Becket is invited to speak to the group about the library, its modernization, and her efforts to bring printed books to the reading public, her friend Flossie invites herself along. Flossie has been on the book club’s waiting list for five years, and she’s determined to find out why she’s never received an invitation to join.

But not long after Tru and Flossie arrive for the meeting, they’re shocked to find the club’s president, Rebecca White, dead in the kitchen. Rebecca was a former TV actress and local celebrity, but was not known for being patient or pleasant. She’d been particularly unkind to the book club’s host for the evening, who also happens to be the mother of Detective Jace Bailey, Tru’s boyfriend. And Rebecca had made it clear that she didn’t think Flossie was book club material.

With her boyfriend and one of her best friends wrapped up in a murder, Tru has to work fast to figure out who cut Rebecca’s story short before the killer takes another victim out of circulation....

My Thoughts: Tru Becket is an assistant librarian who has solved a couple of mysteries. She works in a library that has gotten rid of all of its books in favor of technology. But Tru has a secret print library in the basement for people, like her, who love print books. 

She has been asked to make a presentation to the Cypress Arete Society - the oldest and most prestigious book club in town. When she and her friend Flossie arrive early, they discover Rebecca White who is the club president moving furniture and harassing this month's hostess. When she rushes off to the kitchen to "supervise" Hazel Bailey who is this month's hostess and the mother of Tru's boyfriend Jace, Tru is left arranging furniture until there are a couple of loud thumps in the kitchen. 

When Tru gets there, Rebecca is dead on the floor and the only possible suspects are Rachel and Flossie. Tru can't believe that either of them could have killed Rebecca, but the police don't agree.

Jace askes Tru to do her own investigating and find out who really killed Rebecca which leads to lots of possibilities since Rebecca wasn't very well loved. She was an actress on a soap before she quit and came to Cypress where she has been busy throwing her weight around. 

I liked Tru and thought that the story was well-plotted. This is the first in the series that I have read, and it worked well as a standalone for me. I got very involved trying to figure out who really did murder Rebecca since there were so many likely possibilities.

Fans of cozy mysteries will enjoy this one.

Favorite Quote:
Hazel is a culinary artist. How she blended spices, textures, flavors -- my taste buds had fallen on a fainting couch with an arm slung over their eyes, and that was where they'd spent dinner sighing with joy. 
I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

Tuesday, October 25, 2022

Book & Audio Review: Changeling by Molly Harper

Changeling

Author:
Molly Harper
Narrator: Amanda Ronconi
Series: Sorcery and Society (Book 1)
Publication: NYLA; 1st edition (August 22, 2018); Audible Studios (August 22, 2018)
Length: 278 p.; 8 hours and 21 minutes

Description: Sorcery and Society Book 1 “Witty and classic, Changeling had everything I wanted from a coming of age story: friendship, scandal, and a heroine learning to flex her magical muscles. If you liked Harry Potter, you will love CHANGELING!” — Kristen Simmons, critically acclaimed author of the Article 5 series

If 14-year-old Cassandra Reed makes it through her first day at Miss Castwell’s Institute for the Magical Instruction of Young Ladies without anyone discovering her secret, maybe, just maybe, she’ll let herself believe that she really does belong at Miss Castwell’s.

Except Cassandra Reed’s real name is Sarah Smith and up until now, she lived her whole life in the Warren, serving a magical family, the Winters, as all non-magical “Snipes” are bound by magical Guardian law to do. That is, until one day, Sarah accidentally levitates Mrs. Winter’s favorite vase in the parlor... But Snipes aren’t supposed to have magical powers…and the existence of a magical Snipe threatens the world order dictated during the Guardians’ Restoration years ago. If she wants to keep her family safe and protect her own skin, Sarah must figure out how to fit into posh Guardian society, master her newfound magical powers and discover the truth about how an ordinary girl can become magical.

My Thoughts: Sarah Smith has lived all of her fourteen years as a servant to the magical Winter family along with her parents and sister. She's been the sickly one, taking a daily pill, which leaves her weak. But she starts skipping the pills and learns that she has magic when she levitates a vase her employer particularly treasures.

With her secret out, her mistress Mrs. Winters decides to make use of Saran, now renamed Cassandra Reed, by sending her to the exclusive Miss Castwell's School for the Magical Instruction of Young Ladies. 

Cassandra has a lot of trouble there. She's behind on her magical education; she attracts the attention of a group of mean girls. Then she opens a previously sealed magical book and becomes the focus of a lot of attention she'd rather avoid. She's also afraid that her real background will be discovered. 

But Cassandra makes some friends and even attracts a boy or two and life gets good. Until the revenants start arriving.

This was a fun coming of age story with both magic and adventure. It is also the first book of a trilogy. I listened to the audiobook of this one and enjoyed the narration. 

Favorite Quote:
"For future reference, my dear, whenever you can't find a proper of polite response to something, you simply say, 'How lovely' until you can determine the best course of conversation."
I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

Book Review: Sierra's Homecoming by Linda Lael Miller

Sierra's Homecoming

Author:
Linda Lael Miller
Series: The McKettrick Series (Book 5)
Publication: Harlequin Special Edition (November 21, 2006)

Description: When she moved to her family's ancestral ranch, single mom Sierra McKettrick was disconcerted by the Triple M's handsome caretaker, Travis Reid. But when her son claimed to see a mysterious boy in the house, and an heirloom teapot started popping up in unexpected places, Sierra wondered if the attraction between herself and Travis might be the least of her worries.

In 1919, widowed Hannah McKettrick lived at the ranch with her son and her brother-in-law, Doss. Her confused feelings for Doss and her son's health problems occupied all her thoughts…until the family teapot started disappearing.

Could Sierra and her ancestor, Hannah, be living parallel lives?

My Thoughts: This was an entertaining contemporary romance combined with a historical romance about two women ninety years apart living in the same home, dealing with losses, and having fragile sons of similar ages. 

Sierra McKettrick is newly a McKettrick. Her father kidnapped her when her parents divorced when she was two and took her to Mexico to raise. After her father's death, Sierra got involved with a man she didn't know was married and had his son just a few days after he died. She been raising her gifted and asthmatic son Liam alone and traveling from place to place. 

Her mother - the woman she thought had abandoned her - found her and made her a deal: live on the McKettrick land in Arizona for a year and she'd take care that Liam had the best health care possible. That was a deal no loving mother could pass up, even if she wasn't sure she wanted anything to do with McKettricks.

Sierra moves into her mother's family home and finds that Travis Reid is taking care of the place. Travis is a lawyer who quit his job with the McKettricks when his younger brother blew himself up in an attempt to make meth. He is guilt-ridden and sure he could have saved his brother.

Travis and Sierra are immediately attracted to one another but his grief and her feeling that her current life is only temporary make it hard to build a relationship. It doesn't help her peace of mind that the house seems to be haunted. 

In 1919, Hannah McKettrick is a recent widow and a mother of an 8-year-old son who almost died from pneumonia. She's living in the family home with her brother-in-law Doss who has secretly loved her since he met her after she married his brother Gabe. Doss wants a relationship with Hannah, but Hannah is convinced, for a while, that Gabe would be her only love.

A teapot that keeps moving around, a photo album that also moves around, and a journal that is written in by both women, show that their lives have very many parallels. They both find their loves and build their lives in this wonderful romance.

Favorite Quote:
Being a McKettrick meant claiming a piece of ground to stand on and putting your roots down deep into it. Holding on, no matter what came at you. It meant loving with passion and taking the rough spots with the smooth. It meant fighting for what you wanted, letting go when that was the best thing to do.
I bought this one April 15, 2007, and then put it on TBR mountain until now. You can buy your copy here.

Monday, October 24, 2022

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (October 24, 2022)

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.

I will be combining my YA and adult reading and purchases on this one weekly roundup.

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

Other Than Reading...

I had a nice quiet week. There was lots of baseball playoff action which I'm still watching even though my favorite team isn't still playing. I also had a lot of time for reading and listening. I finished more books than usual since I had three on my currently reading list last week which I finished this week. 

This week has a couple of medical appointments on the schedule. I have a short visit on Wednesday to check on a new medication and an eye exam very early on Friday morning. Since I'm sure to have dilated eyes after Friday's appointment, my brother is set to be my driver. 

Read Last Week

If you can't wait until the review shows up on my blog, reviews are posted to LibraryThing and Goodreads as soon as I write them (usually right after I finish reading a book.)
  • Marked in Flesh by Anne Bishop (Mine; Audiobook) -- the fourth exciting episode of The Others series.
  • Kris Longknife: Daring by Mike Shepherd (Mine) -- Ninth in the Kris Longknife series. My review will be posted on December 8.
  • Calling by Molly Harper (Mine; Audiobook) -- Finale of the Sorcery and Society trilogy. Entertaining YA fantasy. My review will be posted on November 10.
  • Etched in Bone by Anne Bishop (Audiobook) -- Finale of The Others series. 
  • Hands Down by Felix Francis (Review; November 8) -- Next Sid Halley adventure. My review will be posted on November 8.
  • Incriminating Evidence by Rachel Grant (Mine; Audiobook) -- Romantic suspense set in Alaska and part of the Evidence series. It stands alone well. My review will be posted on November 15.
  • The Last Goodnight by Kat Martin (Mine) -- Entertaining romantic suspense title set in Colorado. My review will be posted on November 9.
  • Shadow Girl by Gerry Schmitt (Mine since 2018) -- Entertaining thriller set in Minnesota's Twin Cities. My review will be posted on November 12.
Currently
Next Week
Reviews Posted
Want to See What I Added to My Stack Last Week?

Review:
Bought:
What was your week like?

Saturday, October 22, 2022

Book Review: The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

The Final Gambit

Author:
Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Series: The Inheritance Games (Book 3)
Publication: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (August 30, 2022)

Description Avery’s fortune, life, and loves are on the line in the game that everyone will be talking about.

To inherit billions, all Avery Kylie Grambs has to do is survive a few more weeks living in Hawthorne House. The paparazzi are dogging her every step. Financial pressures are building. Danger is a fact of life. And the only thing getting Avery through it all is the Hawthorne brothers. Her life is intertwined with theirs. She knows their secrets, and they know her.

But as the clock ticks down to the moment when Avery will become the richest teenager on the planet, trouble arrives in the form of a visitor who needs her help—and whose presence in Hawthorne House could change everything. It soon becomes clear that there is one last puzzle to solve, and Avery and the Hawthorne brothers are drawn into a dangerous game against an unknown and powerful player.

Secrets upon secrets. Riddles upon riddles. In this game, there are hearts and lives at stake—and there is nothing more Hawthorne than winning.

My Thoughts: Avery Kylie Grambs is set to inherit billions from Tobias Hawthorne who disinherited his other heirs for her. She doesn't know why, but she knows that he left lots of puzzles for her and for his grandsons to solve to figure it all out. 

This last puzzle might be the one they can't solve, and they are all drawn into a game with some other unknown and dangerous player. This player has kidnapped Toby and sent Toby's daughter Eve to them to cause havoc. 

More puzzles are solved. More secrets are unearthed. And it is ultimately up to Avery if things are going to turn out well. 

I loved all the puzzles. I loved the relationships between Avery and the four Hawthorne grandsons. This was an excellent thriller with a very satisfying ending. 

Favorite Quote:
"Where's Jameson?" Grayson's question drew me back to the present.

"Probably somewhere he's not supposed to be," I answered honestly, "making very bad decisions and throwing caution to the wind."
I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

Friday, October 21, 2022

Friday Memes: The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

 Happy Friday everybody!

Book Beginnings on Friday is hosted by Rose City ReaderThe Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice. Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

Beginning:
"We need to talk about your eighteenth birthday." Alisa's words echoed through the largest of Hawthorne House's five libraries.
Friday 56:
"I'm going to throttle him!" There was a grand total on one person who could get a rise out of my sister. 
This week I am spotlighting The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. I missed my chance at a review copy but needed to read this third book in The Inheritance Games. Here is the description from Amazon:
Avery’s fortune, life, and loves are on the line in the game that everyone will be talking about.

To inherit billions, all Avery Kylie Grambs has to do is survive a few more weeks living in Hawthorne House. The paparazzi are dogging her every step. Financial pressures are building. Danger is a fact of life. And the only thing getting Avery through it all is the Hawthorne brothers. Her life is intertwined with theirs. She knows their secrets, and they know her.

But as the clock ticks down to the moment when Avery will become the richest teenager on the planet, trouble arrives in the form of a visitor who needs her help—and whose presence in Hawthorne House could change everything. It soon becomes clear that there is one last puzzle to solve, and Avery and the Hawthorne brothers are drawn into a dangerous game against an unknown and powerful player.

Secrets upon secrets. Riddles upon riddles.  In this game, there are hearts and lives at stake—and there is nothing more Hawthorne than winning.

Thursday, October 20, 2022

Book & Audio Review: A Liaden Universe Constellation Volume 4 by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller

A Liaden Universe Constellation Volume 4

Author:
Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
Narrator: Kevin T. Collins
Series: Liaden Universe Constellation (Volume 4)
Publication: Baen Books; 1st edition (June 3, 2019); Tantor Audio (August 23, 2022)
Length: 343 p.; 13 hours and 23 minutes

Description: BOOK 4 in the multivolume Liaden Universe® short fiction collection. Tales of the Liaden Universe® brought together for the first time. Space opera and romance on a grand scale in a galaxy full of interstellar trading clans.

For more than thirty years, the Liaden Universe® novels by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller have captivated readers with their unique blend of action adventure, science fiction, and romance. In addition to twenty-one novels (and counting) Lee and Miller have written dozens of shorter works based in the Liaden Universe®, featuring the strong characterization, detailed world-building, wit, and derring-do that readers of the series adore.

This fourth volume collecting Lee and Miller’s shorter Liaden Universe® stories features four novelettes, two novellas, and two short stories—including the celebrated linked stories, "Block Party" and "Degrees of Separation." 

Sure to delight longtime fans and newcomers alike, these tales highlight why the nationally best-selling Liaden Universe® novels are treasured by space opera aficionados, with detailed world-building, strong characterizations, compelling romance, and edge-of-the-chair action in stories that range from cosmic to comic.

My Thoughts: Here are the stories included in this volume and my brief thoughts about them.

Street Cred talks about the differences between contracts on Liad and on Surebleak when two Liadens grieving losses writes a contract to kill the Road Boss and then expects someone on Surebleak to carry it out. 

Due Diligence tells the story of Chi yos'Phelium and Daav's father. I liked this story a lot and was glad to find out about this period in Chi's life. 

Friend of a Friend tells the story of someone coming looking for Quin and finding Villy instead who isn't going to put his friend in danger no matter how scared he is.

Cutting Corners tells a story about the past of one of Theo's teachers at Anlingdin Academy on Eyelot and introduces us to Beeslady and its pilot.

Block Party tells the story about some Liaden refugees newly come to a changing Surebleak and making a new home for themselves.

Degrees of Separation tells the story of how Don Eyr meets Serana and eventually finds his way to Surebleak.

Excerpts from Two Lives tells the story of the Rosa Ring which we first heard about in a song sung when Miri and Val Con were marooned on an interdicted world.

Revolutionists takes place sometime between Jethri's time and Daav and Val Con's time. It is about a revolution on a space station just coming out of Rostov's Dust. 

This was a mixed bag of stories fitting into a variety of time periods. I really enjoyed Due Diligence. I found Revolutionists a little baffling. I think this is the first story set in that period of history. I would have liked more context for it. 

Favorite Quote:
"My name is Chi," she said, with an informality that might yet equally come from a pilot shopping for a bedmate, or a wolf casing a mark.

"My name is Fer Gun," he answered, matching her tone.

"In fact your name is Fer Gun pen'Uldra," she said calmly. "I have a proposition to put before you."
I bought the Kindle copy in 2019 and the audiobook in 2022. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Archangel's Resurrection by Nalini Singh

Archangel's Resurrection

Author:
Nalini Singh
Series: Guild Hunter (Book 15)
Publication: Berkley (October 25, 2022)

Description: New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh takes us into the dangerous, haunting world of archangels . . . and a love that is legend.

For thousands of years, the passion between Alexander, Archangel of Persia, and Zanaya, Queen of the Nile, burned furious and bright, seemingly without end. But to be an archangel is to be bound to power violent and demanding. Driven by its primal energy, Alexander and Zanaya fought as fiercely as they loved, locked in an endless cycle of devotion and heartbreak. It is only Zanaya’s decision to Sleep that ends their love story.

Eons later, the Cascade of Death wakens them both. The passion between them a flame that yet burns, Alexander and Zanaya stand together in one last battle against the ultimate darkness. But even a warrior archangel cannot win every war. Alexander’s scream shatters the world as Zanaya falls, broken and silent . . . only to rise again in a miracle that may be a devastating curse. For is it truly the Queen of the Nile who has been resurrected?

Only one thing is clear: This is the last beat of their passionate, angry dance. The final song for Alexander and his Zani .

My Thoughts: This story is a love story that lasts through eons. Alexander is the Archangel of Persia. Zanaya is the Queen of the Nile. The story starts before they ascended to be archangels. Alexander was the son of loving parents who had no power under the rule of a thoughtless archangel. He grew up to be a powerful and intelligent warrior. 

Zanaya was the daughter of an angel who was obsessed with the angel who left her and who raised Zanaya to be distrustful. She also had the goal of being a great warrior.

When they first set eyes on one another, the spark was apparent to both of them. But Alexander was much older and determined not to hinder Zanaya's growth by claiming her. So the years passed...

When Zanaya got older and became a general, it was finally time for Alexander to claim the woman he loved. But then he ascended to archangel and the power disparity between them almost kept them apart. Once they began their relationship, it was a strong one, but it was also tumultuous. Both Alexander and Zanaya were prideful, stubborn people. Their relationship roller-coastered from epic highs to epic battles between them. Then Zanaya became an archangel too and the roller coaster continued. Until Zanaya went into Sleep.

She slept for millenniums leaving Alexander to live his life without her. But then Lijuan happened, and the cascade woke Zanaya in time to be in the battle of the archangels against Lijuan.

Gravely injured in the battle, Zanaya is taken by Cassandra to heal. When she awakes after only ten years, she feels different and fears that she carries a small part of Lijuan. In a way, that was a good thing because Lijuan had a plan that wouldn't be stopped by her own death. 

This was another entertaining episode in the Guild Hunter series. The romance was different than in a lot of the earlier books. In fact, I had some trouble believing it. They seemed too much the same in their pridefulness and stubbornness to sustain a relationship. Fans of the series won't want to miss this one, but I wouldn't give it to someone not familiar with the series.

Favorite Quote:
"When I was a girl, I thought love meant high romance and great drama, but now I understand that love that lasts is a constellation of small kindnesses."
I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

Wednesday, October 19, 2022

ARC Review: Vanishing Hour by Laura Griffin

Vanishing Hour

Author:
Laura Griffin
Publication: Berkley (October 25, 2022)

Description: When a cold case in Texas leads to a sinister string of disappearances, a newcomer to the small town helps a detective piece together the clues in this new romantic thriller from New York Times bestselling author Laura Griffin.

Corporate lawyer Ava Burch has had enough of the big city and the daily grind. She grew up with her father, who raised search-and-rescue dogs, in rural Texas and has moved to the small town of Cuervo to spend time in the dry, rugged wilderness near Big Bend National Park. When she and her dog, Huck, discover an abandoned campsite on a volunteer search-and-rescue mission, she’s perplexed, but she carefully photographs it all the same.

All Grant Wycoff can see when he looks at Ava is a city slicker—with her designer jeans and shiny car—who has no business on a serious team made of seasoned outdoorsmen and retired cops. But when she tells him of her findings on the trail, he sees there’s more to her than meets the eye.

Ava’s discovery reminds Grant of the unsolved case of a young woman who went missing two years ago. As they look into the campsite further, another woman disappears under odd circumstances. With time running out, Ava and Grant must work against the brutal heat from both the Texas sun and their own electric chemistry to solve the case.

My Thoughts: Ex-corporate lawyer Ava Burch has moved to western Texas to start a new life. Her estranged father has died leaving her his search and rescue dog Hank. She and Hank have been doing some SAR work since her arrival. 

While out looking for a missing three-year-old, Ava stumbles onto a well-hidden campsite that looks like it has been there for quite a while. She takes some pictures but the search for the child takes priority. She talks about the site to the local sheriff and the head game warden and prints out the photos for them when she gets home.

Sheriff's deputy and chief investigator Grant Wycoff is interested in the pictures because they may help him solve a cold case that has been plaguing him. Molly Shaw went missing after going camping alone two years earlier. There have been other cases of lone women disappearing too. Deanna Moore's death was attributed to a fall but there are some inconsistencies. And Brittlyn Spencer disappeared the previous June. Brittlyn's mother has devoted her life since that day to finding her daughter and keeping her case on the minds of the various investigators.

When Grant and Ava hike out to where she had seen the campsite, they are surprised to find that everything is missing. All that is left are the few pictures Ava took. Ava becomes intrigued with the idea of solving the case much to Grant's dismay. She investigates and finds some clues the sheriff's department missed which give Grant new leads to follow. Her investigations also put her and her dog Huck into danger. A rattlesnake in the back of her car, strange footprints under her window, and someone shooting arrows at her while she is working a SAR rescue, indicate that someone doesn't want her to keep investigating. 

Meanwhile, Grant and Ava are beginning a relationship made complicated by Ava's unresolved issues of abandonment by her game warden father and by Grant's sense of duty which makes him keep breaking dates with her. 

This was an entertaining and engaging romantic suspense title. I liked the characters and understood where each was coming from. I also really liked Huck who was great at SAR but also doggy enough to eat shoes and steal steaks. 

Favorite Quote:
Donovan was facing reelection in the fall, and his campaign had already ramped up. Connor didn't like to think about politics affecting the sheriff's decisions.

He tipped his head back and sighed. There was something deeply depressing about questioning the integrity of the people above him.
I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.