Books Reviewed

Reviews of books, audiobooks, etc…

Quick Review: QUEEN OF HEARTS by Rhys Bowen (Royal Spyness mystery)

/ drbethnolan / Leave a comment

I love all the Georgie mysteries, and this one was no exception. Somehow I missed that it was publishing, and so I found it for my kindle a few weeks ago. In this installment, Georgie and her mother head to the US to get a quickie divorce for her mum in Reno. While they are waiting, they go to Hollywood so her mother can take part in the filming of a movie (they met a movie mogul while coming over on the boat from England). Who should show up but best friend Belinda and boyfriend Darcy (who is sleuthing around for a jewel thief). Georgie of course ends up stumbling over dead bodies and it seems like everyone is a suspect, but no one had the means to commit murder.

Will Georgie figure it all out in time? Will Darcy and Georgie ever move forward in their relationship? Will Georgie ever get a proper lady’s maid??

You will have to read it to find out.

Always a pleasure, Ms. Bowen’s latest is the eighth in this series. Added to the fun is the addition of “real” character Charlie Chaplin.

You can see it on Amazon where I got mine.

YA Review: Wicked Little Secrets by Kara Taylor (Prep School Confidential)

/ drbethnolan / 1 Comment

I was browsing around the internet a few weeks ago and realized that I had missed the publication of book 2 (and book 3!) in the Prep School Confidential series by Kara Taylor. I had read the first book last year and really enjoyed this YA mystery – https://drbethnolan.wordpress.com/2013/07/30/ya-review-prep-school-confidential-by-kara-taylor/

I purchased WICKED LITTLE SECRETS for my Kindle. In this story, Anne Dowling is back and getting into trouble again. She is determined to figure out what happened to a former Wheatley student who died in the 1980’s after she finds a picture of him in her deceased roommate’s belongings, with “they killed him” written on the back. Anne starts digging up old secrets, which unfortunately involve the parents of several of her friends and classmates, including the father of her boyfriend. Anne connects again with Isabella’s brother to help her figure out and solve the mystery of what happened all those years ago.

Once again, Ms. Taylor has written a fast-paced and exciting story that keeps you guessing and keeps you laughing at Anne’s unique voice and pluckiness. I enjoy Taylor’s writing and pacing and I give her credit for making her stories believable.

I also heard some chatter that a Prep School Confidential movie is in development.  Hmmm….

You can see WICKED LITTLE SECRETS on Amazon where I got mine.

Review and Giveaway! A BROKEN KIND OF BEAUTIFUL by Katie Ganshert

/ drbethnolan / Leave a comment

This summer I received a copy of A BROKEN KIND OF BEAUTIFUL by Christian romance author Katie Ganshert through Blogging for Books. I had read several of Katie’s other novels and found them well-written and enjoyable. I also follow Katie on facebook, where she seems to be a very nice person!

A BROKEN KIND OF BEAUTIFUL felt slightly different to me than her previous novels. In this story, Ivy Clark, a young fashion model, comes home to model for her stepmother’s new wedding gown line. Ivy was not a character that I liked at first. She was rude and self-centered and a very high opinion of herself. Her interactions with others showed that she basically used her sex appeal and looks to accomplish whatever she wanted and that underneath she had low (or nonexistent) self-esteem for who she was as a person. Ivy has to work with Davis Knights as her photographer, and right from the start, things are different with him. He doesn’t seem taken in my her flirtatious ways and he asks her about her relationship with God. Will Ivy stay detached and self-centered, or is possible that she can open up her heart to others and to God? You’ll need to read to find out!

I enjoy Katie’s writing and I’ll give her credit for creating a story where at first I could not stand the protagonist, but eventually came to feel sorry for her and then to like her. A BROKEN KIND OF BEAUTIFUL is the perfect title for this story, because beauty after all is only skin deep and the beauty that is found inside is truly the lasting kind.

And I’m hosting a GIVEAWAY, too! Due to a technical error, I received TWO copies of this novel, one which I read and one which I saved to give away to one reader in the USA. Please leave a comment and a way to reach you if you’d like to be entered, and I will use random.org to select a winner. I will mail your book to you via USPS once I contact you for your snail mail address. Entries need to be received by October 10.

Review: THE HIDDEN CHILD by Camilla Lackberg

/ drbethnolan / Leave a comment

I’ve developed a HUGE love of Swedish crime novels. This is a whole genre in and of itself and I really like the blend of mystery, character development, and setting. THE HIDDEN CHILD is no exception – it is a well-crafted and executed mystery novel that kept me up reading late at night. I purchased this novel through a Book Bub promotion for my kindle. While this book has characters that were in earlier Lackberg novels, which I haven’t read, I felt it easily stood alone as well.

In THE HIDDEN CHILD, Erika, a writer, is going through her attic when she comes across some odd and surprising things in her deceased mother’s belongings: a blood stained child’s dress, a diary, and a Nazi medal. Erika, whose husband is a police detective supposedly home on paternity leave but very much missing the office, tries to determine the origin of the medal (and why her mother had it), and visits an elderly local man who specializes in Nazi history. He soon turns up dead. Coincidence? I think not. Erika continues to unearth past secrets which very much affect the present, while her husband assists in locating a murderer who is willing to strike again. Events converge for a shattering conclusion.

I really enjoyed this novel, which is apparently around 400 pages but felt shorter. I often wake during the night and I was thrilled to have the opportunity read this book then! I will definitely look for more by Lackberg – her plot, her writing, her characters, the location – all these things combined to make a satisfying read for me!

You can see this book on Amazon where I got mine.

Kids’ and YA: Casey Templeton Mystery – OLD BONES by Gwen Molnar

/ drbethnolan / Leave a comment

While I first published this in the spring, this is a reminder that this book publishes today, 9/22/14.

Happy Pub Day!

A Net Galley find, this is a YA story (one in a series it appears) about a teenager living in Canada who solves mysteries.

Casey is on a field trip to a museum’s archaeological dig when he suffers a bad case of sunburn, followed by a night alone in the hotel as he attempts to recover. Instead he hears two men plotting to rob the museum! Since Casey can recognize the men, he is put to work at the museum (his family knows the curator there) in an attempt to locate the men. Will Casey save the day? Or will the crooks get away with their loot?

This was a fun read, especially for middle grade and middle school readers, that reminded me of the Hardy Boys.

Look for it this fall at a bookstore near you! Thank you, Net Galley and Dundurn Publishers, for my copy.

Review: THE BLOOD OF AN ENGLISHMAN by M.C. Beaton

/ drbethnolan / Leave a comment

As you readers know, I’m a huge Agatha Raisin fan! I received the latest Agatha mystery this summer from Net Galley. The book published this week.

This time Agatha is pressed into service to help with a local amateur theater production. She is less than thrilled at the prospect, but things go awry when one of the actors is murdered, and Agatha jumps into detective mode to figure out why and by whom. Agatha has her regular issues – interfering with police procedure, getting herself into danger, etc. – and more troubles with her love life. I have to say that I do love how perfectly imperfect she is. She is tough and crabby and physically not overly attractive. You can’t help but like her.

This is the latest in a long line of Agatha Raisin cozy mysteries, and I give MC Beaton credit for her continued ability to create intricate plot lines that keep you guessing until the murderer is revealed. I’m not bored of Agatha yet – and I hope you aren’t either – so I’m sure I will be back for her next installment.

Thank you, Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press, for my ARC.

Review: THE MAJOR’S DAUGHTER by J. P. Francis

/ drbethnolan / Leave a comment

As I enjoy reading WWII genre novels, I requested THE MAJOR’S DAUGHTER through Net Galley this summer for my kindle. This novel tells the story of star-crossed lovers: Collie, the major’s daughter in a German POW work camp in New Hampshire, and August, a German POW. As Collie feels herself drawn to the young German soldier, she is torn between her feelings of allegiance to her father (a widow) as well as her country, and her attraction to August. August, in return, is smitten by Collie’s beauty and kindness and determines to defy the camp rules and escape with her to a new life.

I tend to gravitate to WWII stories. I think part of my fascination is that was my parents’ time of early adulthood and it seems so close and yet so far away. Collie and August’s story has more romance in it than history, in my opinion (I tend to prefer the reverse); however, I was fascinated to know that there really was a German POW camp in southern New Hampshire during the war (this is only about an hour from where I live). The POW’s worked at logging in the forests and then were returned to Europe when the war ended (actually, they thought they were headed back to Germany but were sent to Britain instead to help with war clean up). Collie and August’s story has “tragedy” written all over it from the start. It was oddly reminiscent of “Summer of my German Soldier” (but without Kristy McNichol).

There are some subplots happening along the way, too. Two brothers who are extremely different in temperament are wreaking a bit of havoc among the ladies. One falls in love with Collie (and ultimately brings about the climax of the book when he tells her confidential information about the next steps for the prisoners). Collie’s best friend, Estelle, is in a star-crossed relationship herself out in Ohio, as she has fallen in love with a Sikh gentleman. Her choices are very different from Collie’s. All these plots tie up at the end, in just under 400 pages.

If you enjoy historical romance, WWII era, you will probably enjoy THE MAJOR’S DAUGHTER. Thank you, Net Galley and Penguin Group, for my copy!

Review: THE GOLDEN PATHWAY by Donna M. McDine

/ drbethnolan / 2 Comments

 04_The Golden Pathway_Blog Tour Banner_FINAL (2)

Today I’m thrilled to be part of the HF Virtual Book Tours blog tour for the promotion of the book THE GOLDEN PATHWAY by Donna M. McDine and illustrated by K. C. Snider.

This story is written for children and is about a young boy’s experience during the Civil War. Young David lives in a violent home, and he befriends his family’s slave, Jenkins. One night he gets a chance to help Jenkins escape on the Underground Railroad. Will he take the risk to help his friend?

This is a very short story — picture book style and less than 20 pages. The copy I read was a hardcover/library binding edition. I kept thinking how this would be a wonderful edition to the classroom: David’s story is a great jumping off point to start to discuss the Civil War, slavery, the Underground Railroad, and basic human rights. It is aimed at younger elementary-aged readers, and I plan to have my children read it as a way to start a discussion on slavery and the Civil War (which they’ve learned about some in school, but still find puzzling and highly disturbing). 

Author Donna McDine is an award-winning author with several books to her credit. You can read more about her at http://www.donnamcdine.com. THE GOLDEN PATHWAY is published by Guardian Angel Publishing.

Thank you, Amy, for making me part of your book tour!

 

02_The Golden Pathway (2)

 

 

Quick YA Review: ESSENCE by A. L. Waddington – Book One of the E.V.E. Series

/ drbethnolan / 2 Comments

Over the summer I received a kindle edition of ESSENCE from my friends at Booktrope. In this story, a high school senior (Jocelyn) lives a fairly run of the mill existence, until she starts having strange visions and dreams, and feels a strong connection to a boy she has only just met, yet when she is around him she feels nauseous and faints. Is it all in Jocelyn’s head? Or does she have the genetically passed skill of time travelling? Which of Jocelyn’s worlds is the real one? Or is she actually existing in parallel lives?

I’m a huge fan of time travel stories (anyone ever read the old children’s book TIME AT THE TOP?). Jocelyn’s story is intriguing, and I kept reading to see what would happen. It seems like a lot of the YA novels I’m reading these days are book one of a series. Not sure how I feel about that, but c’est la vie. I did find the pacing rather slow for the first half of this book. I wanted more action and I wanted to know just what was going on with Jocelyn. That said, it was a fun read and something I could recommend to middle schoolers as well as older YA readers.

Thank you, Booktrope, for my review copy. 

YA Review: HOW TO FALL by Jane Casey

/ drbethnolan / 3 Comments

I love a good, creepy YA mystery. This one I read in the spring, though it publishes in late summer. It appears to be the first of a series.

In HOW TO FALL, British teen Jess Tennant goes with her family to stay with relatives on the coast for the summer. Jess’ cousin Freya has tragically died in a recent accident, but Jess’ arrival brings memories and information to light. Remarkably, Jess looks just like her cousin, and the various teens of the village are drawn to her — both in a good way and in a mean, bullying way. Jess is tough, though, and she’s not going to be scared off by some tough girls. She begins to suspect that there might have been something more to Freya’s death – it wasn’t just a tragic accident – and Jess will not stop until she has discovered exactly how and why her  cousin died.

I enjoyed reading this mystery! I look forward to more in this series, too. I haven’t read much by Ms. Casey, but I will look for her stories. As you know, I love YA!

I got mine from Net Galley – thanks!