Category: Book Review

ARC Book Review: Codes of Courage (Falcon Point Historicals #1) by A.L. Sowards

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Historical Romance
Length: 373 pages
Author: A.L. Sowards
Publisher: Covenant Communications
Release Date: October 10th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In a battle of torpedoes, depth charges, and secret codes, nothing is as vulnerable as the human heart.

1940: Austrian refugee Karl Lang has lost everything―his country, his home, and his family. All that is left to him is a burning ambition to see the Nazis defeated. Desperate for work and a way to help the war effort, he finds the one place that will take a refugee like him: a supply steamer traversing a deadly path past enemy U-boats.

Since their first meeting, Millie Stevens has felt an undeniable connection to Karl. As the war rages, she shares his determination to oppose the Nazis and finds work at the British codebreaking center at Bletchley Park. There she uses all her intellect and determination to break German codes and read U-boat transmissions―or risk losing the man she loves.

Rolf Denhart will do anything to defend the Fatherland, including long patrols in a cramped U-boat. But rumors from Germany leave him uneasy, forcing a choice between loyalty to his homeland, the safety of his family, and his peace of conscience.

In the midst of war, three lives are woven together to create an epic tapestry of love and loss, joy and pain, sacrifice and courage.

Thank you to the author and publisher for a gifted ARC.

I AM IN MY FEELS.

I was warned before going in what kind of ending I was heading towards so I feel like I’ll mention that here, it is in the bittersweet vein. My rating was not changed by this, a lot because I knew going into it, which I VERY much appreciate. My four star is centered around that I thought the first half was a bit slower and took me awhile to get fully involved.

Anyways, I loved these characters. I loved the themes. The subtle woven in faith elements that played a role in how the three POV’s lives connected, crossed, and ultimately found common ground. It’s a got a really sweet and tender romance. There’s great introspection and realizations. I loved seeing the characters stumble, learn and make the best decisions in rough situations.

And I loved that this was focused out at sea and on codebreakers. It was a different scene of the war I haven’t read much in the historical fiction genre and it was a well researched take on what was happening on the ocean fronts.

I felt ALL THE THINGS throughout. I love the way A.L. Sowards writes her books. I’m happy that I took the chance on reading this, even in my heart is in utter chaos at present. It was such a good book and I loved seeing everything come full circle.

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: closed door between a married couple
  • Violence: moderate
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: active WW2, loss of loved ones, shipwrecks, grief depiction

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Book Review: The Lost Letter by Mimi Matthews

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Regency Romance Retelling
Length: 244 pages
Author: Mimi Matthews
Publisher: Perfectly Proper Press
Release Date: September 19th, 2017
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A PROUD BEAUTY

Society beauty Sylvia Stafford is far too pragmatic to pine. When the tragic death of her gamester father leaves her destitute and alone, she finds work as a governess in a merchant’s household in Cheapside. Isolated from the fashionable acquaintance of her youth, she resigns herself to lonely spinsterhood until a mysterious visitor convinces her to temporarily return to her former life–and her former love.

A SCARRED BEAST

Colonel Sebastian Conrad is no longer the dashing cavalry officer Sylvia once fell in love with. Badly scarred during the Sepoy Rebellion, he has withdrawn to his estate in rural Hertfordshire where he lives in near complete seclusion. Brooding and tormented, he cares nothing for the earldom he has inherited–and even less for the faithless beauty who rejected him three years before.

A SECOND CHANCE

A week together in the remote Victorian countryside is the last thing either of them ever wanted. But when fate intervenes to reunite them, will a beastly earl and an impoverished beauty finally find their happily-ever-after? Or are some fairy-tale endings simply not meant to be?

FANTASTIC RETELLING.

I had no idea this was a Beauty and the Beast retelling until I got into the story. What a pleasant surprise because these are my favorite kind! This is a super quick read that I was able to get through in a day and I continually enjoy Mimi Matthews books and this was another good one.

This was written well and I loved the set-up between these two. A good dose of second chance romance and some hidden unrequited feelings. I liked the little dash of mystery to solve what happened to the missing letters and how it led Sebastian and Sylvia back to each other.

There was a small dash of miscommunication I didn’t love, and I kind of had a hard time with the meddling sister too. Besides that things moved swiftly and there some great swoony kiss scenes and a nice HEA.

Overall audience notes:

  • Regency Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: medium
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: multiple mentions of suicide and suicide ideation, loss of a parent from suicide, grief

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Book Review: A City of Flames (A City of Flames #1) by Rina Vasquez

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Rating: ★★★★☆
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 456 pages
Author: Rina Vasquez
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: October 31st, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Nara desires justice for her father’s murder; hunting dragons might bring her peace

Or pain as she learns the ugly truth.

When a fire dragon attacks her village, the perfect opportunity to take revenge on the creatures that killed her father arises. But the dragon she’s intent to capture seems fascinated by Nara, a detail not missed by those around her. The strange event leads to an invitation to join the venators—the order of people who slay dangerous magical creatures—like her father before her.

The offer is a dream come true.

After all, who wouldn’t jump at the chance to destroy the cruel, dangerous creatures that enslaved humans for thousands of years up until three centuries ago? But Nara is about to learn a dangerous secret; history is written by the winner. Those she hunts might not be her enemies, and those she thinks she can trust might just want to kill her.

CAN’T WAIT FOR BOOK TWO.

I randomly found this scrolling reels one evening and immediately downloaded it to start reading. And I was not disappointed. Bring on all of the dragon shifter romances.

Nara is a great FMC. I loved her tenacity and strength and how she was open to her world view changing as she learned new facts. Nara was easy to root for and I look forward to seeing her character arc in the next book.

I adored the snarky banter and light enemies to lovers vibe in the romance. There’s a bit of a love triangle that didn’t phase me much too. It all worked well into the plot and the reveals at the end lined up in a way that has me anxious to read the next book. I looooved that this was slow burn and not a rush to get to the spice just because. Showing that build in the relationship and actually giving time to it has me all the more connected.

Looking forward to following this journey to the next book!

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: light
  • Romance: make-outs
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of loved ones, battle scenes, murder, weapons and creature violence

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Book Review: The Fake Out by Sharon M. Peterson

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 386 pages
Author: Sharon M. Peterson
Publisher: Bookouture
Release Date: July 5th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

I can’t lock up the library until the guy asleep at his desk leaves. Thank the universe for audiobooks because I could be here all night. But I see his mouth twitch at the exact moment a steamy kiss takes place. My face burns when I realize my headphones aren’t plugged in and my phone is at full volume.

It’s not every day you see a new face in my small hometown of Two Harts, let alone one belonging to an annoyingly handsome all-star NFL player. But for some reason Chris Sterns has decided that the library where I work is his go-to spot to hide from his mega-fans, and unfortunately, winding me up is his new favorite sport.

Being crowned “world’s sexiest man” has done little to curb his confident charm and when he somehow ropes me into his two-person book club, I can’t help warming to his endless positivity.

But when a photo of him stumbling out of a Las Vegas club with a woman in tow is leaked to the press, I can’t help but question whether his good boy persona is just an act.

And that’s far from the only answer I’m left searching for when Chris pops the question I’ve only ever heard in my favorite romance books. Did he really just ask me to marry him?

It’s not the proposal I was expecting, but with my mom’s medical bills piling up faster than I can pay them, and with the scandal threatening to ruin everything Chris has worked for; could an engagement be the perfect fake out for us both? Or is this a game we’ll both lose?

A totally uplifting and addictive friends-to-lovers romance full of laugh-out-loud moments. Perfect for fans of Emily Henry, Sarah Adams and Olivia Dade.

SMITTEN.

Ahhhh I loved this book! The banter was absolutely immaculate and all of the corny pick-up lines at the beginning of the chapters made me laugh so much. This was light, filled with a lot of heart, and I could not get enough of CHRIS.

The fake engagement trope was great. I liked the fake aspects that had to be enacted and the forced proximity that brought these two together. You can tell that Chris is gone from the get-go and I love a man who knows what he wants.

I loved seeing Mae go from intensely stubborn to allowing Chris and her family to help her with the weight she was carrying. There were a lot of great, true arguments between the main couple that I appreciated and loved so dang much. Really getting to the heart of the matter and the why.

Great read. If you’re thinking it’s a sports romance, I wouldn’t call it that because there’s no games, practices or anything along those lines. Chris is a NFL player and that’s the sportiest thing. Which was not a deal breaker for me at all, just something I noticed!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: very little, light
  • Romance: kisses
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: gaslighting incarcerated and parental abandonment (all from Mae’s father), a sister with a heart condition

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