Tag: Book Review

ARC Book Review: Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead (Finlay Donovan #2) by Elle Cosimano

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Rating: ☆☆☆ 1/2
Audience: Mystery + Romance
Length: 368 pages
Author: Elle Cosimano
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Release Date: February 1st, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From Edgar-Award nominee Elle Cosimano, comes Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead—the hilarious and heart-pounding follow-up to Finlay Donovan is Killing It.

“A funny and smart, twisty and surprising series.”—Megan Miranda

Finlay Donovan is—once again—struggling to finish her next novel and keep her head above water as a single mother of two. On the bright side, she has her live-in nanny and confidant Vero to rely on, and the only dead body she’s dealt with lately is that of her daughter’s pet goldfish.

On the not-so-bright side, someone out there wants her ex-husband, Steven, out of the picture. Permanently. Whatever else Steven may be, he’s a good father, but saving him will send her down a rabbit hole of soccer moms disguised as hit-women, and a little bit more involvement with the Russian mob than she’d like.

Meanwhile, Vero’s keeping secrets, and Detective Nick Anthony seems determined to get back into her life. He may be a hot cop, but Finlay’s first priority is preventing her family from sleeping with the fishes… and if that means bending a few laws then so be it.

With her next book’s deadline looming and an ex-husband to keep alive, Finlay is quickly coming to the end of her rope. She can only hope there isn’t a noose at the end of it.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC.

WILD RIDE.

Wow did I eat this up in a day. Even when I get frustrated with the story I can’t help but be charmed by the writing. It’s easy to consume and has a rollercoaster of events to keep things moving.

Finlay and Vero are at it again. Trying to solve the mystery of the hit put out on Steven. I couldn’t believe some of the things they were getting up to and some of the decisions being made. While I can’t fathom making some of them and have to suspend reality a bit (since it gets ridiculous at times) I still like how high stakes it feels. There’s many well timed moments and parts that I just couldn’t put the book down.

I don’t love Vero. Maybe it’s because I don’t fully trust her? I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop about her background and thank heavens all will be revealed [hopefully] in the next book because I NEED ANSWERS. Yes there’s more to come. A fact I didn’t know prior and want to state now.

I am alllllllll team Nick. ALL IN. This love triangle has also kept me intrigued and I like the push and pull from both sides. I want all the romance with him. I appreciate the many layers to this story and how deeper things keep going. It’s a bit twisted, with a good dash of humor and intense moments.

Overall audience notes:

  • Mystery + Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: heated make-outs & light innuendo
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: attempted murder, gun violence, murder, kidnapping, loss of a loved one, extortion

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Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: January 2022

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It was a great month! Almost all of my five star reads were rereads, but I had a loooot of four stars too. I kept busy with many audio books. Can’t wait for February!

Favorites: All of my rereads, Jade Legacy, Romancing Her Rival, Reminders of Him, Summerhaven

Least Favorites: Digging Up Love, The Witch of Willow Hall

  • [ARC] The Suite Spot (Beck Sisters #2) by Trish Doller
  • For the Wolf (Wilderwood #1) by Hannah F. Whitten
  • [ARC] I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys
  • Jade Legacy (Green Bone Saga #3) by Fonda Lee
  • [ARC] A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft
  • Compared (The Sweet Rom”Com” #1) by Kortney Keisel
  • [Reread] A Court of Mist and Fury (ACOTAR #2) by Sarah J. Maas
  • A Love Unexpected (Under Kansas Skies #1) by Leah Brunner
  • [ARC] Love from Scratch by Kaitlyn Hill
  • The Singles Table (Marriage Game #3) by Sara Desai
  • [Novella] Romancing Her Rival (Promise of Forever After #2) by Joanna Barker
  • [ARC] Running Wild (The Simple Wild #3) by K.A. Tucker
  • Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
  • A History of Wild Places by Shea Ernshaw
  • [Reread] House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City #1) by Sarah J. Maas
  • If For Any Reason (Nantucket Love Story #1) by Courtney Walsh
  • Digging Up Love (Taste of Love #1) by Chandra Blumberg
  • Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover
  • Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon
  • [ARC] The Buy-In (Graham Brothers #1) by Emma St.Clair
  • The Witch of Willow Hall by Hester Fox
  • [Reread] The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata
  • The North Wind (The Four Winds #1) by Alexandria Warwick
  • [Reread] The Winner’s Curse (The Winner’s Trilogy #1) by Marie Rutkoski
  • [Reread] The Winner’s Crime (The Winner’s Trilogy #2) by Marie Rutkoski
  • In the Waves of Tristwick (Cornish Romance #4) by Deborah M. Hathaway
  • [Reread] The Winner’s Kiss (The Winner’s Trilogy #3) by Marie Rutkoski
  • [Reread] The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas
  • [ARC] This Vicious Grace (The Last Finestra #1) by Emily Thiede
  • A Love Uncontainable (Under Kansas Skies #2) by Leah Brunner
  • [ARC] Summerhaven by Tiffany Odekirk
  • A Psalm of Storms and Silence (A Song of Wraiths and Ruin #2) by Roseanne A. Brown

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ARC Book Review: Hunt the Stars (Starlight’s Shadow #1) by Jessie Mihalik

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Rating: ☆☆☆ 1/2
Audience: Sci-Fi/Fantasy Romance
Length: 400 pages
Author: Jessie Mihalik
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Release Date: February 1st, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The critically acclaimed author of Polaris Rising takes readers on an exciting journey with the start of her brand-new series about a female bounty hunter and the man who is her sworn enemy.

Octavia Zarola would do anything to keep her tiny, close-knit bounty hunting crew together—even if it means accepting a job from Torran Fletcher, a ruthless former general and her sworn enemy. When Torran offers her enough credits to not only keep her crew afloat but also hire someone to fix her ship, Tavi knows that she can’t refuse—no matter how much she’d like to.

With so much money on the line, Torran and his crew insist on joining the hunt. Tavi reluctantly agrees because while the handsome, stoic leader pushes all of her buttons—for both anger and desire—she’s endured worse, and the massive bonus payment he’s promised for a completed job is reason enough to shut up and deal.

But when they uncover a deeper plot that threatens the delicate peace between humans and Valoffs, Tavi suspects that Torran has been using her as the impetus for a new war. With the fate of her crew balanced on a knife’s edge, Tavi must decide where her loyalties lie—with the quiet Valoff who’s been lying to her, or with the human leaders who left her squad to die on the battlefield. And this time, she’s put her heart on the line.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC.

PROGRESSIVELY BETTER.

A new to me author with an enjoyable first read from them! I liked the progression of this story and how the second half of it really leaned in well to the plot and romance aspects.

I liked Tavi as the main character. A heroine with a past who fiercely loves her crew and wants to protect them at all costs. Having to join up with her enemy to make some much needed credits (money) wasn’t in her plans, but sparks ignited between the two. At first I wasn’t that into Torran. He was too quiet. I wasn’t getting much background or interaction with him. As the story moved along I liked that he took a larger role and after some silly plot defects were out of the way he could speak more freely. I liked the chemistry between Torran and Tavi. I think there’s a higher chance of me loving them even more in book two.

One of the things I didn’t love was the weird obsession with food? Practically every meal was specifically covered. Preparation, cooking and eating. If it really played into the plot, cool. This was not the case and I skipped over many paragraphs of filler about their meals. I didn’t need that.

The second half was much faster and actually discussed (with action scenes at last) the true reason Torran needed Tavi and her crews help. I was happy to finally see some of the antagonists and what the larger viewpoint is regarding the series. I’m curious what the second book will hold. It wasn’t a bad start to a new series.

Overall audience notes:

  • Sci-Fi/Fantasy Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: two brief open door
  • Violence: gun/weaponry violence, magical and physical altercations
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: a kidnapped child, loss of loved ones, war themes

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Book Review: Kingdom of the Cursed (Kingdom of the Wicked #2) by Kerri Maniscalco

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: NA Fantasy Romance
Length: 448 pages
Author: Kerri Maniscalco
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Release Date: October 26th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

After selling her soul to become Queen of the Wicked, Emilia travels to the Seven Circles with the enigmatic Prince of Wrath, where she’s introduced to a seductive world of vice.

She vows to do whatever it takes to avenge her beloved sister, Vittoria… even if that means accepting the hand of the Prince of Pride, the king of demons.

The first rule in the court of the Wicked? Trust no one. With back-stabbing princes, luxurious palaces, mysterious party invitations, and conflicting clues about who really killed her twin, Emilia finds herself more alone than ever before. Can she even trust Wrath, her one-time ally in the mortal world… or is he keeping dangerous secrets about his true nature?

Emilia will be tested in every way as she seeks a series of magical objects that will unlock the clues of her past and the answers she craves…

One sister.
Two sinful princes.
Infinite deception with a side of revenge… Welcome to Hell.

A SOFT FOUR STARS.

I am mixed on this book.

Half the time I felt like it was trying too hard to be sexy. I know that this was a jump into new adult fantasy romance, WHICH IS FINE. I love that genre. It’s cool. What isn’t cool is the forced angst that happened for 80% of this book where I just wanted them to do it and move on so the plot itself could move forward. Some of the angst was working for me, most of the scenes weren’t.

Still obsessively in love in Wrath though. He holds his own star in this case. He gives me my favorite kind of dark, brooding vibes. I love how he is with Emilia and by the last closing scenes I felt much better about them together. Gives me a loooot of hope for how the next (maybe last?) book is going down. I like when people work together, let’s do this.

Since the plot was stalled for most of the book, the little glimpses were only seen at the end. They were some wild glimpses though that surprised me. I definitely need more information and that alone helped me like this book more.

The audio was a great read and I liked the occasional sound effects used! I love a wonderful production for audios.

Overall audience notes:

  • NA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: some
  • Romance: multiple open door
  • Violence: murder, mutilation, physical & magical altercations

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