Tag: romantic suspense

ARC Book Review: Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun (Finlay Donovan #3) by Elle Cosimano

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Mystery
Length: 304 pages
Author: Elle Cosimano
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Release Date: January 31st, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Author and single mom Finlay Donovan has been in messes before―after all, she’s a pro at removing bloodstains for various unexpected reasons―but none quite like this. When Finlay and her nanny/partner-in-crime Vero accidentally destroyed a luxury car that they had “borrowed” in the process of saving the life of Finlay’s ex-husband, the Russian mob did her a favor and bought the car for her. And now Finlay owes them.

Mob boss Feliks is still running the show from behind bars, and he has a task for Finlay: find and identify a contract killer before the cops do. The problem is, the killer might be an officer themself.

Luckily, hot cop Nick has just been tasked with starting up a citizen’s police academy, and combined pressure from Finlay’s looming book deadline and Feliks is enough to convince Finlay and Vero to get involved. Through firearm training and forensic classes (and some hands-on research with a tempting detective), Finlay and Vero use their time in police academy to sleuth out the real contract killer to free themselves from the mob’s clutches―all the while dodging spies, confronting Vero’s past, and juggling the daily trials of parenthood.

From USA Today bestseller and Edgar-Award nominee Elle Cosimano, comes Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun—the highly anticipated, hilarious, and heart-pounding next installment in the beloved Finlay Donovan series…

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC.

NEW FAVORITE OF THE SERIES.

I really liked this one y’all!! I think with the second I was expecting a different kind of story, but with this one, I changed my mindset and enjoyed it all the more. This is very much like a cozy mystery but with pizazz. There’s a bit more drama, a bit more high stakes, and even a bit more romance. All things I am here for in the Finlay Donovan world.

This was another fun installment that had me bursting with laughter and definitely swooning. YES THE ROMANCE I’VE BEEN AFTER FINALLY MOVES SOMEWHERE. The slow burn has been real but I have known where my loyalties lie from day one and I am currently a happy camper.

I still don’t know if I like Vero? I don’t have any solid reasons why y’all. It remains to be seen if she’s a great friend and sidekick or someone I gotta watch out for.

There’s a bit of predictability with the plot, yet it’s an enjoyable comfort in the wildness that is the plot in general. I like the writing style and the quirky characters and many others things about this series. I look forward to seeing where Finlay ends up next!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Mystery
  • Language: a little
  • Romance: one fade to black
  • Violence: med-high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: murder, attempted murder, gun violence

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Book Review: The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by Elizabeth O’Roark

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 319 pages
Author: Elizabeth O’Roark
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: January 20th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

You don’t really know a guy until you’ve vacationed with him…

When Drew Wilson’s ex-boyfriend Joel “Six” Bailey asks her to go on his family trip to Hawaii with him just as her life is falling apart, she decides it’s the perfect time to give him another chance.

The hitch? The Bailey family includes Six’s rude older brother, Joshua—a hot-nerd doctor who has hated Drew since the moment they met and once suggested she’d steal the family silver.

Drew is determined to win the Baileys over and give this thing with Six a fair shot…but Joshua is making that difficult. Not simply because he is in her way at every turn, but because—as one tropical adventure leads to the next—she’s beginning to wonder if obnoxious, odious Joshua might be the brother she actually belongs with. 

STARTED STRONG.

This got off on a really great foot. I thought the banter was fun between Drew and Josh (though there were some really odd and distasteful jokes that I did not love). They had some chemistry from the beginning and I was fairly smitten.

Josh is the gruff, protective type and I looooved all of those moments when that side came out. Those moments were the highlight throughout. Drew was a bit all over the place. I liked her most of the time, but towards the end some of her decisions had my tilting my head.

Aaaaand then we come to the last quarter of the book where it all of a sudden got over the top dramatic. Unnecessarily dramatic. At that point my connection with the relationship had kind of dwindled and I was ready for everything to be over. It ended really quickly and luckily a small epilogue helped.

It’s a sweet romance a lot will love even if everything didn’t hit well for me.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: some
  • Romance: multiple open door
  • Violence: a little
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: gun violence, drug use, mentions of suicide of a parent (off page, but discussed), parent with cancer

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Book Review: Shattered Sea (Tattered & Torn #4) by Catherine Cowles

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Rating: ★★★★☆
Audience: Romantic Suspense
Length: 316 pages
Author: Catherine Cowles
Publisher: Pagesmith LLC
Release Date: September 13th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

I’ve known every kind of pain. Of the heart. Of the body. Of the soul. All I want now is the freedom that comes from making my art.

The last thing I expected was Hollywood royalty to waltz into my gallery in a small town in the middle of nowhere and see me.

A man like Boden Cavanaugh shouldn’t understand me. Shouldn’t be able to soothe my most ragged edges. Even worse, he makes me want the one thing I can’t have. Him.

All it takes is one spark, and friendship catches flame. But as our attraction burns bright, there are forces desperate to send us back into the darkness. And they’ve already killed before.

LOVED.

Catherine Cowles owns me when it comes to romantic suspense. The way I binge read this would astound some, I could NOT put it down.

I loooove these characters. And that the love interest was new and got added into the mix. Boden was so dang sweet and I am always here for a protective hero and yet never forces Laiken into any sort of a box. I love watching two people get to be.

The plot got intense?! I naively thought I had everything nailed down and didn’t see the blindside. The darkness leaking out from Wolf Gap was palpable and seeing these friends and family come together to help one of their own is my favorite.

It was a touch too insta-y love for me. Luckily Laiken and Boden’s relationship grew on me and I found myself begging the pages to turn quicker so we could get to their HEA.

Another great read, READY FOR THE NEXT.

Overall audience notes:

  • Romantic Suspense
  • Language: some
  • Romance: 2 brief open; medium explicit
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: gun violence, murder, kidnapping, physical violence, loss of loved one from a car wreck, depictions of grief and depression, loss of a loved one from drug overdose

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Book Review: Girls of Salt and Sea by Natalia Macias Lucia

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Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.5)
Genre: Thriller + Romance
Length: 484 pages
Author: Natalia Macias Lucia
Publisher: Lightkeeper Press LLC
Release Date: August 26th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

“Don’t go back to Halcyon Bay.”

24-year-old Dell Costa knows nothing of the island where she was born, nor of the distant family that calls it home. For years, she’s lived a world away from Halcyon Bay, fiercely protected from the secrets of her past. But when Dell receives notice that her estranged grandmother has died, and her mother falls into a sudden downward spiral, she is determined to figure out why.

Returning to the island one stormy night, Dell resides at her grandparents’ seaside estate over a long weekend of funeral proceedings, learning of her family’s tragic history and the strange local folklore concerning drowned girls. With the help of a captivating young fisherman, Dell discovers that her childhood home teems with dangers at every turn—some even lurk beneath the crashing waves.

Nothing on Halcyon Bay is as it seems on the surface, and when small town whispers prove to be more than hearsay, Dell finds herself at the center of a dangerous plot with deadly repercussions.

In Girls of Salt and Sea, debut author Natalia Macias Lucia weaves a sultry, atmospheric tale dripping with haunting secrets, electrifying romance, and dark loyalties. Readers will be swept away on a thrilling wave of suspense into a story as intoxicating and mysterious as the sea itself.

___

Note: Girls of Salt and Sea is a new adult contemporary fantasy with some dark content. Please refer to the author’s website for a list of content warnings. 

READ THIS.

I’m not generally a thriller gal. But a friend gave this such a good recommendation I couldn’t help but download it. I actually went in thinking it was a romance (whoops, though there is a romance!!), and after a few chapters and realizing my mistake I was loving it enough that I kept going and I’m glad I did!

The writing was incredible. A debut author who knows how to write and I love it. The only issue I had was some minor pacing things where I thought it slowed down a touch too much here and there.

I loved the murder mystery. It really kept me guessing. And even at the end I was looking like a fish out of water when even more things kept being brought to life. I LOVED IT. I love the way this story was woven. How you had to double check each character wondering who was on what side.

I enjoyed the romance too (and would have loved even more of them). I thought it fit well into the story and they were a couple I wanted to root for. Also meaning, I better get more of them in the next book!!

Any who, really loved this. Highly recommend.

Overall audience notes:

  • Thriller
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: brief/vague fade to black
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: drowning, suicide, mental illness, physical and weapons violence, physical and emotional abuse, brief remarks about a rumored sexual assault against a child, grief, alcohol and drug use, cults, murder

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