WHAT ARE WE READING & REVIEWING IN JUNE, 2024?

What are you planning to read i JUne?

Carol Reads in June
🏳️‍🌈 - ★
54/54
🏳️‍🌈Wild and Wicked Things - Francesca May - 5★ (Friend #12)
🏳️‍🌈Written in Blood - Chris Carter -5★ (California) - (Group Read) (2)
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🏳️‍🌈Savior - Rhys Ford 4.5★
🏳️‍🌈Hellion - Rhys Ford - 5★
🏳️‍🌈Inked in Vegas- K.M. Neuhold - 4.5★ (Nevada)
🏳️‍🌈Giving Chances- Tanya Chris - 3.5★
🏳️‍🌈Unbreakable Stories: Snow - Jocelynn Drake - 3.5★
🏳️‍🌈Torch - Jocelynn Drake & Rinda Elliot - 4.5★
🏳️‍🌈Of Sunlight and Stardust - Christina Lee & Riley Hart-5★
🏳️‍🌈Red Dirt Heart - N.R. Walker - 5★
🏳️‍🌈Love Song - Christina Lee - 4.5★
🏳️‍🌈On The Mountain - Riley Hart - 3★
🏳️‍🌈Dead Draw - Layla Reyne - 4.5★
🏳️‍🌈Fall Guy- Felice Stevens - 5★
🏳️‍🌈Saints Like Him - Aimee Nicole Walker - 4.5★
🏳️‍🌈Shattered Pieces- K.M. Neuhold - 4.5★
🏳️‍🌈Zeus - Eden Finley - 4★
🏳️‍🌈Learn The Rules (Rough Love) - Leighton Greene - 4★
🏳️‍🌈Obey The Rules - Leighton Greene - 4★
🏳️‍🌈Wicked in Wranglers - B A Tortuga - 5★
🏳️‍🌈Temptation Ranch - Jodi Payne & BA Tortuga -5★
🏳️‍🌈Flash Me - K.M. Neuhold -5★
🏳️‍🌈Meet Me There - K.M Neuhold - 5★
🏳️‍🌈Bro Split - K. M. Neuhold -5★
🏳️‍🌈Bailey - A.W. Scott -5★
🏳️‍🌈Renegades - E.M. Lindsay- 4.5★
🏳️‍🌈Dirty Deed - Gianni Holmes - 3.5★
🏳️‍🌈Hermie: A Daddy for Christmas - Della Cain - 4.5★
🏳️‍🌈Lane's Lost Kitten- Della Cain - 4.5★
🏳️‍🌈Pretty Boy - K M Neuhold - 5★
🏳️‍🌈Stubborn Boys - N R Neuhold - 4.5★ Nevada)
🏳️‍🌈Adrift - L. A. Witt - 4.5★
🏳️‍🌈Their Perfect Future - M.A. Innes -5★
🏳️‍🌈Daddy For A Day - Della Cain - 5★
🏳️‍🌈All In - Kate Hawthorne - 5★
🏳️‍🌈 Shared, Trophy Doms Social Club - Kate Hawthorne - 5★
🏳️‍🌈Missionary - L.A. Witt - 3★
🏳️‍🌈Smoke in the Mirror - Aimee Nicole Walker 4★ (36)
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🏳️‍🌈The Last Witness - Denzil Meyrick - 2.5★
🏳️‍🌈From the Dead - Mark Billingham - 5★
🏳️‍🌈Katie - Michael McDowell - 4★
🏳️‍🌈The Disinvited Guest - Carol Goodman - 4.5★
🏳️‍🌈By Book or by Crook - Eva Gates - 3.5★
🏳️‍🌈 Dragon Tears - Dean Koontz - 5★
🏳️‍🌈The Once and Future Witches - Alix R. Harrow - 3★
🏳️‍🌈A Witch's Lament - Cathy Walker - 5★
🏳️‍🌈Apples Never Fall - Liane Moriarty - 4.5★
🏳️‍🌈The Lying Woods - Ashley Elston - 5★
🏳️‍🌈Thirteen - Steve Cavanaugh - 5★
🏳️‍🌈As The Crow Flies - Craig Johnson - 5★
🏳️‍🌈All the Dangerous Things - Stacy Willingham - 4★
🏳️‍🌈Bluejay - Megan Stockton - 5★
🏳️‍🌈Life and Death at Windover -Rachel K. Wentz - 5★
🏳️‍🌈Helluland -C.R. Lindström - 2.5★ (16)

X = Currently Reading

Learn The Rules - Leighton Greene - (California)
Rough Love Series Books 1-5
Genera: M/M Romance/BDSM
4★
These books do really need to be read in order, unless you are only planning to read one. This says it's parts 1-5 but the "parts" aren't very well defined, so it looks and reads like its one story and the beginning felt a bit underplayed and some parts seemed rushed and somewhat confusing. After their first encounter Xander says he’s going to go but only goes into the other room of Ben’s house. I actually went back to the beginning and read to see if I missed the fact they perhaps lived together. It took me well until later in the book to realize that he was staying over because he had had too much to drink, and this was just their routine. These two characters were really made for one another. It didn't take very long to become invested in them and their relationship and even their growth as individuals. Make no mistake...they were definitely flawed, but truly lovable, each in their own way. They both are young and have a lot of "finding" themselves to do. I began to think they both needed to seek more therapy to work through some of their issues, but their relationship is clearly what they each needed...even if it was on the dangerous side. There were lots of "spicy" scenes, however, I was expecting there to be a little more variety in their play considering some of the conversations that they had in the beginning. For all the talk of Xander being so much into BDSM and pain-play in particular in the beginning, there was very little that was actually explored here.... which might have been a good thing:) The book could’ve been twice as long with more in-depth exploration into their likes and wants. Some things were hinted at about their childhoods and aspirations, but most was glossed over. The story was a lot more glossed over than most that I've read with BDSM topic. The book or the others in the series will, as with any genera or topic, not be for everyone...but we can't and don't all like the same things.


Obey The Rules
Rough Love Series Book 6
Genera: M/M Romance/BDSM
4★
we find that Ben is beginning to struggle with his life as well as with his kink. Xander's and his careers are going well but keeping them working on opposite sides of the country. Their relationship is still potent, intoxicating and fresh, but Ben feels like the rug is being pulled out from under him...and he begins to self-destruct, and his anger management issues start to escalate. He's needs desperately to be around Xander, in order to feel comfort, stability, and security. He's starting to slide into the worst part of his personality. We knew from the start that there was not going to be much of anything perfect, smooth or consistent in this relationship. It's rocky despite how much they love one another. Balancing the sadistic/masochistic aspect of their sexual relationship with its psychological effect on their emotional well-being is not for the weak of mind or body. At the end of the day, they're still in uncharted territory, wading through it all to the best of their ability. There is, however, honesty in their relationship even with the violent outbursts and the emotional pain that they just can't seem to overcome. One thing that is admirable about this series is how seriously the kink is portrayed. They're into cutting & bruising which everyone I'm sure recognizes as dangerous...and that is not ever downplayed or dismissed. It's pointed out repeatedly how much control and communication are 100% absolutely necessary. Ben and Xander both grow in this addition to the series. They gain insight into one another and into one another's perspectives. Xander begins to open up more, and surprisingly we learn that Xander has layers that have not yet even begun to be peeled.

Wicked in Wranglers - B. A. Tortuga - (Nevada)
Beat The Heat Series Book #1
Genera: M/M Romance/ Rodeo Cowboys
5★
I just can't seem to get enough of this author's cowboys. I loved this one about a second chance romance between two bull riders at opposite ends of their careers. Terry is at the height of his career, and very successful on the rodeo circuit. Matt is a former bull rider, driven out of the profession by an injury that nearly cost him his life. Without much to fall back on, Matt takes up underwear modeling. He’s not very happy about it, constantly denigrating himself and his current status in life...but it pays the bills. Matt and Terry had previously dated awhile back. Despite being in love, Matt walked away because he hadn’t made peace with his sexuality. He also wasn’t comfortable being in love with a man who wanted things “hard and heavy”. Matt and Terry ran into one another again in a Los Vegas bar where Matt was signing autographs. Matt runs, but quickly once in Terry’s presence changes his mind. He agrees to a one-time hookup. From there, it’s not too hard for Terry to convince Matt to come home with him. Matt was living out of his car so not much convincing was needed. Their relationship picks up again, and Matt’s attitude definitely changes. The story focuses on the Dom/sub, BDSM elements of Terry and Matt’s relationship. This is "cowboy loving" BA Tortuga so you get her signature style of showing us the sexy rodeo guys. She definitely knows cowboys, bull riders, and rodeo. That "cowboy informality" is easy reading as well as warm and inviting, but more so, it is 100% believable. The main story follows Matt and how he learns to open up and become more confident while learning to accept and love himself for who he is. Terry is effusive in his love, support, and dedication to Matt, which bolsters his journey. The narrative makes clear that Matt has some scars and not just the physical ones. However, I never really understood the extent of his emotional scars. The story doesn’t ever really explore the "how’s and why’s" of Matt’s personal struggles and recovery from his bull-riding injury...the loss of his career...or how it led to his current situation, where he is living out of his car and being tied to a sleazy agent willing to essentially pimp him out for a quick dollar. Overall, this book lives up to its advertisement as being a "hot summer read". It's filled with hot, sexy, and heavy content with an enjoyable storyline. It's not a real long story but neither can it be called short...if you want a book you don’t have to think too much about...just enjoy and fall in love with the two sweet, hot guys and of course the dogs, chickens and horses... then Wicked in Wranglers will fill that bill for you just finer than frog hair:)

Temptation Ranch - Jodi Payne & BA Tortuga
Genera: M/M Romance
5★
More cowboys by my favorite cowgirls...Jodi and BA. Tad's out with his friends in their favorite Friday night bar. He just wanted to dance, talk with the guys and have a drink...but then he spots the stranger at the bar and decides to take a chance and see if he'd be interested in just a one-night meet-up. Tad had no idea how fast that stranger was going to turn his world inside out and upside down. Strait has attended the funeral of one of his best friends and decided to stop in for a drink to toast his friend Dave's memory before heading back home. it was supposed to be one quick drink and then home...but Strait is pleasantly surprised at the “sweet little thing”, Tad, that came to speak to him. Maybe he didn't have to go home just yet. He didn't pick up guys often but maybe he will make an exception this once and see what this pretty man had to offer. I'm a big fan of these two authors BA and Jodi. It doesn't matter if they are writing alone or together, the men and books are hot and exceptional. They know how to add the right amount of heat to the sweetness. Strait finds that Tad is just what needed to complete his life. Tad doesn't need or want gifts lavished on him or money to burn. He just wants love and a strong hand. He’s had the money life with his family but needs the man who truly gets and wants him. Tad saw that Strait had what he needed and just went for it. Temptation Ranch is another fun, steamy and fast read with puppies, a tropical island, and lots and lots of romance, along with wonderful, loveable characters. It doesn't get much better than this.

The Christie Affair – Nina de Gramont
Book on CD performed by Lucy Scott
3.5***

On December 3, 1926, Agatha Christie drove away from her home after an argument with her husband. Her car was found at the edge of a chalk pit, and it was feared she had drowned herself. A nation-wide (perhaps international) search began for her. She was found eleven days later, claiming to have no memory of the time she spent away from home. All this is true. In this fascinating novel, Nina de Gramont imagines what happened to Mrs Christie during that time period.

This is a novel about marriage, about motherhood, about love, about grief, about how society punishes those who fail to follow the rules, about forgiveness and justice.

De Gramont took the story in a direction I wasn’t expecting, and at first, I was unhappy about the focus being NOT on Agatha Christie’s disappearance, but on her husband’s mistress. But eventually the stories of these two women merge in an unexpected fashion that fascinated me.

Lucy Scott does a marvelous job of narrating this audiobook. I was sometimes confused about who was speaking, especially at the beginning, until I recognized the author’s choice of first-person narrator. But that is not Scott’s fault.

Wild and Wicked Things - Francesca May - (England)
Genera: Historical Fiction/Fanasty/ (Contains a lesbian trio)
5★
This is a hunting tale with a supernatural twist that spins an interesting yarn about the seemingly unlikely bond between three women – Annie, Emmeline, and Bea. We have witches, blood magic, and small-town intrigue on the shores of the North Sea. It's an atmospheric, slow burner of a tale that will delight until the very end. I loved the hauntingly atmospheric setting of Crow Island. It was reminiscent of the American Roaring Twenties, but it is hauntingly familiar to readers of this genera to be a U.K setting that would make Agatha Christie proud. Among many other good things, this is an exceptional piece of writing. Our main character, Annie Mason has come to Crow Island to settle legal affairs after the death of her father. As she walks along the shore by her cottage, she is drawn to the revelries taking place in Cross House, the manor house next door. This is the grand home of Emmeline Delacroix, who is known for loud, boisterous parties with the serving of Kazam, which we learn is an alcoholic drink that may...or may not... be laced with magic. She had been warned of this, but Annie feels almost magnetized and that she is being drawn into a world of magic and forbidden romance. With the exception of a few brief diary entries from a mysterious "someone", the story flows back and forth between Annie and Emmeline’s individual perspectives. The secrets the novel focuses on are gradually revealed and shared with the reader. I don't usually care for this style of presentation but in this case, it worked exceptionally well as each character’s perspective gives up pieces of the puzzle and uncovers the true nature of this mysterious bond between Annie and Emmeline. This is a slow-paced story that demands the reader to be patient. From each conversation we learn more and more of the important aspects of the characters. The story has been crafted meticulously to be savored and enjoyed.

Royal Blood – Rhys Bowen
3***

Book number four in the delightful Lady Georgiana Ranoch series of cozy mysteries takes us out of London and to a remote castle in the mountains of Romania for a royal wedding.

I like this series. Georgie manages to get herself caught up in all sorts of intrigues, while struggling to make it on her own without much money. When the queen asks her to represent the royal family at the marriage of Maria Theresa, princess of Romania, to Nicholas, prince of Bulgaria, of course she must go. But she has an uneasy feeling that she is being watched. And her companion / chaperone sees “death lurking.”

This episode in Georgie’s life was a little over-the-top, what with the castle having once been the family estate of Vlad the Impaler (i.e. Dracula). There are plenty of suspects, including an imperious head butler, Dragomir, who skulks around. Hard not to let one’s imagination run away in such a setting. Georgie, of course, keeps her head and manages to help solve the case. She’s certainly resourceful!

An entertaining quick read for either a snowy day indoors, or a comfortable lounge chair on the beach.

Flash Me - K.M. Neuhold
Heathens Ink Series Book #6
Genera: M/M/M Romance/Triad/Transgender
5★
This has been a really good...no, this had been a GREAT series...but what more would you expect from K.M. Neuhold? This entire series has been a "Kink-educational experience". In this one we are given information regarding transgender folks and what they must face to have the life that most of us just take for granted. It's eye-opening seeing how much we all do that maybe without thinking much about it. It's also about triads or trios...a subject that even most M/M Romance books don't often feature, and I have to say that this author did a magnificent job. Our hopeful threesome/triad/trio... consist of Liam a 21-year-old transgender man who is a very sought-after, successful photographer who has two loves in his life that he's anxious to form this poly relationship with....one his current lover the other his "bestest" best friend. Then there is Wyatt who is 30, and a therapist who gives free time to the residents of Rainbow House, a place where advise and help are given to the those in the gay community that need and seek it. Last, but not least is Owen, who is also 30, and a tattoo artist at Heathens Ink, who has PTSD along with horrific nightmares from his past that was filled with violence that most of us can't begin to imagine. All these wonderful, lovable characters are "given" life by letting us meet them in each of their past stories and traveling along with them on their hoped-for future. We get a view of their inner thoughts, their emotions both good, bad and hopeful...and there is some heartbreak associated with their pasts...but K.M. Neuhold always gives her guys hope and happiness. I have never read anything by this author that I didn't want to own and love...so I'm so glad I bought his series so I can revisit again and again.

Saints Like Him - Aimee Nicole Walker - (Colorado)
Redemption Ridge Series Book #3
Genera: M/M Romance/FBI
4.5★
The guys at the ranch are special...some are broken, but not beyond repair...some are working on a second, or third, or even a fourth chance but beyond anything else, they are a family...a chosen family, a family that is simply brilliant together. They have one another's backs, they laugh, the first in a long time for some of them. Cash owns the ranch and provides this home and multiple chances for all the guys, no matter what their previous lives had been like. Most had been in prison and are turning their lives around Cash is giving them his help. Cash has a best friend, FBI agent Nick. It was obvious there was more to them but just what it really was only was hinted at...until this book, which is finally Cash and Nick's chance to tell the story of their love for one another. We learn that they had a very steamy weekend together 12 years ago, but both were working on their budding careers, so they chose to remain in the "friend zone", but that didn't stop them from pining for each other those 12 long years. Nick turns up at the ranch unexpectedly. He's injured, thin and entirely burnt out, Cash, wants to do everything he can to help him and welcomes him “home” literally with open arms. They both have regret for ever opting for the friends not lovers option and use some of the time now given to them to make up for the 12 lost, lonely years. They now delve into their past and talk about their hopes and plans for perhaps a future. The ongoing storyline continues around the religious cult harassing the town. It comes to head now putting Cash and his little family in danger. The characters in these three books have been adorable and I it was an adventure worth taking to see these couples are getting their happy endings. Thank you, Aimee Nicole Walker, for giving us such wonderful and engaging stories.

Into Love And Out Again – Elinor Lipman
3.5***

This is a collection of short stories set in New York City. As the title implies, the focus is on love … falling in love, attraction, heartbreak, excitement, intimacy, falling out of love.

Lipman peoples her work with a variety of urbanites. They are newly married, newly divorced, eager to meet “the one,” swearing off romance after a breakup. Some are focused on careers but find love in friendship. Some actively seek a partner. Some don’t want a long-term relationship, but a quick hook-up. All of them are interesting and, mostly, people I’d want to know. One couple, Tim and Hannah, meet in line at the Department of Motor Vehicles, and their romance unfolds over several stories in the book.

This was Lipman’s debut work. I’ve become a fan of hers in the last few years and decided to go back and read some of her earlier works. She writes with wit and tenderness and eyes wide open to her characters’ flaws and gifts.

Thirteen - Steve Cavanaugh - (New York)
Eddie Flynn Series Book #4
Genera: Mystery & Suspense/Thriller
5★
How do you like this angle for a storyline? "The serial killer isn't on trial, he's on the jury." When I read that from the book cover I knew that I HAD TO READ THIS!!! This is the first book I have read by this author, but I will certainly be searching for more of them out after reading this. It's basically about the murder of a starlet and her supposed lover, who were found by the husband that supposedly beat him to death with a baseball bat...and then stabbed her repeatedly. Now enter Flynn as part of the defense team who becomes "the" defense team following a few revelations whereby the main lawyer (who is employed by the studio) is told to withdraw. Meanwhile, someone is going to great lengths to be on the jury ... welcome...Joshua Kane, a very disturbed individual. Flynn is a fantastic character; you have to absolutely adore him. He's so likeable...he's "normal" ... well, that is if you can call a previous con-man with a shady history, " normal"... but it does give him a unique view of things which certainly comes in handy in his line of work. Joshua Kane is anything but normal but still a great character - he's such a "good baddie"! The chapters are written alternatively between Flynn and Kane and whilst Flynn's are written in the first person, Kane's are written in the third; this was, I think, a stroke of genius as it gives different perspectives from Flynn who's trying his best for his client, in contrast to Kane who is cleverly manipulating things from the jury box. The pace of the book is absolutely perfect with plenty of action, thrills, twists and turns that will keep you hooked from the first page. This is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the best books I have ever read...and it will get repeats.

Zeus - Eden Finley - (Nevada)
Mike Bravo Ops Series Book #4
Genera: M/M Romance/Suspense/Thriller
4★
Zeus has served his time in the Marines to escape a personal tragedy in his family, and then went to work for Mike Bravo. His counterpoint in this book is Callie, who figured prominently in Atlas’ book as Lemon’s troubled friend. He escaped an abusive boyfriend and betrayed Lemon which he regrets. A year later and he’s still on the run from a bad guy to whom he is indebted. Callie stays under the radar, moving from one place to another to stay alive. Callie is still their friend so Atlas and Lemon ask Zeus to find Callie so they can know he’s alive and okay. Callie is barely surviving but feels as safe as he can until Zeus finds him. He mistakenly thinks Zeus was sent to kill him so he on the run again. A lot is happening in this book compared to the others. The men don't seem to have the strong chemistry and a lot of the passion is missing in this one. "Found family" has been a very strong component of the series but I found that that is also lacking in this book. All of our wonderful favorite characters are present but not utilized as much. The mission lacked the same degree of danger and a cat and mouse chase that encompassed the majority of the Mike Bravo team as we’ve seen in the past. I did enjoy is Haz, a young man who recently joined the team. He promises to be an engaging and amusing character in the future. I still enjoyed the book and would recommend it to readers already invested in the series but be aware that this is not a standalone series so new readers should start at the beginning.

That Night in the Library / Eva Jurczyk
3.5 stars

Seven people, mostly university students including some who work in the library/archives, sneak into the basement of said library on their last night before graduation (those working there will no longer be except for one). Davey has a ritual planned and invited the others to come. In fact, they are locked in the basement for the night; they cannot get out. And when the lights go out, one of them dies. The others try to figure out who did it, while keeping themselves safe.

I like the idea of the story, and I am a librarian, so I liked the library and archives references. But none of the characters were likable, in my opinion. Maybe it’s because they all (except one) took acid at the beginning of the night (part of the ritual) that made them not likable. The POV shifted between a few different characters and I do think that worked well for the reader to see different sides of what was happening. But I did get some of the characters (who were “related” in some way) continually mixed up – there was a dating couple, one was a professor; there was a childhood friend; and a fourth person in that mix somewhere, but I kept getting mixed up as to who was who in that group of four. Overall, though, I’m rating it “good”.

Bluejay - Megan Stockton
Genera: Horror
5★
I don't usually include the story-line from the book in reviews, but I honesty had difficulty saying what this little jewel was about...so I'm including it here.
From The Book: Noah, Jack, and Phil are three average guys who collect horror memorabilia and have a running competition to see who can come up with the most extreme or repulsive horror movie for their weekly guys’ night. When one of the friends gets the opportunity to steal tickets to an exclusive club that touts offering a realistic, immersive torture simulation, he jumps on the opportunity. Once they arrive at the theater, they quickly realize that it isn't a simulation at all, and they have delved into an underground world that they don’t belong in. They have to uphold their stolen identities while trying to escape and not die (or kill anyone else) in the process.

It's a short, 121 pages, story filled with extreme horror, especially for our three good friends, Noah, Jack and Phil, who decide they wanted to indulge some of their much darker fantasies. As the plot says..."they collect horror memorabilia and have a running competition to see who can come up with the most extreme or repulsive horror movie for their weekly "guys’ night". It doesn't take them long to find out that they're not in control at all....and furthermore they never were. They are smart enough to know that that this was certainly not what they were expecting.... or was it?? The story is filed with sex, brutality, violence, gore and revenge.... just to name a few of the "finer" points. Everything in it is disturbing and gross...but it IS very well written, and the plot is "interesting", for lack of a better description...and the conclusion is where you find that everything will get handed to you with a beautiful, little red bow. Oh...wait...is that blood??? A little word of warning...there are SO many things in those 121 pages that can/will/may trigger every possible trigger reaction that any reader may have...or didn't even know you had...but oh what a ride if you really, genuinely, truly like horror....and I mean REALLY TRUE horror. Move over Edgar Alan Poe. You have absolutely nothing to compare with Megan Stockton.

Bro Split - K.M. Neuhold -(Washington)
More Than Friends series Book #2
Genera: M/M/M Romance
5
This is Ezra, Zeno and Andre's story. For a while I thought that it might not going to be anyone's story. The characters were funny, and sweet...but even Andre and Zeno that had been out with their sexuality for most of their lives, seemed to not catch on to how this relationship would/should work for them with the addition of Ezra. Ezra is a 30-year-old accountant who was married to a woman, but he knew right down to his very bones that something wasn't working for him...until he met Andre in a bar. That meeting forever changed his life. The story moves forward a year. Ezra is making lists of things to do for his new gay life. He had lists for everything...literally. He hadn't thought about Andre again...it was after all just a casual meeting with q guy that gave him some good advice ...but old fickle fate had some other plans for them. Zeno owns his own bakery...he is also a bit "body vain" and several times a week attends the gym, owned by his friend and main flirt guy, Andre...yes, Ezra's Andre from the bar. They work out together and sometimes a bit "more". Imagine the surprise of all three men, especially Ezra, when they find that they all live in the same apartment building. I thought they would get their heads and other body parts in the game now...but not quite yet. Andre and Zeno are both attracted to Ezra and he to both of them. These guys must not read the same M/M/M romance books that I do...because they couldn't figure out how these feelings were ever going to work!! While they were working on figuring out what I and probably several hundred other readers were yelling..."duh.... three guys can do this"...they are scratching their heads. There was no real big drama in this one, for which I was grateful...and I, in spite of wanting to hit Andrea and Zeno up beside their heads, did love this book as much as I have all this author's other works.

By Book or By Crook - Eva Gates - (North Carolina)
A Lighthouse Library Mystery
Genera: Cozy Mystery
3.5★
The story is based mostly around Lucy, a former Harvard librarian who is determined to start a new life away from her "high society" responsibilities and a lifeless, meaningless relationship. She moves to her favorite place in all the world, the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Lucy is excited when she finds a job as the librarian at the iconic Bodie Island Lighthouse Public Library. Living in a lighthouse, working with such nice people and mostly, escaping her life in Boston is exactly what she wanted and needed. Just when things were going well a priceless Jane Austen first edition book is stolen and the chairman of the library board is murdered. I don't often read cozies, but this book was recommended and handed to me by my sweet little cozy mystery loving neighbor. She said that it lived up to all she had hoped and more....and knowing that anything that contains a single drop of blood will have her hyperventilating and running for the hills...I was, shall we say... skeptical...but, this time, she was mostly right. The storyline was the typical straight forward, what you would expect of a cozy murder mystery, the characters were a bit too "vanilla" for me but very...I believe "relatable" adequately describes them. The biggest plus for me of the entire book was Charles, the library cat, who in my opinion deserves his very own book! Cozy mystery lovers will...well, love it.

Apples Never Fall - - Liane Moriarty - (Australia)
Genera: Mystery & Suspense
4.5★
The mystery in this story is about the events surrounding a 69-year-old Sydney woman’s disappearance. Joy and Stan Delaney met as champion tennis players more than 50 years ago and ran a well-regarded tennis academy until their recent retirement. Their long, complicated marriage has been filled with perhaps as much passion for the game of tennis as for each other or their five children. Then Joy disappears February. 14, 2020. The last text she sends to her now-grown children...Amy the bohemian, Logan the passive one, Troy the flash, Brooke who suffers severe migraines, is too garbled by autocorrect to make any sense of...and Stan, the fifth and the strangest child, refuses to believe or accept that there might be a problem, for some odd reason. Days pass and Joy remains missing with no other communication attempts...which is not like her at all. As details begin to come together the police finally become involved. At this point the mystery is becoming clearer when it jumps back several months into the past. Here, we return to the day that a stranger named Savannah turned up one day on the Delaney's doorstep, bleeding...and Joy welcomed her to stay for an extended visit. Who is Savannah? Is she’s an innocent, or is she a scammer, or could she be something else entirely? This all continues to remain unclear. This author is very good at only giving the small details such as the tossed tennis racket or the repeated appearance of apple crumble and the abandoned bike that's found by a passing motorist. The evidence that accumulates around what happened to Joy constantly challenges the reader both take notice to which are minor details and which characters are telling truths or mere half-truths. It became at one point difficult to distinguish between what are red herrings, buried clues, or out-right lies. The ultimate reveal is troubling. I finally interpreted it that the authors main focus was on the mystery of family...what it means to be a parent, or a child, or a sibling in the Delaney family, or in any family, for that matter, more than what actually happened to Joy. The story is funny, sad, astute, occasionally creepy, but absolutely intriguing.

The Finders / Jeffrey B. Burton
3.5 stars

When a dog is left behind and almost dies at a crime scene, dog-trainer Mason adopts her and names her Elvira, or Vira for short. The type of training Mason does is for cadaver dogs – to find human remains. Vira is exceptional at this, and is able to pick out the perpetrator from quite a ways away, so is recruited to help with a current case.

I listened to the audio and was hopeful this one would really hold my attention. It did… until we heard from the killer, “Everyman” he called himself. I am rarely interested in the killer’s POV in any book, and it’s just way too easy for me to lose where I am in an audio book, so put the two together... It flipped back and forth too often and without warning, unfortunately. I loved the dogs, though… not just Vira, but Sue (a male dog… “A Boy Named Sue” – Mason liked to name his dogs after songs), as well (and there were a few other dogs, too). I’m rating it “good” and do plan to continue the series.

The Last Witness - Denzil Meyrick - (Scotland)
Genera: Mystery & Suspense/Thriller
2.5★
POSSIBLE TRIGGERS: SEVERE, VERY GRAPHIC ACTS of VIOLENCE
It seems that a Glasgow mob boss may have returned from the dead to exact his revenge on those who brought him and his empire down and sent him to prison. The gangster, James Machie, is a nasty specimen of humanity...but was eventually done in by a combination of good old fashion police work and associates who were more than willing to turn evidence in exchange for being placed in the Scottish equivalent of witness protection. When those informers begin turning up as corpses, DCI Jim Daley, whose young partner also had a hand in the case, is confronted with evidence that the person he believed long dead is still alive and kicking. The race is now on to find this resurrected bad guy before he can start to cross off every name on his "folks I want to kill" list. This would be much more believable if the plot here hadn't kept falling over itself. We kept getting explanations of events after the fact, with those explanations often being unclear. The graphic violence, which I was not opposed to in itself, started before I had even read 12 pages...and it is severe with all capital letters, which I was also not necessarily opposed to, but it will diffidently bother a lot of readers, and it goes on way, way too long, without anyone trying to stop it. Perhaps the police had reason to be extra cautious since part of that violence was when a young police officer sees his partner’s head blown apart...BEFORE he actually died. There were also several pages of a man being macheted to death then his bound-and-gagged wife being shown the corpse before her own head is blasted to smithereens. I won't go on any longer... I think everyone gets the picture. I was totally surprised by how graphic these events were and how long they went on, taking up so much of the book. This hasn't happened in any of the other books I have read by this author. It only served to ruin what could have been a good story.

The Fortunes of Jaded Women – Carolyn Hyunh
Digital audiobook read by Vyvy Nguyen
3***

From the book jacket: Everyone in Orange County’s Little Saigon knew that the Durong sisters were cursed. It started with their ancestor Oanh, who left her marriage for love. So, a witch cursed Oanh and her descendants so that they would never know love or happiness, and the Duong women would give birth to daughters, never sons. Oanh’s descendant Mai Nguyen knows the curse well. Her three adult daughters – Priscilla, Thuy and Thao – have found success in their careers but not in their love lives. Mai consults Auntie Hua, her trusted psychic in Hawaii, who delivers an unexpected prediction: this year, her family will witness a marriage, a funeral and the birth of a son.

My reactions:
Oh, what a tangled web of melodrama! I think part of the difficulty I had with this work was my fault. I chose to listen to the audiobook and the names were just not sufficiently familiar to my ear for me to clearly identify the many different females. It doesn’t help that Mai is one of three sisters, all of which have daughters. While the action focuses on Mai and her three daughters, the various aunties and cousins also come into play, and I was often confused about relationships.

In general, this is about family – especially an extended family whose members are always in each other’s business. They meddle, fight, make-up, mourn, and celebrate. Ultimately, they come together as a family, rising in unison, ready to conquer the world. And I have every confidence that these women WILL conquer.

Vyvy Nguyen does a very good job of voicing the audiobook. It was my own failure as a listener, and not her performance that caused my confusion at times.

By Chance Alone / Max Eisen
4 stars

Max Eisen was a teenager in Hungary with three younger siblings when his Jewish family was ordered to pack up and leave in 1944. Apparently they were one of the last Jewish communities in Europe to be taken to the concentration camps. It turns out his mother, aunt, and siblings were all immediately sent to the gas chambers on arrival at Auschwitz-Birkenau. He, his father, and uncle all worked in labour camps for a while, and eventually, Max was the only one left. He managed to survive along with two cousins (one on each side of his family). Lucky for him, he ended up working in one of the surgery rooms at Auschwitz, which did help him survive. He was part of the “Death March” that came as the war was wrapping up and it wasn’t easy to figure out what to do with himself after or where to go.

This was very good. There are plenty of books on the Holocaust, but of course everyone had a slightly different experience and there are always new things to learn from all those experiences. Max’s promise to his father was that he’d tell people what happened there, and he also tours and talks about his experience (or he did – he was eighty-something when this book was written and/or published in 2016). He ended up in Canada, married, and had two sons.

Of Sunlight and Stardust - Christina Lee & Riley Hart - (Michigan)
Genea: M/M Romance/Bisexual
5★
Tanner Rowe is just going through the motions...it only looks like he is living. Actually, he's just putting into place the promise he made to his wife after she died. She had always wanted them to move to Red Bluff, Michigan...a small town in the Upper Peninsula, and live on the farm with the burned-out barn. She wanted to paint, and she thought that Tanner would teach college courses on-line and make his home brewed beer. It all sounded wonderful...but then Chris's world crashed around him, leaving him grieving for his only love and the life that has been taken from him. Then there is Cole. Cole Lachlan had never had it easy. He absolutely knew that his grandfather loved him, but he had nothing with mostly only himself to blame for that. He's recently out of prison, and while he was imprisoned his beloved grandfather had died. While trying to find work Tanner finds himself by the lake and homeless. After a lot of bartering and negotiating, Cole begins working on Tanner's burned-out barn. This gives the men the opportunity to talk to each other, and for a friendship to start to develop. They learn to trust each other. Cole finds a diary in the barn, and it becomes the key that will unlock their hearts. When reading this I thought of what my grandmother told me when I was very young and my best friend in my young world wasn't allowed by the "rules of narrow-minded society" of the 50's and 60's, to go into the same places I did or even drink out of the same water fountain. She said that "just because a person isn't exactly like you that didn’t make them wrong. You should accept people as they are no matter the color of their skin, what church they may or may not attend, or who they choose to love...just accept them and love them equally". I had a pretty remarkable role model in my young life. I was pleasantly surprised by some of the events and the characters in this story. The two authors kept always rooting for Cole and Tanner throughout the entire book as they attempted to rebuild their lives. Tanner and Cole sat down together every evening to read yet another chapter in Tom’s journal. The journal story was about the forbidden love of Tom's time with his "friend" Charlie. Their story in the journal opened the communication lines for Tanner to ask questions and investigate all these "newly found" feelings. They found that it also encouraged open and honest communication between them. Once Tanner had the courage to explore his feelings for Cole, he wasn’t about to keep them a secret like Tom and Charlie had been forced to do. It was personal for me as I thought about my youngest son...15-years old and having those feelings for his friend that he thought were wrong. They weren't wrong, and he later married the boy that shared those feelings with him. They are now the parents of an 8-month little girl. I can’t find enough words to express how much this story meant to me.

Meet Me There - K.M. Neuhold - (Washington & Illinois mostly)
More Than Friends Series Book #1
Genera: M/M Romance
5★
Of course, I read book #2 in the duo first...purely by accident though...but it really didn't make a great deal of difference in the end. Marlon and Reed were childhood long-distance friends that communicated online every night from the time they were teens. Eventually real life got in their way...but they never forgot each other and that they were all that each other had in the way of friends or much of anything else at that time. The way Marlon and Reed reunite accidently in New Orleans as adults is pure fate at its very purest. Both men are mature enough to understand that the physical connection and chemistry they feel is because of their past unique friendship. As they separated the first time, I had no idea where this book was going or what, or even if there was going to be a "happy ever after" or what it would look like, but I was definitely invested in hanging in there to see it. I enjoyed the many, many times that their communication was only by text or telephone...but I couldn't imagine how they could tolerate such long periods apart, sometimes as much as 6-months going by without seeing one another in the flesh...and this went on for years...but I guess that is what proved the strength of their friendship, which in turn made the physical reunions all the much better. The inevitable emotions both men have for each other, despite all the opinions of those around them, are not a surprise, but the way they handled them was. It resulted is a strange kind of limbo in which Marlon and Reed are completely dedicated to one another but are both afraid to upend the delicate balance. It was always on each of their minds if could they be MORE than just best friends. The second half of their story is surprisingly emotional. I really liked that there was a very low amount of angst in the story despite all that was going on in each of their lives. Anyone who doesn't mind that the lovers happen to be two guys and enjoys the "friends-to-lovers" theme...especially when the path getting there doesn’t come with the usual stereotypical map.... will really like following the long journey with Reed and Marlon. We witness throughout the many years, the separate character development each man undergoes based on the support from the other... his very best friend. Multiple journeys of all sorts are undertaken in this book, and you won’t regret "meeting them there".

This Time Will Be Different– Misa Sigiura
Book on CD performed by Joy Osmanski
3.5***

CJ Katsuyama never seems to meet her Type-A mother’s expectations. She’s not super smart, or talented at music, art or sports. She’s not a leader at school. She does like helping her aunt Hannah at the family flower shop, though she doesn’t buy into Hannah’s “magic of flowers” theories. Still, she shows a knack for creative and distinctive arrangements. But then her mother decides to sell the shop to the descendant of the racist man who swindled her grandfather out of his property by taking advantage of the USA’s policy to intern Japanese Americans during WW2. Now CJ is fighting mad and determined to make a difference.

This is a charming YA novel about family, social justice, friendship and loyalty. There’s also a little romance thrown in.

CJ is a pretty mature teen. Although she frequently doubts herself, she usually follows her inner compass and makes solid decisions. Of course, this is a young adult novel, so there is bound to be some of the drama typical in teen life – prom-posals, mean girls, cliques, attractions based strictly on looks, best friends who maybe aren’t anymore. There’s also an LGBTQ relationship in the mix; I liked the way CJ handled this.

On the other hand, I was not thrilled with how the author handled CJ’s pregnancy. Not at all sure that needed to be part of the story.

Joy Osmanski does a fine job of narrating the audio version. Her diction is clear, and she sets a good pace. The only difficulty is that there are several flashbacks, and at first, I didn’t catch on and that confused me for several chapters until she went back to it. That isn’t the fault of the narrator, however. But I think I would have been less confused if I had been reading the text rather than listening.

The Lying Woods - Ashley Elston - (Louisianna)
Genera: Mystery/Suspense/Young Adult
5★
"I awoke to the news with a Post-it note stuck to my forehead." This is how Owen Foster, a high school senior, first learns the unsettling news concerning his father and begins to learn the truths that will unsettle his known world, with his father disappearance. Owen Foster has been sheltered for most of his young life and especially so in his ritzy, upscale New Orleans boarding school. He can barely comprehend the shocking news his mother has told him... that his father has been embezzling money for years and now he has simply disappeared, leaving his company and his employee's lives, as well as Owen's and his mother's...in complete shambles. Owen returns home only to find himself the target of the town’s utter outrage. Threatening and unnerving messages accusing himself and his mother of collusion and other nasty, unbelievable things. He tries to escape the endless demands to know where his father and the money are by working in an orchard that seems to house the only nonjudgmental, undemanding person in the entire town...a local pecan farmer. Soon we learn that Owen has been keeping a secret of his own... a secret that he has not shared with one solitary person. He had received a letter from his dad shortly before he disappeared, suggesting that they should meet over Thanksgiving....but Owen doesn't know why his dad had made this suggestion, but now he can only guess. If you have read this author before you know how good she is at creating and carrying out the tension in most any situation with double narratives, all combined to create an enthralling mystery. None of that has changed with this one and you will not be disappointed. The story alternates between the past and the present with several different character's perspectives.... all setting the stage for a shocking ending reveal. Owen’s fall from a life that he never knew or suspected was funded by stolen money is almost heartbreaking as he negotiates the relearning and acceptance of everything that he ever thought he knew about his father and himself.

Dirty Deed - Gianni Holmes
Daddies Broken Boys Series Book #1
Genera: M/M Romance/Daddy/boy
3.5★
Noah is a brat who loves acting out for attention. His father's law firm partner, Sawyer, steps in and decides a stern "Daddy" is what Noah needs. What progresses is a really, loving and beautiful Daddy/boy relationship that does allow Sawyer to blossom into the man he was meant to be. Okay...this is a tough one. I like this author. I've read a lot of her work. This one?? I'm not quite sure what to say about it. Noah is a grown man but sometimes acts like he's 15. I thought at first that it was because he was the rich & privileged guy that was used to getting his own way...but that became a yes and a no. He's in college...not grade school or high school. He seems to be "book" smart...but when it came to his grades, it appeared that he thought they should just automatically be handed to him because of who he was, and besides...he was busy...busy partying with his friends. So much so that when he doesn't get the grade that he needs, he goes to the professor that gave him the grade...has sex with him in the professor's office...and thinks that that will get said professor to change the grade. I have to admit that the professor is a degusting low-class creep but how could smart, "adult" Noah not know that this could/was absolutely going to escalate and blow up in his face? Noah is expelled and the creepy professor is fired...but of course we have not seen the last of him. Noah's Dad and Sawyer were partners in a law firm. Sawyer, as a defense attorney represented some "scum of the Earth" clients...but otherwise he was the smartest, most likeable character in the entire story. As Noah's father was on his honeymoon with his new wife, Sawyer gave Noah a place to stay...with him. Noah at times showed maturity and good common sense...he held a job in Sawyer's law office as Sawyer's PA, he volunteered at an animal rescue center...and he and Sawyer fell in love. Noah's past soon comes roaring back in spades. A very sad, heart-breaking event occurs in the story, which lost it a half star...and some other real drama takes place...almost entirely too much. I loved the character of Sawyer...had mixed emotions about Noah but was happy to see that nothing could stop Noah and Sawyer from finding their happiness. There was just too much that happened in between before them getting there. Will I read another book in this series? Absolutely.

Savior - Rhys Ford - (California)
415 Ink series Bool #2
Genera: M/M/Romance/Firefighters
4.5★
This entire series is composed of compelling journeys of healing and love. This is the second story in the 415 Ink series, and it can diffidently be read as a standalone, but I also highly recommend the first book in the series be read as situations and characters swarm throughout each of the stories. Mason “Mace” Crawford is a firefighter that has worked hard to put his extremely dysfunctional and abusive childhood behind him. His father was a nasty piece of work. He has been mostly successful by having devised a few coping mechanisms that help hold the demons back. Then an unexpected rescue at the scene of a fire revives some of those haunting memories from his past. He fears the reactions of what he calls his "brothers of his heart", so he doesn't reveal any of these heart-stopping experiences to any of them. He also struggles with low self-worth, so he avoids relationships which is why he finds his reaction to 415 Ink tattoo artist Rob Claussen more than a little troubling. Mace tries to ignore this very inconvenient attraction but realistically, how long can these two men ignore their desire for one another? On the surface, Mace appears to have moved past his troubled childhood since he shares a tight bond with the "family" that he has made for himself. He has a few quirks that the folks he calls friends simply accept. However, none of the guys at 415 Ink have any inkling, (no pun intended), of the secrets he is keeping, and he happy for it to stay that way. When he receives shocking news and all of the shameful memories come rushing back, Rob convince Mace to trust him enough to confide in him. Rob’s relationship with his actual family isn't much better than Maces, but he is much happier since he decided to follow his dream of becoming a tattoo artist. The two guys spend most of the story circling around each other until a cataclysmic event finally leads to them acting on what their hearts have been telling them. It's not until Mace’s past collides head on with his present that Rob finally persuades him it is time to talk about the events from his childhood. There is a romantic aspect to the plot, but the main focus of the novel is Mace making peace with his childhood. Savior is a heartwarming story with a marvelous band of characters and a deeply moving storyline. Rhys Ford brings the novel to a heartfelt conclusion that is also quite satisfying. Readers will be pleased with the intriguing glimpse of the couple who will be featured in the next installment in the 415 Ink series.

The Once and Future Witches - Alix Harrow - (Massachusetts)
Genera: Fantasy/Witchcraft
3★
It's a story about reclaiming power, specifically power that has historically been denied and/or taken away from women. We are transported back to 1893 to the town of New Salem and directly into the heart of the women’s suffrage movement. It is also a story about sisterhood, both in the sense of the sisterhood of women fighting to make their voices heard at the ballot box, and in the sense that the three witches are actually sisters... sisters who have been raised to embrace magic even though magic and witches had been gone for a long time. They had been separated for years, but the sisters find themselves drawn to the location of the latest suffragette rally and therefore, back to each other. When an unexplainable event happens at the rally, the sisters take their reunion and this supernatural occurrence as a sign that magic is trying to return and that they should help it along and perhaps recruit some suffragettes to their cause, thereby combining the women’s movement and the witches’ movement into one major force to be reckoned with. James Juniper is the first sister we meet. She’s the youngest and is a bit of a wild child. She’s incredibly brave and forthright and has no filter whatsoever. She also holds a major grudge against her two older sisters because they both ran away from home and left her behind to contend with their abusive father. Beatrice Belladonna is the oldest and most cautious of the sisters. Beatrice is into books and not much else, although she does have an interest in magic. She works as a librarian and in her spare time has searched the library’s collection of books from Old Salem, trying to find hidden or forgotten spells. Agnes Amaranth is the middle sister. She’s the most caring of the three having taken on the role of Juniper’s mom after their mom died. The dynamic between Juniper, Beatrice, and Agnes is complicated...both in their adventures to bring back magic and witches, and most especially in their emotional journey to work through the pain of the past and get back to each other. Somewhere amongst the massive 500 pages of this book... I simply lost interest. One thing that I did think was cleverly done by the author was her having given the sisters the idea to use popular childhood nursery rhymes as a way to camouflage the witchy spells. it's not a bad or uninteresting book by any means...just not MY book, but it might be yours.

A Daddy for Christmas: Hermie - Della Cain & Kayde Kat (I love her name)
Part of the Daddy for Christmas Series
Genera: M/M Romance/Daddy& little
4.5★
These "Daddy for Christmas" and "Found by Daddy series books written by Della Caine, are more like novellas than full length books...but they are so full of love and happiness that more than makes up for their shortness. They all have, thus far, had wonderful, happy, warm endings. Hermie is simply adorable...no other word for him. He's just the right mix of sweet and steamy, wrapped up and put together for the holidays. Hermie does the right thing when he let the Toy Store know that the gift that was delivered to him was not the one he ordered...and as a result he made a Merry Christmas wish come true, when Erik from the Toy Store told Hermie to keep the gift and he delivered the right one to a sweet little boy recovering from surgery. In spite Hermie being disappointed that Santa didn't deliver the gift he was expecting, it was okay as Santa had an even better gift in store for him and it didn't even need to be gift wrapped. Erik's family owned the Toy store. It was a place that you wouldn't have to be kid to want to visit. Erik and Hermie knew and "liked" one another in high school but lost contact over the years...Erik delivering the gift made a reconnection possible between the two guys and it was absolutely perfect. As I said these books are all short, a little over 100 pages but like all of them, they are well paced, all are age play (Daddy/little), with romance as well as adult interactions....and this one come with a giant helping of holiday sugar cookies.


Lanes Lost Kitten Della Cain & Kayde Kat
Found By Daddy Series Book #9
Genera: M/M Romance/Daddy & little
4.5★
Elio is new to the whole 'landlord" thing, but he inherited an apartment building from his grandfather. This is where Lane settles down after leaving his old job and finding a new life in a different city. Eilo catches his eye right away, but he has no idea if the gorgeous "hottie" was even gay much less, interested. They are just two guys, landlord and tenant that need to find out who they are and maybe what they could be. Elio has all the behavior of a "Daddy" but has no idea what that is or what it means and since he and his wife divorced, he's ben busy with the apartment and hasn't had the time to think about dating. Lane asked if it was okay to have a pet and Elio said it was fine...so off Lane goes and brings home the cuddy, adorable little handful that he names ,
Cat-terine. Things go along fine for Lane with his job, with his little fur-ball, but Elio who is already calling "Dady" in his head...not like he'd like. Lane comes home one day and Cat-trerine is missing!!! There was no way she could get out. Eilo come to help. He comforts Lane as best he can and searches the apartment for the missing kitty. Cat-terine was okay when found and Lane goes back to wondering how to approach Elio about...well...the thing that is most on his mind. What can he say? The men that he dated in the past are great for "big" Lane...but they didn't understand or even try to understand his little side. Elios finds out about Lane being a little after dropping by his apartment with a gift for Cat-terine. From there, they explore both sides of their relationship. Finding that...hey... they do fit together in both areas and Elio starts to learn about being a "Daddy" and what his "little" likes and needs. Of course, there is a brief appearance by the pair from the first book in the series... Bridger and Hudson. I really like visits by the other characters. Another happy ever after and a really cute kitty.

Lone Wolf / Jodi Picoult.
4 stars

Luke and his 17-year old daughter, Cara, are in a car crash. Luke ends up on life support. He and his wife are divorced, and their adult son, Edward, has been in Thailand for six years. Luke’s doctors have given him a poor prognosis (he is extremely unlikely to ever wake up), but someone needs to make the decision on what to do. Cara is too young, so Edward comes home. Edward wants to let him go, but Cara refuses, so they head to court to decide who will make the decision.

Luke studies wolves and I loved all the parts about his integration with the wild wolves in Quebec. I easily sided with Edward on this decision, as hard a decision as that must be (it’s hard enough with my cats…). Like many of Picoult’s books, there are multiple points of view. There are also a few surprises along the way.

A Witch's Lament - Cathy Walker - (Massachusetts)
Salem Witch's Series Book #1
Genera: Paranormal/Mystery
5★
Skye was drawn to the old house the first time she saw it. Something told her that it was just for her...so almost sight unseen...she buys it. When she returns to the town after buying the house, she meets some of the residents and learns that she’s purchased Sarah Good’s house, one of the women who was hanged during the Salem witch trials. Skye has always known that she was a bit "different" and that she processed some powers, but she had no idea the extent of those powers. She promised her mother that she would never use her powers without her mother being with her. Skye, for some reason, doesn’t consider that buying a house without her mother’s knowledge as breaking her promise. It's not long before she begins to have strange visions.
These visions are different than those she had experienced before.... but she's still not too concerned. Finally, when she discovers a woman’s skeleton behind a secret door in the library of the house...she starts to realize that maybe she could be in danger. She decides that maybe she should contact her mother, only she can’t seem to be able to do that. There is a huge cast of witchy characters...after all this is Salem, so nothing else should be expected. I thought I knew what was happening and who was to blame early in the story, but I wasn't so sure about half-way though. That is, for me at least, the sign of an excellent story and this one was just that.

Rebel – Beverly Jenkins
3***

This bodice ripper is set in New Orleans during the reconstruction period after the Civil War. Valinda Lacy has come south to teach the newly emancipated freedmen and their children. But just as she is making headway her school is destroyed by thugs. As she runs for her life, she meets Captain Drake LeVeq, one of the sons of a wealthy Black family who made their money some generations back by piracy. Drake, however, is an architect and builder, intent on helping the freedmen survive and thrive.

It's a typical romance with heaving bosoms, knees made weak by kisses, demure women and strong men who are talented and generous lovers. Valinda and Drake make a nice couple, and his family (mother and three brothers) fills out the cast of characters quite well. Jenkins added some interesting tidbits of information regarding this period in American history.

The action is fast, even if the plot is fairly predictable. This novel even includes a minor subplot involving two gay men.

Hellion- Rhys Ford - (California)
415 Ink Series Book #3
Genera: M/M Romance
5★
The brothers have a unique and special relationship even though there are so many different personalities between the five of them. They all are above and beyond loyal, to one another, to their friends and to the causes they whole-heartedly believe in. It was no surprise to see them become a little overbearing when Ivo, the baby of the five...finds someone he "likes"...hoping to eventually it would become a lot more than merely "like". Ivo and Ruan have a few rough spots. They are both young, but Ivo is wise almost beyond what you would expect for his age and that’s why he fit so well with Ruan. Both guys could also be said to be a bit on the domestic" side. It was a nice change to have a character like Ivo, who’s eccentric, willing to bring his cop boyfriend meals at work and willing to feed his cat and do his laundry. Things that many wouldn't consider "manly", maybe I could borrow him:) Ruan wasn’t really sure how he felt or how to handle things. He had another more private side that was quite interesting but unexpected and "off the norm". Overall, though, this was another phenomenal book by Rhys Ford with wonderful characters. It's a great addition to the 415 Ink series. It was also good that nobody had to die for Ivo and Ruan to reach their happiness.

Resistance / Jennifer A. Nielsen
4 stars

Chaya is a 16-year old Jewish girl in Poland in the early 1940s. She is a “courier” that is helping Jewish people in the ghettos. Mostly she smuggles in food and fake identification papers. She looks Polish so is easily able to fit in outside the ghetto, as well. As time goes on, though, things get more and more dangerous. Especially as the resistance fighters start planning bigger events.

I don’t know if I knew about the various uprisings in some of the ghettos during the war. If I did, I’d forgotten. There were a couple of big ones, particularly one in Warsaw, where the resistance fighters got into the ghetto and between themselves and some of the others in the ghetto fought back. Although the main characters in this story were fictional, there is an author’s note that mentions specific people, higher up in the resistance, who were real people; some were minor characters in this story. I have one complaint about the cover of the book, though. Chaya is pictured with a dark-coloured braid down her back, but she was able to easily fit in as Polish, in part due to her blond hair.

Dragon Tears - Dean Koontz - (California)
Genera: Mystery & Suspense/Paranormal
5★
From the Book: Tuesday was a fine California day, full of sunshine and promise, until Harry Lyon had to shoot someone at lunch'. Who wouldn't want to know why Harry's lunch had to include shooting someone...especially if the service had ever made you ever want to do that? Harry is a cop, and the man he stops his lunch to shoot, with the help of his partner, Connie Gulliver, is a lunatic who interrupted their lunch by shooting the establishment to smithereens. I have to admit that it was quite a start to the story, and it was also the start to this authors' many red herrings, because the crazy was just that...crazy. Then there is the guy that Harry and Connie take on later...Bryan Drackman, who becomes fixated on the cops when he's drawn to the restaurant shooting. Bryan, like most serial killers, believes that he has been endowed "godlike" powers; but we find there is SO much more to Bryan since...he really has been. He was doomed to this future even before birth by radiation and drugs, and this is what Bryan believes has turned him into a sociopath who can conjure up any entity he wants...especially his sometimes "friend and companion...Ticktock,'' a giant who is now stalking Harry, Connie, and the others, including a dog, (who I absolutely loved), who makes understandable audible narrations like "piece of paper. candy wrapper. smells good'', " better pee here". The dog is charming...and just about the only character in this story that you would give that moniker to. Ticktock warns Harry & the rest that they will all die at dawn, and it's only late into the night that they learn that Bryan has the power to stop time, which naturally causes a jaw- dropping moment for the cops but they manage to flee through a frozen world with "Ticktock" close behind them. Bryan, the cops now know, must sleep after his time-stopping escapades...which may be another "bad" thing for Harry and company. The story becomes a bit on the "preachy" side about social decay...but the action never slows down. I have to give any author who can produce and publish anything with this much over-the-top imagination...something that actually makes adult people sit for hours glued to the pages to see how it all concludes...5 or more stars. Well done Dean Koontz!

Inked in Vegas - Heathens Ink series - (Nevada)
Genera: M/M Romance
5★
This is shown in some places as being a novella, 145 pages, and others as book #5 in the Heathen's Ink series...but no matter what you consider it, all the characters get to take part. We get to take a trip to Los Vegas, watch everyone participate in a fun scavenger hunt designed by Royal...so you know that it isn't by any means vanilla...and attend a wedding. The biggest plus is that we get to spend time and visit with all the guys from Heathen's Ink, even Dani., who isn't a guy, but she is still a big part of the gang. If you're familiar with the men from the Heather's Ink series, then this is probably okay to be read as a standalone...but if this is your first visit with them... you will understand the dynamics' better if it is read in order. Even though it's short...it's 5-star worthy.

Renegades - E.M. Lindsey
Breaking The Rules Series - Book #1
Genera: M/M Romance
4.5★
Possible Trigger: Mental Abuse
This was on left off my May list. I wrote the review but didn't get it posted it on all the sites. Better late than never:)
As usual this author does a fantastic job of writing about and bringing out the difficulties faced by different members of society without ever making the book specifically or entirely about those differences. Kane experienced the occupational and subsequently the financial issues that follow a felony conviction all the while balancing the quiet internal stigma of being a domestic abuse survivor. At first, Soren makes living with his physical disability look easy, until one of the darker moments of the book forces him to focus on his limitations long before he had planned. All this is happening while dealing with the fallout of a divorce and child custody problems, which can be just the same as a M/F marriage even when it was a M/M or F/F marriage. Together, the men must acknowledge the burgeoning feelings between them, even when it feels like the odds are stacked against them. However, when in need, Kane and Soren show up for each other, despite how it might add to their personal difficulties. That is one of the major cornerstones of a real relationship...you just have to heal the best you can. It a well written fantastic story about two men who were broken in completely different ways but find a way to fix each other's broken hearts.

All the Dangerous Things - Stacy Willingham - (Georgia)
Genera: Mystery & Suspense
4★
Isabelle Drake was once a lifestyle reporter for The Grit but she turned freelancer so she could marry the Grit publisher, Ben Drake, without causing too much controversy. Poor woman hadn’t slept more than an hour or so a night since her 18-month-old son, Mason, was taken from his crib as she and Ben slept only a few yards away. Since then, her entire existence has been a tireless pursuit of endless leads that result in nothing. She even begins taking her frustrations out on bystanders...once breaking the nose of a supermarket cashier that she had learned had a criminal record. The detective working the case, Det. Arthur Dozier with the Savannah Police Department has repeatedly warned her to stay out of, and away from, the case. She's exhausted from lack of sleep and from her constant travels to all the true-crime conventions across the region, telling the story of her little lost boy and the breakup of her marriage that followed, hoping that someone, somewhere, might know something. Isabelle eagerly agrees to tell her story to a podcaster, Waylon Spencer, thinking that he could spread it more widely. However, she only finds that the questions he asks to be unsettling...so much so that she begins to wonder if maybe she herself could have been the one responsible for Mason’s disappearance...and also what her role might have been in another family calamity that took place more than 20 years earlier that was swept under the rug because her father was a South Carolina congressman from a long line of congressmen. The conclusion to this story was nothing even resembling neat and orderly. There were multiple mysteries that ended up requiring a host of multiple suspects.... entirely too many. The author was relentless in linking Isabelle’s lack of sleep to her waking nightmare...something that I admit allows readers allows readers to easily relate to and sympathize with this woman. Even though Isabelle's nights are sleepless...her nightmares are many and continuous.

James Herriot's Dog Stories
James Herriot
4/5 stars
I think I have read most of Herriot's books and this one is still as good as all of his other books. He is one of my favorite authors! Non-Fiction

Shattered Pieces - K.M. Neuhold - (Washington)
Heathers Ink Series Book #4
Genera: M/M Romance
4.5★
It's been nearly 10-years since Gage's boyfriend took his own life. Nearly a decade of guilt had festered and grown. They were teen-agers but they were truly in love. Gage didn't understand even 10 years later, the why of this...but he had managed to create a numbness that allowed him to go through the motions of still breathing but not really living while all the time disbelieving that he was allowed to find happiness or love again...that he even deserved that. Beck, (I loved Beck), is determined to prove him wrong. Beck lives a dual life. He loves and enjoys dancing and wearing the pretty, lacey" things, but he also wears an "unhappy suit", with the hated, and unwanted prospect of making partner in his father's law firm. He had lost someone also, someone that had meant the world to him, so both men are broken in places that only the other may be able to fix. The characters of Gage and Beck are both well-written and so very emotionally engaging. Their chemistry is off the charts hot. The supporting characters...their friends and co-workers, were also perfect. The plot was nothing short of dynamic with an emotional depth that was moving and sometimes heart breaking. The conclusion is very, very satisfying providing a "Happy Ever After" even if it was sometimes only implied. I've read the entire series, so I know how everything turns out. No book in this series is really a stand-alone. I suggest that the series be read in order to experience the dynamics of this cast of characters to one another. Just so you know...Inked in Vegas is book #5 although in some places it's listed as #4. It's a short 143-page addition that continues Gage and Beck's story. Reading it before this one will slightly ruin the rest of the storyline for you.

Stonehenge / Rosemary Hill.
2 stars

This is all about Stonehenge. Historiography, lots of Druids, some Romans, archaeology, astro-archaeology, tourism, and more I just skimmed over. I found this very dry. It got a bit more interest from me when we hit the archaeology (20th century) and tourism (21st century) sections, but overall, I just found this very dry.

Red Dirt Heart - N.R Walker -(Australia)
Red Dirt Heart Series Book #1
Genera: M/M Romance
5★
There are 4 books in this series. In this...the first one we meet Charlie and Travis...the station hands and learn about life and the work at Sutton Station. We also see for the first, but not the last time, the beauty of the Australian Outback. Charlie is twenty-five-years-old. He inherited one of the largest and most remote stations, or ranches, in Australia...a long three hours from the nearest town in the Northern Territory. I thought that he was without a doubt, the most stubborn man on earth...but he’s very caring, extremely loyal and overly generous with his staff... and a little jealous and possessive when it comes to Travis. The world of insecurity that he carries around with him must get terribly heavy at times. As far as Charlie s concerned, being a farmer is near just a job, it’s a way of life. Travis is a twenty-three-year-old agricultural science exchange student from America, He's going to be with Charlie for a month to work on the farm, and soon he’s amazed by how much the two of them have in common. Travis is a kind, funny, beautiful man who shares his soul deep respect and appreciation for the land, the animals, and the people. Travis is a kind, happy, hard-working guy who’s always smiling. He’s a pure natural on the station. He has his own streak of stubbornness, as well. He never wants to leave and soon his heart is composed of "red dirt", too. The two of them don't talk much but they are always there for each other with a hand to hold, an ear to listen, a shoulder to cry on, a chest to lean against, and the strength to support each other through difficult times, which are more than plentiful. Their love isn’t especially demonstrative; it comes apparent in the tender moments they are together...you can feel it and know it's there, and the small gestures, like the way they help each other, day in and day out. Charlie has not had an easy life and lives still with the ghost of his dead father's homophobic disappointment and the shame that was firmly instilled in him. He was cruelly told he’d have to live a hard, solitary life at the outback station without a partner and that a gay man could never gain the necessary respect and trust of his employees, or the other farmers, and business colleagues. If the man wasn't already dead, I would have loved to kill him myself!! It takes a lot of time for Travis to help Charlie to let go of his father’s ghost that lives in his head. From the book Welcome to Sutton Station: One of the world’s largest working farms in the middle of Australia...where if the animals and heat don’t kill you first, your heart just might. I have to get book 2-4 now. It's an imperative!

Life and Death at Windover: Excavations of a 7,000-Year-Old Pond Cemetery - Rachel K. Wentz - (Florida)
Genera: Archaeology/Native Americans/Non-Fiction
5★
I was born and grew up in Central Florida about 100 or so miles from this discovery site...so when my library received this book as a donation they called and asked if I had read it. I had not at the time read it, so they loaned it to me and said if wanted it I could make them an offer or buy something equivalent value and donate it as a payment. At any rate it was mine to read, and no one seemed in any hurry to get it back. Actually, I had heard about this discovery as it was all over our local news. I had been in Battle Creek, Michigan for 3-years by that time, (1982). Ancient, well-preserved bodies, of both sexes, had been found in the swamps of Titusville, in Central Florida. The bodies turned out to be nearly 7,000 years old. One of the skulls even still had an entire brain ... but as hard as it was to imagine...the scientific and historical worlds treated this event as if it happened everyday...absolutely NO ONE paid any attention...really??? Other discoveries like this were studied and talked about, and are still talked about decades later...not this newsworthy discovery in a little town in the swamps of Central Florida...just across the river from where we put a man on the moon, and not far from where we all went, and still go to see...The "BIG Mouse". The book is only 145 pages long...it isn't a huge tome of information by any stretch of the imagination and the story is more about the people that made the discovery than the people that they unearthed 7.000 years later, where if they could, they could have heard the roar and felt the flames of the rocket engines. It was well written, which kind of surprised me, as the author, I believe, was a scientist, not a writer. It's never going to be a "Best Seller"...but it is interesting, especially if you're familiar with the area. I'm not keeping the book. I hope there are others out there that are fascinated by a bit of ancient history. The 5-star rating was more because the subject was one that really interested me more than for the actual writing.

>44 Carol420: Without getting into too much politics, anything archaeological like this (that deals with Native American material) can't be published or talked about without permission of the tribes involved and a whole TON of legal paperwork (NAGPRA). I'm surprised even this was published. But this subject of releasing the information and studying the finds is hugely controversial, so hopefully that answers your question as to why there's not more available. It is a very interesting subject!

Mrs Jeffries On the Ball – Emily Brightwell
3***

Book number five in the Victorian Mystery series starring Inspector Gerald Witherspoon and his very capable housekeeper, Mrs Jeffries.

When Inspector Witherspoon agrees to escort Lady Cannonberry to the ball being held at the home of Lucinda Marlowe he doesn’t expect that one of the guests will be murdered right in front of him. Of course, this means that he is the chief investigator, and that his household staff (along with Constable Barnes) will be assisting him, ever so tactfully of course. Victorian London is certainly a hotbed of crime but Mrs Jeffries and her staff are more than up to the task of ferreting out the information to make the Inspector look good when he solves the murder.

This time Mrs Jeffries and the rest of the staff have to also manage their “behind the scenes” investigation while evading Inspector Witherspoon’s cousin, Mrs Livingston-Graves, who is visiting (along with her demon cat). Their efforts to get her out of the way are almost more entertaining than the investigation itself.

Pretty Boy - K.M. Neuhold - (Texas/Nevada)
Perfect Boys Series Book #1
Genera: M/M Romance
5★
The story is about overcoming incredible insecurities, not feeling like you will ever be good enough, and learning to believe you deserve to be loved. I've known and worked with people that have struggled in their lives never feeling that they were "enough".... not attractive enough, not thin enough, not stylish enough, not enough to be loved. I really felt a connection with Sterling. My heart broke for him every time he hid his face or felt people staring at him. It was almost impossible for him to truly believe someone could see past his birthmark to the kind, caring, sweet, incredible man he was inside. Along came billionaire, CEO, Barrett. Sterling could, as far as Barrett was concerned, be, do and deserve, all those things and more. Sterling marched into the bar where Sterling worked in a small town in Texas, caught his eye, and swept him away to a life that Sterling had never seen, much less thought he would or could ever have. Barrett was captivated by Sterling's passion, fire, grit and determination. What follows, was such a beautiful story of love, acceptance, compassion, patience, understanding, and for the first time...feeling a sense of belonging. I just wanted to hug Barrett for how he slowly, without ever pushing too hard but just hard enough, helped Sterling see past all the hate and rejection that he had grown up with see, love, and accept the man he was inside and outside. Sterling had to learn and accept that he had so much love to give, and that he certainly deserved to be loved in return. K.M. Neuhold did a wonderful job with this story making the reader feel, and cheer for this young man. Perfect Boy...Perfect story.

Giving Chances Tanya Chris - (Connecticut)
Genera: M/M Romance/Christmas novella
3.5★
This 82-page Christmas novella emphasizes the importance of self-acceptance as well as giving others the chance to accept and be accepted in return. People are who they are, and no one is perfect; but everyone should get at least one more chance to remain a part of someone's life. Meet Mitch, who comes from a large family who has not accepted his coming out at all well. They have basically ignored him and turned their backs, only this year they have decided to invite him back. A lot of the current political climate was brought up regarding his side of this story. I don't enjoy politics in my stories and especially in my holiday stories, but I understand the author's motivations for including the content as it does a great job of explaining, but in no way excusing, the motivations behind his family's actions. Now meet Jackson who has just ended a long-term relationship with strict advice, bordering on orders, from his closest friend to avoid starting up a new relationship immediately. I liked Jackson for being both a very sensual man due to his career as a massage therapist as well as how comfortable he was with his sexuality. Also, his desire to have a solid, long-term relationship which could result in marriage, children, a dog, a house with a picket fence, in other words...the whole "nine yards". His positive attitude is what helped carry the Christmas theme throughout. I wish that this had been longer. I only gave it 3.5 stars because even though it was all I said, it would have been nice if the characters relationship had been shown a bit more...which would have required it to have been longer.

A Dark-Adapted Eye
Barbara Vine
4/5 stars
A death upends the lives of a family when Vera Hillyard was hanged for murdering a child in this unusual story of a family tragedy! 1986

SUNDAY – 11 Feb 24

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before – Jenny Han
Digital audiobook performed by Laura Knight Keating
3***

Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. To be clear, these are the letters she wrote to the five boys she’s loved, so far. She doesn’t mail them. She just writes, pouring out her heart and soul, saying all the things she’d never say in real life. These are letters for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed.

This is a lovely coming-of-age novel featuring a trio of sisters, of which Lara Jean is the middle sister. Among the issues dealt with are sibling rivalry, teen crushes, sex, social media (and bullying), and conflicting feelings – whether for your sister or your boyfriend.

It’s a charming novel and I really liked Lara Jean. She mostly has her act together, but she is only sixteen, and her big sis leaving for the other side of the world is forcing her to face some issues alone. Still, she’s a good kid; she’s smart, talented, loyal, principled, and determined to step up and take over Margot’s role in the family. And she has an open heart that is ready to learn about love and what it really means.

Laura Knight Keating does a wonderful job of performing the audiobook. She really brought Lara Jean and the other teens to life.

Dark Roads / Chevy Stevens
4 stars

Teenaged Hailey is an orphan, and she has recently been living with her Aunt Lana her aunt’s husband, Vaughn, and their son. Vaughn is a police officer and pretty much forbids Hailey to do much of anything outside the house. She does not like him at all and tries her best to avoid him. They live in a rural community in British Columbia along a highway where a number of girls and women have been murdered or gone missing over years. They think it’s not only one person who have done the murdering, but that there has been more than one person responsible over time. When Hailey finds something on Vaughn’s computer, she has to get away. Not long after, her new girlfriend, Amber, is found dead.

Yes, this was based on the famous “Highway of Tears” in B.C. where a number of women and girls (many First Nations) have been murdered or gone missing. The author changed the name of the highway and made up the town where it took place, but it’s recognizable and she does mention it in a note at the end.

I listened to the audio and was mostly able to pay attention to what was happening. When Amber’s sister, Beth, from Vancouver arrives to try to find out what happened to Amber, the POV switches between Beth and Hailey. I mostly didn’t find Beth’s story as interesting as Hailey’s but it did come together at the end. Have to admit, I also though Beth did a supremely stupid thing near the end. I also ended up really not liking Hailey much – at least at the end of the book. No surprise here, but I loved Hailey’s dog, Wolf.

Written in Blood - Chris Carter -(California)
Part of the Robert Hunter series Book #3
Genera: Extreme Graphic Violence & Murder/Mystery & Suspense
5★
POSSIBLE TRIGGERS: Graphic Violence and Torture
Meet Angela, a pickpocket who takes the wrong thing from the wrong person...a diary that is actually a murder book, detailing over a dozen macabre, gruesome deaths. Normally such clear notes as these would give Hunter and his partner Garcia, some insight into the killer and the hunt would be on...but it’s the psychopathic serial killer who goes on the offensive and keeps surprising the usually clever and insightful Det. Robert Hunter. I was somewhat surprised that the detectives didn't speed read through the book to find and identify the sixteen or so victims, but I guess that would have been a bit too laborious for us to sit through when this author can show us this killers' skills in very, very graphic action. Up close and personal takes on a whole new meaning...believe me! Instead, the cat and mouse game (with police relegated to the role of the latter) gives us a chance to appreciate Robert Hunter’s psychological insights and to realize there are many inconsistencies the killer’s documented motivations for the murders. Things get macabre but if you've this talented author before you know that it's nothing we haven’t seen in his other novels. We even get a trip into the Dark Web...a place you really want to avoid. Seriously. This is a L-O-N-G book nearly 500 pages. It's graphic and Carter's ability to paint with the written word will make you feel that you are in the last moments of the victim's lives...it is NOT for the weak of stomach or the faint of heart...and that is not just graphic words I pulled out of thin air to describe it. Other than Robert and Garcia, I can't say that I really liked any of the characters...but if this killer has his way, none of them will be around long anyway.

Side Note: This was our monthly group read on the Mystery & Suspense site. We do the chosen book by sections and there are discussion questions, (supplied by Andrew, our admin), that you can answer or not. The reads are only 5 days in length. Please feel free to join the group if you want. We are friendly and we don't bite (much), or judge.

From The Dead - Mark Billingham - (England)
Tom Thorn series Book #9
Genera: Mystery & Suspense/Thriller
5★
Paul Monahan had handcuffed someone to the steering wheel of Alan Langford’s car before he covered it with gasoline and set it on fire. Based on the evidence found in the photos, that Alan Langford's wife, Donna, received shortly before her release from Wakefield Prison where she was serving 10 years for trying unsuccessfully to kill him herself, then we find out that it wasn’t Alan Langford in the car. Donna doesn’t much care if her abusive husband is dead or alive, but she’s desperate for news about Ellie, her 18-year-old daughter, who disappeared last year while Donna was still in prison enjoying the "hospitality of her majesty". She is afraid that Alan took her away. She begs Anna Carpenter, who is a low-rent inquiry agent... (whatever that is) ... to help her. Anna goes to PI Tom Thorne and asks him to help her help, Donna. For reasons not very clear, Thorne agrees to take Anna with him to Wakefield, where Paul Monahan is still serving his own prison time. Seems that all they found out was that everyone insists that they know nothing about a substituted corpse...or any other corpse. Paul's story doesn't convince Thorne nor, evidently, whoever got another inmate to stab him to death that same night. Clearly, someone didn't want the case to be reopened. Thorne was traumatized by the not-guilty verdict that vindicated the suspected judo instructor, Adam Chambers, of murder charges after his student vanished, and is more haunted by the fact that now there is not one... but two, missing 18-year-olds This wasn't, in my opinion, the best of the Tom Thorn series, but it was well enough written and delivered with a neatly done twist toward the end, to receive a 5-star rating.

Stubborn Boys - N.R. Neuhold - (Nevada)
Perfect Boys series Book #3
Genera/M/M/M Romance/Daddy/boy
4.5★
This is the third book in this series which is actually a trilogy. Be aware that it does contain spoilers if you haven't read the first two books, but all three can still be read as standalones. Nolan is a party planner and Gannon's friend, who is an assistant to the three billionaires that we met in the previous two books. Two of the Daddies- Barrett and Kiernan, have already settled down with their boys, Sterling and Emerson (who also happen to be friends). Friendly bunch here, in more ways than one:) Alden, the third man, has had a lot of trouble finding what he needs...so much so that he has stopped even really looking. He wants a boy that likes to be punished, but it hasn’t worked out so far...but he has his eye on Gannon. The fact that Gannon is an employee makes him wonder if he even should approach him. Nolan has wanted to more than Gannon's friend for some time now. He finally decides to go for it, but Gannon backs off. It's not that he doesn't want Nolan, it's that he has some other issues. Alden is very observant and decides he’s going to try and help and maybe he just might be able to help himself as well...so he definitely going to give it a shot. "Daddy kink" is becoming more and more popular in M/M Romance books...it's fairly simple...no whips or chains...and the characters are almost always cute and sweet, usually with blinky's, stuffies and sippy cups. about as vanilla as you can get. K.M. Neuhold is an author I would never hesitate to buy or read no matter what the genre or the series is. Her characters are always complex and interesting and always manage to find their way to “Happily Ever After's”. These three guys could not be more different, everything from their backgrounds, their personalities, to their life experiences, but they absolutely fit together. It's a poly story that is believable. The relationship builds without the jealousy that can sometimes be such drama in these stories. Each man is able to help the other two in their own way – plus it’s a relationship of equals. I wish that my favorite authors, could write more than three books in a series...but I know there will be more from this author as well as my other favorites that can't write past three:) I guess there is something to "the more the merrier."

As the Crow Flies - Craig Johnson - (Montana)
Walt Longmire Series Book #8
Genera: Mystery & Suspense/Thriller
5★
Wyoming Sheriff, Walt Longmire feels that he's out of his element...instead of Wyoming he's in Montana. He may feel more out of his element because he's there because he’s "the father of the bride". Walt’s daughter Cady should have known better, so it’s really her fault that Longmire, is feeling twinges of guilt and wishing it were possible that he could be in two places at once...so what does he do? Wait patiently at the church like a good "father of the bride" would do? Nope... he takes off to track down a killer instead of being at the nuptial site as Cady had suddenly required. Audrey Plain Feather, had recently returned from duty in Iraq, has fallen/jumped/stepped off of a cliff somewhere in Montana’s Cheyenne Reservation. Longmire, and his friend, Henry Standing Bear, saw her “walk the air,” and has no doubt they have witnessed a homicide. On the other hand, the tribal chief of police has all kinds of doubts, though it's mostly about herself and her ability to do her new job. She’s been severely scarred by her own service in Iraq. Being quick to spot mentor material when she sees it, she commandeers the visitor from Wyoming, who puts up only token amount of resistance. They're something of an "odd couple" to start with, but they pull together as the complex investigation deepens. The story is equal parts of tough, resourceful and funny. As always, a good combination of people, nature and something mystical.

Adrift - L.A. Witt - (Medertranian Cruise)
Genera: M/M Romance/Transgender Male
Cruising series Book #1
5★
The story is a short, warm, sweet, no angst, romance that that takes place on a cruise ship after the two main characters meet at a mixer held on board. Andrew had just lost his job and his parents had invited him to join them on the cruise around the coast of Italy. Eric, who is Trans, had just broken up with his cheating fiancé and decided that he would take the honeymoon cruise they had planned before he discovered the cheating. The first day on the ship, the two guys bump into each other...literally...and from that moment, intrigue and interest are flat-out on the table. They do have two weeks after all, and what does happen, is a sweet, hot romance consisting of loads of sexy romance as well as many tender moments and real conversations that lead to them discovering they do have a genuine connection. The way this story played out was perfect. It did start off with a somewhat "insta-lust" connection...but you know what they say about love and war...anything can happen. Both characters were willing to take advantage of the close proximity as well as the new shared attraction. Over the course of the story, what started between them as sex soon develops into friendship, allowing them to discover they not only were starting to love one another but that they really cared about each other and didn't want their time to end. Neither said “I love you" as some may have expected, which is partly why their romance was so perfect. Both Andrew and Eric recognize that they possibly have the capacity for love to happen, but they aren’t there yet. Close to the end of the two weeks Eric tosses out a suggestion to Andrew that would allow them to further explore what they might could have. One thing in particular that I especially liked about several of the scenes is that neither Andrew nor Eric hemmed, hawed or fumbled around the fact that Eric is Trans. They openly, even if it was sometimes a bit awkward, discussed what Eric does and does not like, and Andrew asks when needed for more explanation and even some pointers...which Eric gladly gives. I realize that this is probably not the experience that many Trans people experience...it's not the experience that many straight people experience...but it was what was happening between these two particular guys, and it was heartwarmingly beautiful. The story wasn't intended to be a sexual orientation instruction manual. You can't teach everything about any type of sexuality in 200 pages of a book. Andrew's narration or connection with Eric, was never, in anyway, colored by disgust, or laced with criticism. I know there are some folks that will be offended but there are many others that will see it for what I believe this author was trying to achieve...a sexy, enjoyable, quick read with two wonderfully drawn characters.

Dead Draw - Layla Reyne
Narrator: Christian Leatherman
Perfect Play Series Book #1
Genera: M/M Romance/Suspense
4.5★
Marsh and Levi’s story was immediately captivating ...and I'm already hoping to find book 2 or the audio. This story contained the perfect mix of action, suspense, with wonderful, likeable characters, a marriage of convenience which I was happy to see turned out to be so much more. Both Levi and Marsh are determined not to fall for each other yet still to be totally failing at it. Levi is still in love with his late wife, the mother of his son, David. It said something special about Levi's character as a human being that she’s very much not forgotten by either himself or David. The suspense plot really drives this story, yet there are wonderful moments between Levi and Marsh too. They're getting to know each other, but they don't forget what their job is or why they are together. They’re both very good at those jobs...but they are and have been for a long time in love with each other...and now they are legally married as a cover for their jobs... but their hearts are saying it's so much more. Levi’s family was wonderful and the growing friendship between David and Marsh was perfect. Both men bring a strong network of friends with them, and that factors into the story as well. The way the author worked the chess theme that started with games between Marsh and David, and then grows into a dangerous threat was clever. The action is tense and realistic, and the danger feels very real, and the narrator, Christian Leatherman, did a fantastic job with the voices. The story would have received 5 stars, but it lost a half-star because I felt the ending was a just bit too abrupt. I know it was to encourage us to buy, borrow or steal, the second installment...and it worked...at least for me:)

This Is How You Lose the Time War
Amal El-Mohtar
2.5/5 stars
I was not impressed with this science fiction book in which a dying world which has two rivals trying to win a war. Science Fiction

The Disinvited Guest- Carol Goodman - (Maine)
Genera: Mystery/Suspense/Horror
4★
The year is 2030 and a new virus has surfaced. Lucy Harper's husband, Reed, has invited five close friends and some family members to isolate themselves on the island that he and his sister Liz own, off the coast of Maine. In the 1850's Fever Island was a quarantine site for the Irish famine ships and it has a history of stories that say its haunted. They have stocked the island with supplies and now their plan is to wait out the new quarantines. The history of the island is filled with stories of witches, ghosts, and other creepy, spooky beings having been seen and/or heard, so that also has everyone on edge. When odd occurrences and strange signs begin to happen, the group is rightly even more on edge. Then on top of everything, it seems that sabotage may threaten the group’s very survival. There are several things that were outstanding in this story. The writing was absolutely excellent, allowing the story to be well told. The idea of isolating a group of characters on a creepy island was also a really good concept for any horror story. The knowledge by everyone that the island came with a tragic history is also well played out, as are the journal entries from the 1850's. The increasing tension and suspicion created by the strange occurrences that seemed to be supernatural were exactly what they were supposed to be...unsettling, creepy and frightening... like them seeing the Grey Lady. They soon began to suspect each other. There was no one in the party that didn't come under suspicion. How the Grey Lady sighting could have possibly been produced as it appeared, by any living being, was beyond me. The story also had several good twists and a surprising ending. The major difficulties that I had with the story was...the characters...they were beyond annoying and not very credible. Then the pandemic setting...This story could just as easily have been set to take place during a summer vacation or a family reunion...anything other than a new pandemic set 10 years in the far-off future. The entire concept of "Oh, there is a new pandemic that we must all be fearful of and use any means to protect our hideaway", simply lost points with me. "Pandemic fear fiction" is an ill-advised choice to choose as a plot, especially when we all experienced the "real thing" four short years ago. We don't any of us need a reminder in our fictional stories.

Race to the Polar Sea / Ken McGoogan
3 stars

Elisha Kent Kane travelled from the US to the Arctic in search of Franklin’s lost expedition in the mid-1800s. This covers not only this “trip” (where he and his crew were trapped for a couple of winters), but the bulk of Kane’s life, as well. He studied to become a doctor, but found he wanted to sail to the Arctic (despite being prone to seasickness). He loved a woman whom his family did not think was “good enough” for him, and things did not go well for the two of them, though she loved him, as well.

It took a long time for me to get interested in this (I have no explanation as to why this was). I was more interested in the second half of the book. The author looks at multiple sources detailing the expedition, as some of the crew did not think highly of Kane and others had no problem with him. The author did look at some of these specific sources at the end of the book to discuss.

Unbreakable Stories: Snow- Jocelynn Drake - (Ohio)
Unbreakable Bonds series Book #2.5
Genera: M/M Romances /anthology-bundle-collection
3.5★
The series is a collection of short adventures with some very sexy guys, some are funny adventures, but all are filled with lots of love. This...once again follows Jude and Snow. It was the perfect mix of the sweet and sexy, with a bit of emotion that you've come to expect if you've read any of this series. Each story has shown Jude and Snow falling deeper in love and further solidifying their relationship, but this one shows them finally being solidly there. We also have Jude's mom, some serious house hunting, a bunch of upside-down kisses, dancing, tequila, which may not have been the best choice at the time, some camping, mixed in with a lot of emotions and some truths that needed to be said. It's sweet for lack of a better description. The friendship and group dynamic and genuine love and friendship among all these guys is the "glue" of this series. There is such fierce loyalty and deep trust, that you can't help but love them all.

Katie - Michael McDowell
Genera: Mystery & Suspens/Thriller/Southern Fiction
4★
This is a well written, disturbing horror novel. It begins with us learning that Katie had shown signs of psychic abilities and also leaned heavily towards cruelty from a very young age. Exactly what this cruelty is, is only hinted at, and we don't hear anything else about this until she reaches adulthood. I didn't get the main character's name since it's Philo, and not Katie. Katie is the name of the book. Philo is the protagonist which the book centers around. She's eighteen-years-old, a seamstress' daughter who are poor and generally unremarkable; at least until things start to happen around her that launch her directly and unwittingly into Katie's path. It was still strange, but I began to be able to understand the title character, "Katie", and Philo's relationship. Philo's mother gets a letter from her father.... Philo's grandfather. He had disowned her mother 23 years earlier for marrying now deceased Philo's father. In the letter he requests that Philo come help him escape "Katie" and her degenerate family who have taken over his farm. Philo has never met her grandfather; but she is eager to help. Her motivation is not purely innocent though, as her grandfather is quite wealthy and has promised to provide for her and her mother once he is rescued. Philo having been poor her entire life, dreams of nothing more than throwing her promised upcoming wealth in the faces of everyone that shunned her when she arrives back home. Philo is rather naive and sorely underestimates just how evil Katie and her family are. My biggest complaint about the story is that "Katie" is more of a background character. We only find sketchy information about this person whose name graces the title of the book. I would have liked more about who in the world she was... more of her history... more about what went on in the mind of this psycho. Overall, the story itself was a fast read that had enough twists to not be completely predictable.

The Underground Railroad– Colson Whitehead
Book on CD performed by Bahni Turpin
4****

Cora is a slave on a Georgia plantation in the early to mid 1800s. Her mother disappeared some time back and now she casts her lot with Caesar to run away. Caesar knows where there is a “station master” for the Underground Railroad, if they can only get there.

Whitehead’s Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel is an extraordinary work of fiction. Unlike many novels set in the antebellum south, Whitehead’s imagination gives us a real railroad, traveling underground, through various states. As abolitionists and slave holders battle for supremacy, stations are closed or opened, sections of track are expanded or abandoned. Some tunnels have been purposely caved in and abandoned. Some are so unfinished as to simply dead end.

Cora is a marvelous character - strong, resilient, smart, observant. She is always on guard but is sometimes lulled by the occasional feeling of safety, when she misses signs of approaching disaster. There are times when she is out of the frying pan and into the fire. But her desire for freedom never wanes; she will get there or die trying.

Bahni Turpin is a marvelous narrator and I loved the way she performed this work.

Classified as Murder by Miranda James
4****

A continuation of Charlie Harris' work as a sleuthing librarian and his feline companion, Diesel. This book transpires a few years after the first (always a plus in my opinion) and also includes a glimpse into Charlie's family life. In this book we meet his son, a young lawyer, who has left his firm and has moved in with Dad. And we also meet one of the First Families of Athena, Mississippi, with all of their family dynamics.

The mystery starts with Mr. James Delacorte, a regular Friday visitor to the public library, who wants to employ Charlie to inventory his rare books collection. Some of them are out of order and others may be missing. Mr. James Delacorte trusts that Charlie and Diesel can help with this project.

Shortly after Charlie and Diesel begin their work, they find Mr. Delacorte dead and the rest of his family at odds over who should, or should not, inherit his wealth. Mr. Delacorte knew that he was keeping the rest of the family under his roof at his own expense, and his will specified who needed to go out and find a job.

Since Charlie's work was included in Mr. Delacorte's will, he continues with the inventory helped by his son, Sean. This provides them the time they need to re-connect as adults, and Sean reveals why he just happened to show up at Charlie's home with a rescued dog. And when Sean discovers a book that is different from Mr. Delacorte's written catalog, the mystery gets even deeper.

The Once and Future King by T. H. White
5***** ❤️

Below is a combination of my 2012 review and my thoughts on it now:

What a way to end a year. This book is so full of hope and laughter, and then becomes one of sadness and despair, yet its views on humanity and human nature are just as profound as they were when I first read it at age 14.

And now, knowing how anachronistic this re-telling of the tale is, I understand so much more of what White was describing: how the suppression of the Saxons by the Normans was the start of Arthur's kingship, followed by the flowering of the High Middle Ages, and ending all by cannons. I am especially struck by Mordred's twisted spirit, Agravain's mindless focus on his mother (and his own hidden monstrosity), and the pulling of Arthur into his lawfulness and sadness. The principal actors become archetypes in this re-telling, and many tips of the hat are given to Mallory's description of the battles and panoply.

I know, I know, that Arthur was probably an anglicized Roman general, but the depth of feeling and heights of joy and despair just reflect so much better the heights and depths of the Dark and Middle Ages.

And for my 2024 reading, I was struck by the almost off-hand way that valiant knights on horseback are portrayed as almost comical characters despite White's admiration for Mallory's work. I was also more than a bit annoyed by White's blunt dismissal of Guenever as an older woman. As a product of his time, his unconscious chauvinism, bordering on misogyny, simply writes her off as no longer of worth because she is not the beauty she was as a young queen. It's appalling to read now, especially as Lancelot and Arthur and Gawain gain wisdom as they age.

What I barely grasped at the age of 14 I now understand so much better: the politics of King Arthur's downfall and why petty, cruel men wish to topple the world he helped make better. My favorite quote is the one towards the end, when Lancelot and Guenever are looking through her window:

Do you think that they, with their Battles, Famine, Black Death and Serfdom, were less enlightened than we are with our Wars, Blockade, Influenza and Conscription? Even if they were foolish enough to believe that the earth was the centre of the universe, do we not ourselves believe that man is the fine flower of creation? If it takes a million years for a fish to become a reptile, has Man, in our few hundred, altered out of recognition?

Helluland- C.R. Lindstrom - (Arctic)
Genera: Mystery/Fantasy
2.5★
I needed a book for a challenge. Raise your hand if this surprises you. Didn't think so...I don't see any raised hands. It wasn't a bad story and I know that those folks that thrive on fantasy thrillers will flock the bookstores and Amazon to get a copy. To each his own...we can't all like the same thing or there would never be enough to go around. The story does have many twists, but they come about almost at the speed of molasses. I really tried to get into the story and figure it all out...but I knew I had made a big mistake by the 5th chapter. The other reviews that I read promised that secrets would be revealed. The most interesting part was when strange things began to happen in the remote corner of the Arctic where Erika Holstrom and her friends were visiting. Her mother's family had lived in this small community for centuries. Erika had lost her mother, and the family were all there to hold a type of memorial for her. I can't say anything negative about the book, it just wasn't for me. If you are a fan of fantasy thrillers...you probably will really like this story.

Their Perfect Future - M. A . Innes
Pieces Series Book #4
Genera: M/M Romance/Daddy/little
5★
I loved the characters of Maddox and Bryan right from the very first book. The Daddy/little age play lifestyle was so new to them both. Bryan trusted Maddox to give him all that he wanted and needed, but it was new to Maddox also so he spent the time and effort to learn all he could from chat rooms on the internet and from the two folks that ran the kink bookstore. Maddox loved Bryan and was very protective of him...especially from a group that wanted to be much more than just friends that keeps filtering through the books. What I admired about them both however, was how ambitious they both were in putting in the time & effort in their college life to achieve what they wanted as careers for the rest of their lives...lives that they have planned to live together. In the last book they had rented an apartment close to school, arranged their classes and majors to assure them of achieving the careers they both wanted...in Maddox's case he had parents that were still arranging his life...until he beautifully put a stop to it. I wanted to cheer! Together they are also learning more about their neighbors & friends, Jeremy & Kevin...it was great to see them again and see how well they were fitting in. They are all diffidently moving forward and working toward a happy future. We also saw more of Bryan's mom. She is such a special lady. She emotionally supports Maddox and Bryan without overrunning or interfering in their lives. It was also perfect the way she included Jeremy & Kevin into her family at Thanksgiving. There were lots of sexy times & plenty of emotions. t's rather sad that this is the end of their story, but I hope that M.A. Innes will consider visiting them again. A good four-book series... but I would love more, and I don't believe I am alone in this.

Guilty Creatures: Sex, God, and Murder in Tallahassee, Florida / Mikita Brottman
4 stars

In Tallahassee, Florida, Mike and Denise & Brian and Kathy were all friends in high school and continued that friendship beyond once Mike and Denise were married, as well as Brian and Kathy. They were fairly religious Baptists. It was only on (or near) Mike and Denise’s 6th anniversary in 2000 when Mike disappeared while on a hunting trip. Not long after, Brian and Kathy divorced and Brian and Denise began seeing each other. It seemed pretty obvious – Brian and Denise likely had something to do with Mike’s disappearance (death? murder?). After years of Brian and Denise’s marriage, things started to crumble.

I knew nothing about this, but I found it quite interesting. And kind of crazy that Brian and Denise could do such a good job of convincing themselves they’d done nothing wrong. God-fearing and all… sure. I was focused when reading and was happy to just continue reading; it was unfortunate when I had to put the book down. But, life…

Torch - Jocelynn Drake
Unbreakable Bonds Series - Volume 3
Genea: M/M Romance/Mystery/Thriller
4.5★
This is Rowe and Noah's story. Both are Rangers in their early 20s and most importantly. they were best friends. Rowe was famous for his one-night stands with women and Noah never talked about the men he was with. Noah knew he felt more attraction to Rowe than he was willing to admit, but he was determined that the one night of drunken passion is all they would ever have. Now we move ahead 13- years. The two guys have hardly had any conversations other than a few phone conversations over all that time. Rowe had been happily married until his wife had been murdered nine-months before this story starts in the present day. I liked the story, and I liked the two guys, but the story is a somewhat difficult one to read. You just keep hoping that things will smooth out and work for Rowe and Noah. The "I love you"...happened a bit too quickly...both guys still had emotional issues to work out...both individually and together. Overall, the story is impressive; you can find something about all the characters that is likeable; the writing is well done; the romances are sexy; and the suspense is...well, suspenseful. It’s proved in three books to be a fun series.

Bailey - A.W. Scott
Part of A Daddy for Christmas Series
Genera: M/M Romance/Age Play, Daddy/little
5★
We all know that if a professor, or any educator for that matter should fall for one of their students it could be disastrous resulting in a ruined career. Bailey is Kelvin's TA. When Kelvin sees him, he thinks how perfect he would be and wants to make him his boy. He has enough sense left to remember that he can't do this if he wants to keep his job or ever teach anywhere again. So, he decides to be short tempered, harsh and always out-of-sorts with him, causing Bailey to think that the professor hates him for some reason. Bailey thought that Kelvin was the hottest thing God had ever created on two legs... but of course he can't show that, he's his teacher and the professor hates him for some unknown reason. Since Bailey's life is very stressful with his rich controlling, slimeball, parents, plus there's the guy that he has feelings for that he doesn't dare act on...and even if he could, the guy hates him...he begins to look on the internet for ways to de-stress his life, and what do you know...he stumbles onto age play. he feels less stress just reading about it...so he thinks this might be something that he's interested in...and just to try it out he orders a few "little" things...well actually a lot of "little" things...then waits for delivery. Checking for the status of said delivery he sees that it says it has been delivered...but he doesn't have it. Someone has it...and that someone knows exactly what it is, because he's a "Daddy" that thought, even though he wanted a "boy", he didn't have the time. Looking at the package he sees the address is almost the same as his...then he sees WHO that package of "little" things was supposed to have gone to. As they say, the rest is history. It was a warm, sweet story, that ended beautifully.

I read this last month...but forgot to review it. I understand the theory "of everything I've lost, I miss my mind the most" :)

On the Mountain - Riley Hart
Genera: M/M Romance
3★
The lives of our two main characters...Crow and Cyrus, were interesting and fascinating. You just wanted to know more about them...who they were, what they dreamed of in a desired life...more than just what they were to each another, although that was also interesting and fascinating. From the very start we get a look at their lives and how they react to each other. This is a complex story, with complex men. Actually, that alone may be too much and come "too close to home" for some, as there are some serious issues below the surface. It is a gay, M/M romance so there are kinks that are meaningful and personal to the two characters...things that work for them but may border on "too much" for some readers. The story also deals with the topic of mental illness. Riley Hart has broached this topic in some of her other books, and as always, she has again handled the topic perfectly. It was a key element to Crow and Cyrus's relationship. While it was boldly brought out in the story it wasn't by any means, overwhelming.

The Wars / Timothy Findley
2.5 stars

Robert is a young Canadian who decides to enlist in the army to head to Europe to fight in WWI.

This started off better, but I had zero interest in the “love” story parts of the book. Told by the younger sister of Barbara, the female side of that love story, they were long and not in the least bit interesting (at least to me). The war and the fighting were of interest, and there were war situations I’ve not read about before (at least not that I recall). The book also jumped around quite a bit.

Love Song - Christina Lee
Genera: M/M Romance/Friends to Lovers
4.5★
I've read a lot of books with the "best friends to lovers" theme but I believe that this one shows the switch and the "bi-sexual awakening", better than most. Ellis and Nolan had been best friends forever as well as bandmates in a small local band. They live in the same building and are always there when one of them just needs someone to talk and unload their hectic day. One night Ellis's apartment is broken into, and he is robbed at gunpoint. This was scary for both of them, but especially for Ellis. He can't bring himself to sleep in the apartment any longer, so Nolan offers his couch, and when the nightmares continue...his bed. There is no miscommunication...they're always open and honest with each other, as best friends should be. No secrets, no misunderstanding, just two friends being together step by step, helping Ellis heal from what happened to him...Nolan even suggested therapy which Ellis embraced without any hesitations. Even though the robbery and the break-in should have been the biggest obstacle...their learning that they had romantic feelings for one another out-weighted it by far.... but it was portrayed realistically. They had so many insecurities to overcome and so much to relearn to go from best friends to heart-felt lovers....and they did it together. It's a love story to for sure, warm the heart.

An Inquiry into Love and Death / Simone St. James
2.5 stars

In the 1920s, university student Jillian’s Uncle Toby fell off a cliff while he was ghost hunting in a small town and she is the only one able to go pack up his things. She can immediately tell there are ghosts where she is staying. There is also a young detective from Scotland Yard who is there to investigate Toby’s death.

I listened to the audio, so I suspect it’s (at least in part) why I missed “half” (or more) of what was going on. Not sure if I would have liked it better in print or not. I’ve really liked other books I’ve read by this author, so this was disappointing. (And I have listened to at least one other of hers.) I definitely missed a lot of the “reveal” at the end. I would hear something and think – who is that? What is this about? How did this tie in? And I have no idea. And I still don’t even really know how it wrapped up, though I got to the end of the book.

Futureproof

I have been checking out the technology section of the library, and I heard about this book on a podcast once, so it was cool to see it in person! I plan on finishing it this or next week.

Leave the World Behind – Rumaan Alam
Digital audiobook read by Marin Ireland
4****

From the book jacket: Amanda and Clay head out to a remote corner of Long Island expecting a quiet reprieve from life in New York City, quality time with their teenage son and daughter, and a taste of the good life in the luxurious home they’ve rented for the week. But with a late-night knock on the door the spell is broken. Ruth and G.H., an older couple who claim to own the home, have arrived there in a panic. These strangers say that a sudden blackout has swept New York, and they’ve come to the country in search of shelter. But with the TV and internet down, and no cell phone service, the facts are unknowable.

My reactions
This grabbed me from page one and held on through the wonderfully ambiguous ending. Alam writes these characters so well. And gives the reader the same “unbalanced” sense that the characters feel – not knowing what is happening nor whom to trust.

It’s hard to say this is post-apocalyptic, though it’s certainly headed in that direction. The reader, like the characters, knows little of what has actually happened. Alam gives a few clues that this is bigger than originally thought – loud boom, large migration of animals, unexpected physical symptoms.

The couples take a few precautions that one might expect, but other things aren’t done (no effort to ration food, for example). Yet we can’t know anything for certain. We have only Ruth & GH’s statement that there was a blackout, but no way to corroborate this information. But why would they lie? They seem like reasonable, intelligent people. They don’t seem threatening. When a significant event occurs, they do all work together to form a plan of action. But how long can this cooperation continue?

I’m left feeling unsettled and confused and curious and excited and desperate to know what is next.

Marin Ireland does a fine job of narrating the audiobook. She sets a good pace and sufficiently differentiates the characters so that the listener can tell who is speaking.

Daddy For A Day - Della Cain - (Montana}
Part of the Daddies for Dollars series
Genera: M/M Romance/Age Play/Daddy/little
5★
As is usual in this series, we have sweetness, warmth, and instant connections, with adorable pets (the 4-legged kind) and lots of a "little's" favorite food..."chickie nuggies" with ranch. It starts with serious damage to the animal shelter that Garvin runs and leads us to him connecting with Chained, the local kink club, to do a fundraiser...and this leads to meeting his "Daddy for a Day"...which turns out to be more than just a day. It was an adorable blend of Daddy/little time as well as the strong building of an adult-time relationship. Of balancing careers and simply finding time to be together. I loved the "three besties" in this story. A dog, a cat, and a pig that also find their "forever home." Each book in this adorable little series, (no pun intended), can be read as a standalone. They do all fit into Della Cain's world of stories featuring the two kink clubs, Chained and Collared...as well as characters, (littles and Daddies), from the other books. The only small thing that sometimes bugs me about the stories is the language the "littles" use while in that headspace. I don't think an actual 3- or 4-year-old would use some of the terminology that these "little" are sometimes shown to use. Any way...these are all short, warm, wonderful ways to make new friends and visit with old ones. I think I'll take my "snuggie" and "binkie" go see if I can find some "chickie nuggies" and ranch while I wait to for the next book. If I go check, I probably will find that I already own it:)

Fall Guy - Felice Stevens
Narrator: Kale Williams
Genera: M/M Romance
5★
The story is very emotional, but one that is also absolutely captivating from the first page. Ronan has just been released from prison. There was no one there to greet him and the people he called family have moved away. The more you learn about Ronan and his "crime", the more heartbreaking the story becomes. You will find yourself stunned while expressing anger and sadness before you re through the first chapter. Then a lot of information along with shadows of the truth and eventually the light comes on and you know what really happened. Another "light" come into this story in the form of personal bodyguard, Gabriel. He first saved Ronan from an angry crowd and then was hired as his bodyguard. You have to love both Ronan and Gabriel. They're both likable, sympathetic. Their relationship slowly developed while Ronan began to face the truth about his accused crime, and who was really responsible. Gabriel didn't come into the scene without a load of baggage from his past...but he wants this to work between himself and Ronan and he wants to clear Ronan's name...but at what cost and will Ronan allow him to do it? As usual...Kale Williams did an excellent job with the voices and the emotions.

Unfortunately Yours – Tessa Bailey
1*

A rom-com set in the Napa Valley. Natalie Vos has returned to her family vineyard after a failed financial gamble in New York City, and a broken engagement. August Cates is also in Napa, having promised his late friend (and fellow Navy SEAL) that he’d fulfill his dream of opening a vineyard. They hate each other but agree to a sham marriage so that she can get her trust fund (to return to NYC), and he can get a business loan to continue his efforts in Napa.

So, there’s a kernel of a cute idea here. But these two are so NOT interesting. Natalie is a whiny, spoiled brat who mistakes lust for love. August is clearly suffering some PTSD, and also prone to “thinking with his dick.” The fact that his actions make this obvious isn’t enough for Bailey, though. She has to tell us this at least twenty times.

Of course, they have hot sex and achieve multiple orgasms. But these scenarios are so ridiculously unbelievable that I found them tedious to read. With two exceptions … Loved these descriptions:
”August’s climax was like reaching land after parachuting at night into the ocean.”

And perhaps the best (or at least most entertaining) metaphor I’ve ever encountered:
”She rode on a rainbow unicorn over the Milky Way and waved at an astronaut.”

The book gets 1 star for those two descriptions.

Two Days Gone / Randall Silvis
3.5 stars

Writer/professor Thomas Huston has disappeared and his wife and three kids (one a baby) have been murdered. The baby was stabbed and all other three had their throats slit. Sargent Ryan DeMarco thinks there is more going on than meets the eye. But is his friendship with and admiration for Huston clouding his judgement? Meanwhile, the reader is following Huston in the woods as he tries to hide, while at the same time, dealing with immense grief. What actually happened in that house?

I liked this. It is also quite dark. I liked the discussion with the author at the end comparing literary fiction (more focus on character-development and less on plot) vs genre fiction (the opposite). He has written literary fiction in the past and in this novel (and presumably the series – this is the first in the series), he does a very good job of combining these. DeMarco himself is dealing with the loss of his own baby a few years previous, which led to his wife also leaving him. I will continue the series.

Shared - Kate Hawthorne - (California)
Trophy Dom's Social Club Series Book #5
Genera: M/M/M Romance/BDSM
5★
Barclay & Val deal with a fair amount of denial at first, but if you have read the first 4 books you know that they have been in love for a long time. That being said, Val seems to be unable to separate what he wants from what he needs an actual relationship with Barclay to look like. This book is totally about the individual relationship between Barclay and Val but introduces a potential new love interest that Val meets in a stalled elevator. If the title didn’t make it obvious, anyone that doesn't care for or want "sharing” in their stories probably won’t be in any hurry to read this one. This story features an excellent examination of what defines an “open” relationship. It explores the ways a relationship functions are and should always be about the needs and wants of the parties involved and not the opinions of anyone outside of it.... even if they are best friends with the parties involved. Barclay and Val are facing one of the biggest hurdles to what an actual relationship between them might look like. Mainly, the acceptance that consensual non-monogamy will remain an integral part of their chosen lifestyle. Before that these guys get thrown into the deep end of the angst pool. Barclay is determined to keep Val despite his certainty that everything will go wrong. More importantly is that this willingness leads to excellent character development on more than the romance front when acknowledging his love for Val makes Barclay re-evaluate every important relationship in his life. The heart of this series has been in the strength of the friendship between all the members of the "Trophy Doms Social Club". How they support each other through their life changes. Sometimes it doesn't look much like support with their bickering, and plain-spoken hard truths, but these men have set a high bar for friendships and life goals...they are and have always been there for one another in all facets of their lives. This is probably the last book in the series, but it has been a really great one.

All In - Kate Hawthorne - (New York)
Trophy Dom's New York series Book #1
Genera: M/M Romance
5★
Christian is a Prince on the run. Yes, a real one, and he has had more than enough...enough being told what he can and can't do...enough being expected to roll over and do whatever his father and his oldest brother Phillip think should be his "duty...and he had certainly had enough of this New York City ballet he and his bodyguards are supposed to be enjoying. Now Christian is a prince on the run. He runs right into Kale, a millionaire who doesn't understand and literally hates the word "no". The two of them are about run headfirst into a love that neither of them ever imagined, much less saw coming. I really liked this story. I sympathized with Christian who is struggling to just be himself while pushing against the oppression of his position. It's not like he would ever be King...he's eleventh in line for the throne and falling further behind with the birth of every son born to his older brothers. Kale is bored with his life and wants more....and when he finds Christian on the street after escaping from the boring ballet, he thinks just one night with this beautiful man...but afterwards when he gets to know Christian better...he thinks how could just one night or even one lifetime ever be enough? Kale and Christina are more than steamy or hot...they are explosive together. I just finished the "Trophy Dom's Social Club" series set in California, so was excited to see on Amazon that this is the first book in Kate Hawthorne's new series set in New York. Hope she keeps them coming...there are 48 more states.

Missionary - L. A. Witt (Somewhere in Africa)
Genera: M/M Romance/Mormon Religion Practices.
3★
This is a 108-page sequel to the book No Distance Left to Run, (Wilde Dance Club series #6 and The Distance Between Us series #4. I don't care much for books that focuses on any particular religion, especially books that are M/M or F/F romances, as I believe this topic is more than likely to be frowned upon, at best, by almost every religion that I know of in the world....and even those folks that are not particularly religious will have an opinion. Anyway...Joshua is a young Mormon that has gone on his mission. This appears to be something that every young Mormon is expected to do. While he and his mission partner are in some type of bar or cafe to get a drink, they meet up with some members of the French Foreign Legion...one in particular pays a lot of attention to Joshua. Joshua is more than okay with this. He doesn't want to be on a mission of any kind...he's not even sure if he wants to be afflicted with any religion...not to mention he's already been sexually active with two guys at home...so religion and Godliness are not high on Joshua's list of "hope to be accomplishments". If things went well or not depends mostly on which side the reader is on...the church's side or Joshua's. This book is certainly not for every reader. L.A. Witt supposedly had a Morman fact checker, but some reviews say that the checker didn't do a very good job. I wouldn't know...but I thought an author couldn't possibly write an M/M or F/F romance and not offend or anger any religion known to mankind...and if the reader is highly religious, they wouldn't be reading it to begin with. I didn't find the story upsetting, I've read scenes like this before, but I know there are some that certainly, without a doubt...will. My suggestion is if even two guys together, and one is supposed to spreading his churches ideas bothers you...leave this one alone. The 3-star rating wasn't because of the content of the story...it was for the shortness of the book. Actually, while I have always liked L. A. Witt's books and I own most of them...this little book perhaps should have just remained in her head.

Smoke in The Mirror- Aimee Nicole Walker
Road to Blissville Series Book #5
Genera: M/M Romance/ Supernatural Mystery
4.5★
Lyric is a paranormal investigator looking into the mystery of the haunting of Bliss House. Memphis is best friends with the owner of the house and somehow finds himself offering Lyric to stay with him during the investigation. There is instant lust and attraction, and the sparks fly pretty much from the start. I thoroughly enjoyed the journey as the comic book loving, superhero t-shirt wearing nerd nabs himself the "bad guy" of his dreams. The two of them set the pages on fire with their chemistry, but they also make you say "aww" with how sweet they are together, which gave the budding relationship a dimension and connection that went beyond lust. Memphis is quirky and cute while being confident in his skin. You'll have to wait to find out what "Big Bob" is, but our Memphis managed to have an epic disaster with "Big Bob" that had me laughing. It's great to see how the two guys bring the best out in each other, fitting into each other’s lives despite their differences, making the connection they have more tangible. The small town of Blissville has had a little trace of paranormal through the different series set there. There was a little bit of ghost tampering as well as Emory’s psychic abilities, giving it just a small touch of something supernatural. Emory can see the future, and Lyric’s talent is communicating with ghosts through different methods. The mystical portion of this story is a little more prominent than in some of the other books, as it is the reason Lyric is in town. Most of the mystery is just good old-fashioned research and putting the puzzle together. I'm a big fan of Aimee Nicole Walker. I love her ability to create such diverse and interesting characters that keep her fans wanting more. If you are looking for sweet read with relatively low angst, plenty of quirky characters and humor, then take a trip into the Blissville world.

The Shattered World by Michael Reaves
4****

A great fantasy book from the mid-80's that builds on an interesting premise: how do different peoples do on a planet that has been split into different fragments? For those wondering how the science works in this scenario, there is a Runestone for each fragment that takes care of things like gravity and atmosphere.

The chief characters are a thief, Beorn, who is under a lifetime spell of shape-changing into a bear. His latest mission is to steal a Runestone from the largest fragment, Darkhaven, for which he will gain his human-only life back. He was hired by Ardatha, a court wizard of another fragment, Oljaer, to retrieve this fragment in the hopes of re-joining the fragments. Another wizard, Pandrogas, is currently researching the history of this fragmented world in the library on the fragment of Darkhaven. Stranded on Darkhaven are a marquis and his wife, whose dragonship is being repaired due to their wreck onto this fragment during a storm.

The POV switches between each of the characters and each is well supplied with a backstory and motivation for their actions. And as a friend said who read it shortly after I first did, again, back in the 80's, each character thinks they are doing the right thing with their intentions and actions. Sort of a Neutral Good alignment for the Dungeons and Dragons players. No character is doing truly good, and no character is doing true evil; they are simply doing what they think best in their situation.

The world-building of the different fragments, along with the Abyss in which they own float in their own orbits, is quite well-done. And the conflicts that each character brings based on their actions are also believable. The sacrifices and choices each character makes are more adult than adolescent which made is a great read all these years later. And yet, for all the build-up, it's the ending that feels more than a bit rushed and incomplete. Still, it's a great book for all that, and has stood the test of time in its readability.

Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear
4****

Another great installment in this series, this one follows Maisie into the Great Depression in London's streets. And as with the inaugural book, we see the fall-out from the Great War all these years later.

This time, Maisie and her assistant Billy Beale are invited to the grand home of a self-made man, James Waite. His daughter has run away, again, and he insists that Charlotte be returned at once. Part of Maisie's concern when she takes the case is why would a father insist that his 34 year old daughter come back to live at home, especially as she is well-heeled and should have made a good match long ago.

As Maisie's MG takes her around on her sleuthing, we also take a look at how her relationship with her father, Frank, has become difficult. Frank is working on the grounds of Chelston with Lady Rowena's prize mare when he slips and falls and breaks both his legs. Maisie realizes that they have not spoken much since she has arrived at adulthood and is a wise enough woman to know it's time to address this issue.

The main mystery of the story, though, is why Charlotte has gone into hiding in Camden Convent, with which Maisie is familiar, and how three of her friends from her finishing-school days have all died by a murderer or by suicide. Of course Detective Inspector Stratton thinks that he has found the killer, the estranged husband of one of the murdered women, except that Maisie thinks he might be mistaken.

In a blend of wisdom, intuition, and a bit of "reading" of the locations where the women have died, Maisie realizes there is some connection between all four beyond their finishing-school days. And that somehow, it is connected with the Great War and the grocer's empire that Charlotte's father created from the ground up. What that connection is gets revealed at the tail end in a most logical and tragic way.

Deliverance From Evil / Frances Hill
4 stars

This is a fictional account of the Salem witch trials. It starts off in two different states (Massachusetts and Maine). Of course, in Massachusetts, we have Salem Town and Salem Village. It is in Salem Village where Betty Parris, Abigail Williams, and Ann Putnam start the witch accusations. In Maine, in a town called York, the village is attacked by “Indians”. George Burroughs is a minister in nearby Wells, and goes to help the survivors. Included in the people he brings back to Wells is Mary; they soon fall in love and marry. Later in the Salem drama, Burroughs is accused of leading the “witches” and is arrested. Mary and George’s best friend Peter work to try to free George.

The author has written at least one (one that I’ve read) very good nonfiction book on the Salem witch trials. Into this fictional account, she has brought the bulk of the people involved in Salem along with many other real people, but the “behind the scenes” with Mary and Peter trying to free George is the fictional account. Interestingly, I enjoyed this part of the book the most – at least once George was arrested, the book really picked up for me at that point. I’m a bit sad to see the overall low ratings of this book. I really liked it.