contemporary - No Apology Book Reviews

Interview with Jerusha Agen (Rising Danger)

June 25, 2021

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Rising Danger by Jerusha Agen is her first full length romantic suspense novel. She has a unique storyline with a private consulting all-female bomb-detection firm. Her characters are great role models for showing how they can exist in a man’s world. The story has someone planting explosives on dams in the Twin Cities. Bristol Bachmann and her bomb-sniffing dog, Toby, are called in to help the police and the dam supervisor. Remington Jones, the …

Interview with Iris Johansen (The Bullet)

June 19, 2021

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper The Bullet by Iris Johansen brings back forensics’ sculptor Eve Duncan and former SEAL Joe Quinn. This married couple are blissfully in love. But it turns out their relationship was not always paradise. Now readers get a glimpse into their multifaceted relationships, past and present. Love, revenge, family, and an intense mystery are intertwined within this story. The plot begins with Diane Connors, a dedicated doctor who has made a shocking discovery. She has …

Interview with Melissa Koslin (Never Miss)

June 6, 2021

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Never Miss is Melissa Koslin’s debut book. If her future novels are anything like this one, she has a long career as a romance suspense novelist. The story has a unique premise in that the heroine is a female sniper who worked for the CIA. The other piece of the story is a man-made virus used as a weapon. Although readers might have fatigue having gone through Covid-19, the essence of this plot is …

Interview with Maisey Yates (The Heartbreaker of Echo Pass and Confessions from the Quilting Circle)

May 29, 2021

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper The Heartbreaker of Echo Pass and Confessions from the Quilting Circle by Maisey Yates are great reads. Both stories delve into family and how relationships, misunderstandings, secrets, communication, and love affect the dynamics. People must come to grips with their past. The Heartbreaker of Echo Pass is a novel where Yates has outdone herself, hitting a homerun. It is the story of Iris Daniels and how she has come into her own. After her …

Interview with Jo Ann Brown (A Wish for Home)

May 15, 2021

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper A Wish for Home by Jo Ann Brown is a wonderful read. It delves into love, forgiveness, and second chances, something every reader can relate with. The heroine, Lauren, must reconcile her anger and resentment toward the Amish community for shunning her parents but also must deal with the boy who bullied and tormented her as a young teenager. The book opens with Lauren driving her 1966 VW Beetle through her old hometown of …

Interview with Laura Griffin (Flight)

May 7, 2021

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Flight by Laura Griffin is a riveting mystery with very believable characters. She excels at writing characters the readers root for, and her descriptive details of the Texas landscape has readers believing that they are there. The heroine Miranda Rhoads, the sister of the heroine in the last book, decides to move to Lost Beach Texas after experiencing burn out and a need to destress after her last case went awry. As a forensic …

Interview with Joshilyn Jackson (Mother May I)

April 9, 2021

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Mother May I by Joshilyn Jackson is a domestic thriller that has readers ponder many issues. There is love vs loyalty, seeing both sides of a person’s character, and living or rejecting the trust and denial while tackling gender roles, sexual assault, revenge, socioeconomic status, kidnapping, and murder. The book opens when the main character, Bree Cabbot, dreams of seeing a witch peering into her bedroom window, dressed all in black. Yet, later that …

Interview with Kristin Hannah (Firefly Lane and Fly Away)

April 2, 2021

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Firefly Lane and its sequel Fly Away, by Kristin Hannah, were written over a decade ago. But they have come back into relevance after Netflix adapted these novels for a TV series. Although the Netflix series is good, those who have not read Hannah’s books are missing the essence of the stories. Hannah has a knack for a descriptive writing style that draws out the characters through a storyline that is heart-warming and heart-wrenching. …

Interview with Catherine Bybee (Changing the Rules)

March 26, 2021

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Changing the Rules by Catherine Bybee is the first in a new series that takes readers on a thrilling ride. If people believe in the saying ‘the best is saved for last,’ then they have something to look forward to because this one is fantastic. There are bittersweet moments, plot twists and surprises, with a lot of emotion. The characters are strong yet have a softer, gentler, more vulnerable side. The plot has the …

Interview with Maisey Yates, Caitlin Crews, Jackie Ashenden, Nicole Helm (A Good Old-Fashioned Cowboy)

February 5, 2021

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper A Good Old-Fashioned Cowboy is the second in the Jasper Creek series written by Maisey Yates, Caitlin Crews, Jackie Ashenden and Nicole Helm. This is a compilation of authors who write about cowboy heroes and heroines. They focus on four best friends, similar to the authors views of each other. The plot begins with these four friends deciding to return to their small hometown of Jasper Creek Oregon. The best friends, Hope Marshall, Charity …