authentic reviews and insightful interviews for inquisitive readers
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Restless Hearts by B. J. Daniels is the first in a new series and it starts off with a home run. This story has a great murder mystery, some western romance, and family conflict. The plot begins with the heroine, private investigator Blaze McClintock, returning home. She is asked by the Judge who set her on the right path to help her estranged father who is accused of murdering a neighboring rancher. As the …
Title: All Fired Up Author: Lori Foster Series: Road to Love #3 Meh Thanks to Justine Sha for inviting me to participate in the blog tour, and thanks to Lori Foster, Harlequin, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. This was a cute story. Not riveting but not terrible either. My overall feeling was an amicable “meh.” A little too cheesy for my taste. Mitch was a nice guy if rather …
Book Review by Elise Cooper Always Look Twice by Elizabeth Goddard is the second in the series about the McKade brothers. This action packed romantic suspense delves into family, friendships, second chances, and personal growth, with many twists and turns. The plot begins with Harper Reynolds who is attempting to heal her mind and soul by photographing nature scenes instead of crime scenes. Unfortunately for her as she is taking telephoto pictures of a Grizzly Bear, she inadvertently captures a …
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper An Unorthodox Match by Naomi Ragen has a basis for this novel, the insular world of the Jewish community; yet, any denomination can fit into this beautiful love story. The powerful and moving plot considers how faith, love, forgiveness, and acceptance are all intertwined. Issues sensitively explored include hypocrisy, bigotry, family dysfunction, the stigma of mental illness, and the economic hardships confronting men who choose to be studious religiously, instead of earning a living. …
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Dark Ambitions by Irene Hannon has action, mystery, suspense, and some romance. Politics, money, and greed come together to show how power can corrupt. This finale in the series brings back a secondary character from the previous books and introduces a new one. The book begins with former army captain Rick Jordan finding at his camp for foster children, in rural Missouri, some blood in the snow. Investigating further he recognizes a good luck …
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Black Nowhere by Reece Hirsch is a fast-paced read that will have readers question the benefits of social media. The story explores the price of success, how far is someone willing to go to achieve that success, and how can female FBI agents succeed in a male dominated world? Scarily realistic it is based on the true story of Ross Ulbricht, the young man who founded the Dark Web market place Silk Road, and …
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Cowboy to the Core and Lone Wolf Cowboy by Maisey Yates are the latest in the “Gold Valley series.” What these novels have in common, a Yates specialty, is showing how individuals make their own choices and can choose love over being broken. Both books delve into the lives of the Dalton brothers and how their father’s imperfection affected them regarding relationships. Jamie Dodge is the heroine in Cowboy to the Core. She is …
Title: How to Hack a Heartbreak Author: Kristin Rockaway Series: N/A Earnest but unexciting and perhaps a bit self-righteous I would like to thank Kristin Rockaway, Harlequin/Graydon House, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. Okay, so I am not the ideal reader for this kind of story. Subject matter-wise, I mean; genre-wise—women’s fiction/romance—it’s right up my alley, but I don’t give a rat’s about dating apps, social media, or the …
There may be tiny spoilers for some of the books I mention, so here’s your warning. This spring I was craving Simone St. James. She put out one book a year from 2012 to 2016, but then it was two years between Lost Among the Living and The Broken Girls and will now be two years between The Broken Girls and The Sun Down Motel. I don’t know why there has been longer waits between books, if St. James has …
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Never Look Back by Alison Gaylin is a suspenseful psychological thriller. Her readers will not be disappointed with this latest novel based on a true murder crime spree. The plot delves into how, in 1976, teenage murderers April Cooper and Gabriel LeRoy terrorized Southern California’s Inland Empire, killing a dozen victims before perishing in a fire. More than forty years later, a True Crime podcast gets an unexpected tip that April did not die …