authentic reviews and insightful interviews for inquisitive readers
A roundup of several smaller reviews I wrote in Winter 2025-2026. Beware of spoilers! Title: 100 Days of Sunlight Author: Abbie Emmons Series: Tessa and Weston #1 This author has a “writing how-to” YouTube channel that I’ve watched a few times, and when I learned she’s published a book with an interesting premise and it was available at my library, I wanted to check it out and see if Emmons can walk the walk or just talk the talk. DNF 19%. …
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Beth Is Dead by Katie Bernet takes the Little Women story by Louisa May Alcott and turns it on its head. Readers who loved this timely classic will be intrigued how Bernet takes Beth’s death and turns it into a murder mystery, puts the characters in the modern day, and has many twists with many people of interest. Although it is listed as a YA book, adult readers will also find it enjoyable, gripping, …
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Strangers in the Car by C. M. Ewan will take readers on a roller coaster ride. The plot has Abi Foster and her boyfriend Ben Simmons driving home, having cut their weekend vacation in Cornwall short due to a crisis at Ben’s law firm. They are arguing about cutting the weekend short when Abi misses a turn in the foggy country roads. They spot a stranded family with a young baby whose car has …
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Her Cold Heart by Pamela Fagan Hutchins is a tense atmospheric read where snow appears everywhere. The plot opens with Delaney and Leo on the ski slopes. As they are about to get on the ski lift a shot rings out and a young woman is shot and killed. Delaney and Leo know they must pursue whatever leads there are and jump on snowmobiles, hoping to catch the shooter. After they find out that …
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Girl Lost by Kate Angelo is a compelling and gripping story that has redemption, courage, and the power of facing the truth. This is one of those plots where readers will love the good guys and thoroughly hate the bad guys. There is action, arson, murder, kidnappings, and a missing person. The plot opens with Luna Rosati, a CIA counterintelligence officer who had a hard past. After becoming pregnant at sixteen she gave the …
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Last Seen by J. T. Ellison is a standalone novel. Her protagonist, Halley James, is not having a good year. She is getting divorced, has lost her job at the forensics lab, and her dad needs emergency surgery after a fall. But the biggest blow is when she discovers her mother died, not in a car accident, but was murdered by her sister. Since she was six years old her dad had lied to …
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Only The Dead Within, The Cowboy’s Baby Surprise, and Personal Security by Lisa Childs shows her ability to write in multiple genres. These three recent books show how diverse Childs is with her writing style because she writes thrillers, mysteries, and family-oriented stories. Only the Dead Within is the thriller, Personal Security the mystery, and The Cowboy’s Baby Surprise the family story. Only The Dead Within tells the story of Child Protective Services Investigator …
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Rage by Linda Castillo has a riveting plot. Like a fine wine, she only gets better with each story. Kate Burkholder is a unique character that readers will always root for. The action starts from page one where an Amish man is brutally murdered. Chief of Police Kate Burkholder arrives on scene to find the dismembered body of 21-year-old Samuel Yutzy, a local Amish man who owned a successful landscaping business. The investigation has …
A roundup of several smaller reviews I wrote in early summer 2025. Beware of spoilers! Title: When We Had Forever Author: Shaylin Gandhi Series: n/a Thanks to Shaylin Gandhi, Harlequin Audio, and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to a free eaudio ARC in exchange for an honest review. Unfortunately I didn’t get to it before time was up; I borrowed an ebook copy from the library, so I can review the story but not the narration. Apologies. I want …
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Two Seconds Too Late by Dani Pettrey is a romantic suspense novel. In this story the suspense drives the romance between the two main characters that is carefully plotted within the storyline. The plot starts off with the main female lead, Riley MacLeod, struggling after shooting dead someone who was trying to kill her. Throughout the story readers see her trying to handle the PTSD that includes vivid nightmares. After one of those nightmares, …