Tag: #series

Book Review: Deadly Secrets by Robert Brynzda

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

DEADLY SECRETS (Detective Erika Foster, #6) by Robert Brynzda is another highly addictive addition to the series. I wait anxiously for each of these books to come out so that I can be completely engrossed in a new crime mystery and catch up on all of the characters that I have come to love.

DCI Erika Foster is still recovering from her last case and is finding this Christmas season especially difficult emotionally. Rather than deal with what is sure to be an emotion packed Christmas lunch with the Marsh family, she takes the lead in a horrific murder of a young burlesque dancer. As Erika and her team start to work the case, they find that their murder case may overlap with a separate series of attacks in the same neighborhood. All of the victims have been attacked by a frightening specter in black wearing an old fashioned gas mask.

As the case progresses, Erika receives a call from up north that her father-in-law has had a medical emergency. DI Kate Moss is promoted to handle the case. As the clues come together and the case heats up, Moss finds herself stumbling into a dangerous situation with a soulless madman who will do anything not to be caught.

This book has Erika facing some very difficult personal problems and decisions. Mr. Brynzda humanizes Erika in this story more than in any other. Putting Moss in charge shows her vulnerabilities and strengths in her work and home life. Peterson is back to work and brings a new personal twist to his story. The whole team is facing dynamic personal changes in future storylines.

What appears to be one plot, turns into two diverging plotlines. Each has twists and surprises that had me guessing until the end. It is a fast paced read that kept me turning the pages and hating to set the book down. These books can be read as standalone crime fiction mysteries, but the continued growth and interactions between all of the main characters makes me glad that I read them in order. This is a series that continues to engage, surprise and be on my “Must Read” list!

Thanks very much to Bookouture and Net Galley for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Heat by Lisa Carlisle

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

HEAT (Underground Encounters Book 5) by Lisa Carlisle is a fast paced novella that returns the reader to the hot and steamy paranormal romance world of VAMPS. All types of paranormal creatures are drawn to VAMPS and this novella features a gorgeous gargoyle shifter.

Tracy is a bartender at VAMPS who has overcome an abusive relationship. She has taken out an order of protection, taken self-defense classes and now focuses her personal life on attending college and spending time with her little brother when not working at VAMPS. Through all her troubles, Tracy has confided everything to the gargoyle statue by the bar. She does not know why she is drawn to the statue, but she considers it an old friend.

Danton is a powerful gargoyle shifter who transforms into human form to protect people in danger, but especially Tracy. He anxiously awaits her shifts at the club and yearns for her as a man. When Tracy’s ex shows up drunk and attacks her, Danton comes to life. Due to a curse, he only has twenty four hours in his human form to convince Tracy to spend the time with him and possibly more?

This novella has Tracy and Danton instantly attracted and having sex. There is a twenty four hour time limit and it is a novella, so it calls for a quick hook-up, but based on Tracy’s past with abuse, I felt very uncomfortable with her decision. The author does take you through Tracy’s thought process and explains her feelings, but I feel it would have made a better novel length story with the topic of abuse. Tracy and Danton are well written for the shortness of the story and I really did like them. As always in this series, Ms. Carlisle’s sex scenes are smokin’ hot and steamy and a new paranormal lover appears in each with interesting world-building and backstory.

I will be looking forward to more stories coming out of VAMPS and the Underground Encounter series.

Written for and posted first on The Romance Reviews.

Book Review: The Butterfly Conspiracy by Vivian Conroy

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

THE BUTTERFLY CONSPIRACY (A Merriweather and Royston Mystery #1) by Vivian Conroy is an entertaining historical cozy mystery that pulled me in from the start. I love mysteries set in Victorian times, with all the new discoveries and inventions and the societal conventions that are still in place, but on the verge of change. This is a great start to a new historical cozy mystery series that is both fast paced and easy to read.

Miss Merula Merriweather would much rather be in her conservatory hatching exotic butterflies and studying all things zoological than worrying about the latest fashions and balls. Left as a toddler to be raised by her mother’s sister and husband, Merula has been encouraged in her interests by her uncle. Because of the times in which they live, her uncle Rupert must take credit for her discoveries and accomplishments.

When she releases her latest hatchling at a meeting of the Zoological Society to prove it is real, it lands on Lady Sophia’s arm and she immediately falls over dead. Uncle Rupert, who everyone believes is the true butterfly expert, is immediately accused of her murder and arrested. Merula believes that her butterfly had nothing to do with Lady Sophia’s death, but how to prove it?

Lord Raven Royston feels responsible for the arrest of Merula’s uncle and believes the authorities will come after her when they find out she is the true butterfly expert. It was because of his belief the butterfly was fake that Merula released it at the meeting. Lord Raven helps Merula to escape the police and they both start to try to piece together the real cause and reason for Lady Sophia’s death.

I love Merula and Raven! The author has brought the main characters to life in description and dialogue. Each has a partial backstory revealed during the book that added depth and I am sure will lead to future adventures. Throughout the book their friendship grows and I hope it will turn into more in future books. The secondary characters of Galileo, Bowsprit and Lamb add to the realism of this time period and its class system. This is a great cast of characters that I am looking forward to following into future mysteries. The plot was full of red herrings and I felt the execution of the murder was ingenious. I cannot wait for the next book in this series!

Thank you so much to Crooked Lane Books and Net Galley for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Scent of the Jaguar by S.E. Gilchrist

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

SCENT OF THE JAGUAR (Deadly Forces #2) by S.E. Gilchrist had me on another action packed romantic suspense adventure in the steaming Amazon jungle. This book features Kitarna Ashford’s older sister, Bernie and the other band of passengers from their downed plane being hunted by mercenaries through the deadly jungle.

Bernadette “Bernie” Ashford is an archeologist on her way with her botanist sister to a new dig that could turn into an important major discovery. Before they make it to the site, the sister are warned through a static filled call from their father that their lives are in danger from “El Jaguar” and to leave the area immediately. As they are flying away over the vast jungle, Bernie realizes that the plane is too low and they are suddenly told to brace for a crash landing.

Zane MacIntosh was on a previous dig with Bernie and mysteriously disappeared the same day as a valuable artifact. Bernie cannot believe he is on the plane and is suspicious of his motives. She is sitting with Zane and his mother as the plane goes down. She gets a brief glimpse of her sister after the crash, but they get separated as the two groups flee from the mercenaries chasing them.

Zane and Bernie work together to get their group to safety. As they are being chased by mercenaries, they are also vulnerable to all the dangers of the Amazon. The heat, humidity, native bugs, reptiles and animals all add to the misery and despair as the group tries to survive. As Zane and Bernie learn to trust one another, they wonder if there is a traitor in their little group? Bernie keeps praying that Kit has survived and Zane’s mother seems to be more than a retired school teacher.

This is a suspenseful and action packed read that sets a fast pace with an ever increasing threat to the survivors. Zane and Bernie were well written, resourceful and realistic main characters. Zane’s mother was a surprise and an intriguing addition. The sex scenes fit well in the story. This is the second book in this duet of stories and can be read as a standalone, but if you are interested in the first book it is Beat of the Jungle by Erin Moira O’Hara. Both are excellent reads.

Written for and posted first on The Romance Reviews.

Book Review: The Black Fox by Gordon Bickerstaff

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

THE BLACK FOX (Lambeth Group Thriller Series #3) by Gordon Bickerstaff is a nonstop thriller that has hairpin plot twists, action-packed scenes that keep you turning the pages and characters that are complex, intense and memorable beyond the pages.

Zoe Tampsin has been ordered to take Dr. Gavin Shawlens into hiding.

The United States has deemed Gavin a national security threat of the highest order and are willing to send the CIA and Special Forces onto English soil to find and eliminate him if the English will not hand him over. The British government wants to hand him over, but to also find out what Gavin knows that is worth billions and an international incident. Zoe is a highly decorated and trained British Special Forces captain. She is tasked with keeping Gavin alive and hidden until he can remember what memories are so important to the Americans.

On the run, Zoe displays why she was code named the “Black Fox” in Bosnia. Friends old and new come to her and Gavin’s aid. The run to the climax is filled with ingenious tricks and strategic brilliance on Zoe’s part that just keep ramping up the suspense to a climax that gave me chills.

Mr. Bickerstaff has demonstrated his ability once again to write a thriller that grabs your attention and imagination. This is a fast paced read that surprised me many times with situational plot twists that I did not see how Zoe and Gavin could survive and a climatic secret that had me stunned.  Zoe is brilliant, in deeds, action and character. Gavin is also brilliant, but in a very different way which makes the pairing work and these two characters fascinating. This book can be read as a standalone on-the-run thriller, but the depth of the characters is better appreciated by reading at least the previous book, Everything to Lose.

The Black Fox needs to be a “Must Read” on your TBR thriller list!

Book Review: Wicked Envy by Sawyer Bennett

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

WICKED ENVY (The Wicked Horse Vegas, #3) by Sawyer Bennett should be read using oven mitts! This is a menage-between-friends scorcher with a sizzling romance story and the extra benefit of mind-blowing sex throughout. This is definitely a keeper to read over and over on cold winter nights, or rainy spring nights, or in an air-conditioned summer bedroom at night, or on a crisp fall night with a cool breeze blowing in the windows.

Dane Hawthorne is a brilliant entrepreneur. After being raised in the foster care system, he starts his own biotech company that is worth millions and is on the brink of an invention that will change medical testing forever. In college, he met his two best friends, Avril and Andrew. The three are inseparable. Dane brings Avril into his company as the CFO and Andrew as the head of scientific development. Seventeen years after meeting, with all of life’s ups and downs, they are still together.

Avril Carrigan walks in on her finance with another woman in their bed. After listening in on Dane, who is a long time member at The Wicked Horse trying to get Andrew to the club, Avril decides that that is just what she needs to get over her anger and hurt. She wants to let loose and The Wicked Horse sounds like the perfect place.

As the three experience the debauchery at The Wicked Horse individually, they soon realize they want to experience it with each other, but that is crossing a huge line that could affect their long standing friendships forever.

I love that this story is told in all three POVs because each friend brings a different personal reality to the relationship. The friends have a strong bond that changes and matures as the sexual and romantic relationships grow. Ms. Bennett surprised me with the two that become a romantic couple. She handled the other friend’s leaving the sexual menage with compassion and wisdom on his part. The sex in this book is explicit, kinky and frank. This is my favorite Wicked Horse Vegas book to date and I am looking forward to many more.

Written for and posted first on The Romance Reviews.