Tag: #series

Book Review: Better Dead by Pamela Kopfler

RATING: 3 out of 5 Stars

BETTER DEAD (A B&B Spirits Mystery #1) by Pamela Kopfler is the first book in a new cozy mystery series set in a Louisiana B&B. The spirit in this book adds a touch of the paranormal and I can only assume that since this series is called a B&B Spirits Mystery there will be others in future books.

Holly Davis owns Holly Grove plantation turned B&B. It has been in her family for several generations and she especially needs to make it a success and profitable now that her cheating husband is dead. Killed in a plane wreck before Holly could divorce him, Burl nearly bankrupt the B&B and was involved with drug smuggling on the property.

As Holly drinks to celebrate her untimely freedom, Burl shows up as a spirit with unfinished business. Burl needs Holly’s help to move on. Holly needs Burl’s help to make Holly Grove a truly haunted plantation that will draw in guests to pay the bills.

Jake McCann, Holly’s former high school sweetheart, returns to town to help with the town’s paper while the owner is on vacation. He works out an agreement with Holly to stay at the B&B, but is that the only reason he has returned?

This was a fast read and had some laugh out loud scenes especially when you read about Gold Member and some of Holly’s disasters. The interaction between Holly, her ex’s spirit and Jake was also well written.

I was disappointed that Holly made so many bad decisions that placed her in jeopardy. One or two is fine, but I prefer a smarter heroine. I am not sure if it was done for screwball comedy sake, but it was just too many times. For me, Holly’s long-time housekeeper and cook was more of a caricature than I was comfortable with. I also would have preferred Jake to become more romantically involved further into future books. It felt rushed at the end of this book.

Overall, this is an entertaining cozy, but not sure if I will continue with the series.

Book Review: Bones Don’t Lie by Melinda Leigh

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

BONES DON’T LIE (Morgan Dane #3) by Melinda Leigh is another thrilling addition to this series!

One mystery that has influenced Lance Kruger’s life for the past twenty-three years was the disappearance of his father, Victor Kruger when he was just a boy. His mother’s mental instability completely collapsed and he took on more responsibility than any child should.

Lincoln Sharp, Lance’s current partner in their P.I. firm has always carried the burden of the unsolved case from his years as the detective assigned the case. He took the fatherless Lance under his wing and helped with his mother. Sharp is called to the scene of a car being pulled from the bottom of Grey Lake. It is identified as belonging to Lance’s father. They do not find Vic, but they do find a female skeleton locked in the trunk.

For Lance, this development causes more questions than answers and also has Lance questioning if his memory of his father is accurate. As Sharp, Lance and Morgan all work to find the truth of what happened all those years ago, some witnesses are being caught in lies and others are being killed for the information they have. To add to the suspense, Morgan is also receiving threats from an unknown source.

Ms. Leigh keeps making this series a must read for me. The plotting is fast paced and the dialogue is realistic. The warmth and love between all of the characters makes you want to keep returning to check up on them. The emotional growth and love between Morgan and Lance is wonderfully satisfying and heart-warming. I was completely surprised by the killer, which makes this book even more fun for me. I am looking forward to many more books in this series to come.

Thanks very much to Montlake Romance and Net Galley for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review. I love this series!

Book Review: Wicked Choice by Sawyer Bennett

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

WICKED CHOICE (The Wicked Horse Vegas, #4) by Sawyer Bennett is one of the best erotic romances I have read! There are hot, steamy and erotic sex scenes throughout an amazing gender twist of a story that is strong enough to stand on its own even without the erotic sex scenes, but where would be the fun in that?

Rachel Hart is one of the best at her job and has the confidence of her teammates. She was a Winter Olympian biathlete and extreme sport junkie. She has never fallen in love and refuses to let anyone get close.

Bodie Wright is an ex-Navy SEAL who has traded in the strict regimentation of the service for the less restrictive and more lucrative job at the Jameson Group. A Nebraska farmboy, who loves his extended family, but is not really looking to settle down just yet.

After a mission together gone wrong, Rachel and Bodie cross the understood, but not written rule that team members at Jameson do not fraternize. Sure, they see each other having sex at the club, but never do team members do team members. Their one night of amazing sex turns into a pregnancy with major, life-changing decisions to be made.

Ms. Sawyer takes this situation and turns it into a very unique story by having Brodie step up and want the baby no matter how it will change his life and career, while Rachel is the one who decides to carry the baby for Bodie, but she does not want to continue in its life after the delivery.

Rachel is such a complex heroine who Bodie seems to effortlessly understand. As the erotic sex continues throughout the story so does the emotional roller coaster, tears and decisions. I loved these two characters! The secondary characters were just as realistically written and I hope to see more of them in future books.

The Wicked Horse is a sex club in Vegas which is the background for this series of erotic romances. It is frequented by several of the teammates from the Jameson Group, which is a private group of elite mercenaries for hire. The owner of the Wicked Horse used to own both, but he sold the Jameson group to his best friend. This story is the bridge book between strictly erotic romances set around the Wicked Horse and a new series planned by this author to focus more on the Jameson Group mercenaries using a romantic suspense format. Do not worry about it being the fourth book in the series because it can be read easily as a standalone and I cannot wait to go back and read the first books in this series.

Written for and posted first on The Romance Reviews.

Book Review: Beat of the Jungle by Erin Moira O’Hara

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

BEAT OF THE JUNGLE (Deadly Forces #1) by Erin Moira O’Hara is an intense, fast paced and sexy contemporary romantic suspense. Not only are the H/h on the run from mercenaries, but the Amazon Rainforest landscape is as deadly a foe as their human protagonists.

Kitarna Ashford is a botanist who has come to Brazil to join her sister, Bernie’s archeological dig. Just as she arrives, she receives a cryptic call from her father, who is a U.S. Governor, for her and her sister to get out of Brazil as soon as possible. The call breaks up and they do not know why or whom they are running from.

Jack Callaghan is an ex-military sniper whose last mission has left lasting nightmares. He has just completed a private mission for a friend and is now on his way to retire in the Caribbean.

After some pleasant, but brief flirting and not quite truthful introductions, their plane goes down in the Rainforest. The remaining passengers and crew that survive the crash, soon realize they are being hunted by mercenaries and must split up and try to reach the closest mission in small groups. Kit and her sister become separated.

There are so many secrets not just between Kit and Jack, but also crew and fellow survivors of the crash. Kit’s botanical skills and Jack’s military skills may help save the group, but there are hidden motives among the survivors and the Rainforest itself is a beautiful, but deadly paradise.

This author had me feeling the heat of the Amazon. Slogging through the Rainforest with wild animals, bugs and plants that are all beautiful and yet deadly. The knowledge base Kit and Jack both demonstrate was blended seamlessly throughout the story and not just an information dump. The romance builds at a hot and steamy pace even as Kit and Jack fight for their lives and the lives of the other survivors with them.

This was a great read that I highly recommend for lovers of romantic suspense and I am looking forward to reading the next Deadly Forces book which will be Bernie’s story!

Written for and posted first on The Romance Reviews.

Book Review: Cold Harbor by Matthew FitzSimmons

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

COLD HARBOR (Gibson Vaughn, #3) by Matthew FitzSimmons satisfied this fan immensely!

Even though I do not enjoy cliffhangers, Gibson Vaughn just got under my thriller loving skin and I had to keep reading on in the series. I am so glad that I did. I had no idea how Mr. FitzSimmons would get Gibson moving forward from book #2 to book #3, but he managed it with the additional emotional satisfaction of giving Gibson a sort of completion and happiness that he so deserved.

Cold Harbor begins with Gibson trying to regain control of his mental and physical health after being released from a CIA black-ops prison. For 18 months, all he had were the ghosts of his father and Suzanne to keep him company. As Gibson tries to return to the world of the living, the author continues to throw roadblocks in his way so that he can only go forward and not back to his old life. Gibson’s old friends return at just the right time to assist him by using him to assist them.

Many questions are answered and relationships resolved from the previous books, not always to the good, as the plot picks up pace to the thrilling conclusion.

This book is as intriguing as it is thrilling and I just love the Gibson Vaughn character. This is not a series that should be read as standalones out of order. Each book builds on the last and all the characters and situations are like a giant web.

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

Book Review: An Uncommon Honeymoon by Susan Mann

RATING: 5 out 5 Stars

Susan Mann had me once again turning pages well into the night in Quinn and James’ latest exploits. This is such a fun series with a couple that takes you on their CIA over-the-top missions. The plots have serious background premises, but are entertaining and balanced with a lighter side at the same time. James is your secret agent dream come true and Quinn is great as a covert research librarian.

AN UNCOMMON HONEYMOON (Librarian and the Spy Escapade #3) by Susan Mann has the big marriage scene between Quinn and James and it is everything I was hoping for, beautiful, fun and filled with love.

As they are on their honeymoon in the Turks and Caico’s, they are approached by Dave Flores, a former CIA operative now working for a group that rescues children caught in human trafficking. Quinn and James were invited to a party that Dave would like them to surveil, but Quinn meets two of the children being held at the compound and vows to help them get free. The plot has child slave trafficking, drug trafficking and a Russian crime lord. The child slave trafficking is handled seriously and with heart by Ms. Mann, while the Russian crime lord and his minions get the action packed, super spy treatment.

Quinn and James are just perfect together. Their love for each other is always present, Quinn is always James’ equal in any situation and they are seriously sexy and hot. I especially love the sometimes witty, sometimes steamy banter between these two. All of the secondary characters that I have come to care about in the two previous books make an appearance. This series does continually progress forward in Quinn and James’ relationship and abilities, so I really think it is more enjoyable to read in order.

I am waiting anxiously for the next installment!

Thanks very much to Kensington Books, Zebra Shout and Net Galley for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.