Tag: #series

Book Review: The Librarian and the Spy by Susan Mann

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

I have just read an absolutely charming and entertaining start to a new series called The Librarian and the Spy (Librarian and the Spy Escapade #1) by Susan Mann. Not only did I love all of the characters, I learned many things I never knew about reference librarians and their jobs. This book had me laughing out loud and turning the pages as fast as possible as the mystery and suspense took off.

Quinn Ellington is a reference librarian who loves her job solving questions for her library patrons, but she also longs to travel and experience adventures like her favorite spy thriller heroes introduced to her by her grandfather. She hates all the stereotypes of librarians because she grew up as a military brat with a Marine father who taught her to shot and three older brothers that she has always completed with.

On an ordinary day at work, insurance agent James Lockwood comes up to the desk and asks Quinn for her help researching some pieces from a private collection. Quinn can’t believe her luck because not only is James gorgeous, but he has a British accent to die for. As Quinn becomes more involved in helping James, she realizes that all this research is not simply for insurance purposes and James has not been completely truthful with her. He is not British and he is not an insurance agent.

As Quinn and James work together to solve an important puzzle to stop an international arms dealer from acquiring nuclear material, Quinn’s intelligence and abilities become a major asset. She is very capable of thinking on her feet and James becomes even more impressed.

Their cover and flirting as a married couple leads to real feelings that they try to control until the end of their mission. This story has a lot of witty banter, flirting and a steady buildup of their chemistry to a relationship. No sex until the end and it is behind closed doors when it does happen. Even when the plot has been resolved, there is a great twist at the end of the book.

I really enjoyed this book and I was very happy to see that it is a proposed series and not a standalone. I was impressed by the fact that this is Ms. Mann’s first book. A fast paced plot, interesting facts, and entertaining characters make this worth the read. I am looking forward to James and Quinn’s next outing!

Thanks very much to Kensington Books and Net Galley for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review. I am looking forward to many more books in this series.

Book Review: Brothers In Blue: Matt by Jeanne St. James

RATING:  5 out of 5 Stars

What a great addition and emotionally charged finale to the Bryson brother trilogy of books!

BROTHERS IN BLUE: MATT (Brothers In Blue #3) by Jeanne St. James has the youngest Bryson finally returning home after several deployments overseas to a job and extended family that he is finding very difficult to deal with due to PTSD.

Matt Bryson believes his mind is broken. He is not ready to accept help except what is forced on him by his brother to keep his job as a police office in their small town. He has buried his emotions and is barely making it day to day.

Dr. Carly Stephens is Amanda’s obstetrician at the local hospital. She is tall, calm and extremely professional working hard to help her elderly parents and save money to adopt a baby of her own one day that she cannot have herself. When Matt ends up being the brother to rush Amanda to the hospital to deliver, he is attracted to Carly’s calm and leadership. Carly is attracted to the hot police office.

They start out as landlord and tenant, but soon agree to a sexual, no commitment relationship. They are just too different and want different things out of life. Matt with his OCD and PTSD believes he will never be able to love and he never wants children. Carly is too busy earning and saving money for her future home and adoption and just wants the hot sex. But can they truly keep to this arrangement? Hot, steamy sex is great, but soon emotions become entangled and they will have to find a way to compromise or break.

Matt had me all tied up in knots emotionally. There are many forms and degrees of PTSD and I feel Ms. St. James handled Matt’s character responses in a realistic way. I especially agree with the way that Matt had to handle a lot of his decisions on his own and in his own time. Carly was an equally strong character because even though she is a doctor, she knows she can’t heal Matt, she can only love and help him. The plot was a delicate back and forth written with empathy and compassion.

It was great reading about all the characters from the previous two books, also. I am going to miss these brothers, the loves they found and the entire extended family. This is an excellent contemporary romance series with plenty of hot and steamy sex scenes. They can all be read as standalones, but is much more fun to read them all in order and get three HEAs.

Written for and posted first on The Romance Reviews.com.

Book Review: Wynter’s Bite by Brooklyn Ann

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

WYNTER’S BITE by Brooklyn Ann is a historical paranormal romance vampire read that is the fifth book in her ‘Scandals With Bite’ series. This story takes you on the run with a rogue vampire and the mortal love of his life throughout England. This fifth book can be easily read as a standalone.

Bethany Mead is a bluestocking and just being brought out at country house parties. Her father wants a political connection in Parliament and to be rid of his daughter whom he fears will inherit his mother’s madness.

Justus de Wynter is scandalous and not looking for a partner, but he can’t help but feel sorry for the young girl that the other debutants have set up for failure. As he dances with Bethany, he finds she has a love of literature and books just like him, besides being enchanting and as beautiful on the inside as on the outside.

No matter how much they come to love each other, he is a vampire and it is against their law to allow a mortal to know of their kind. Justus will break that law and Bethany accidentally blurts out the truth. Bethany is confined to an insane asylum and Justus is named a rogue and banished.

Eight years pass until Justus finds Bethany again. Together they are on the run across England to find a Master Vampire who will pardon Justus and let the couple be together and safe. On their fast paced trip across England they run into many interesting characters and trials as well as grow to know and love each other all over again.

This is an enjoyable and easy read. Justus and Bethany are definitely deserving of their HEA. I also love when either or both of the main characters love reading and books. The sex scenes are short, but steamy. This story also sticks to the old rules and laws of vampires which makes the historical setting perfect for the story. An overall entertaining addition to the series.

Written for and posted first on The Romance Reviews.com.

Book Review: Last Breath by Robert Brynzda

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

Robert Brynzda and his amazing character, DCI Erika Foster, have given me a gripping and thrilling, British police procedural read once again! This fourth book is even stronger than the first and just as additive.

LAST BREATH (Detective Erika Foster, #4) starts off with a beautiful young girl found dead in a dumpster in London. Erika is with Peterson when he gets the call and decides to ride along to the scene. She wants in on the case, but her nemesis Stark is now Superintendent of the Murder Investigative Team and sends her on her way.

Erika is on desk duty, which she hates, but she just cannot keep her mouth silent when dealing with superiors. As she languishes, she applies to return to the Murder Investigative Team, but it does not look good until there is a medical emergency and she gets her chance to once again lead her previous team of detectives. With all of her experience, Erika connects this case to a previous unsolved case. As a third girl is reported missing, it becomes apparent that the team is chasing a serial killer who seems to disappear leaving no clues.

The killer is unveiled early on in this book by Mr. Brynzda. We get to look into his mind and life as Erika and her team try to stop him. It adds nail-biting tension as we watch him kidnap another victim and he begins to devolve with Erika and her team on his trail.

Erika is so complex, hard on the outside, but vulnerable. Her character has had to deal with loss, guilt, and moving forward emotionally while dealing with her ups and downs on the police force. The secondary characters all have unique personalities that add depth to each book. The fast paced plot keeps you reading and turning the pages. This is a series that I feel needs to be read in order and since it is on book #4, you better get busy!

Thank you very much to Bookouture and Net Galley for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review. It was completely my pleasure!

Book Review: Stark Resolution by C.D. Bradley

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

STARK RESOLUTION by C.D. Bradley gave me the resolution I was looking for from this trilogy, but the path taken was not in any way what I was expecting. It is an emotional powerhouse written in a way that lets you have a window into the depths of a wounded warrior’s mind.

This book starts with both, Kira and Stark, waking up in Walter Reed Medical Facility. Both are facing difficult recoveries in differing ways. (Sorry, can’t give you more without spoiling a major plot twist and major scenes.)

When they come together again, the pieces of the overall suspense portion of this trilogy become transparent. Kira, Stark and all of their friends we have been introduced to along the way in books 1 and 2 work to stop what could be a potentially devastating biological weapon.

This trilogy is not at all what I was expecting and yet it turned into one of my all-time favorites with strong characters that I will always remember. I thought the cliffhangers at the end of books 1 and 2 were the most devastating emotional twists this author could throw at me until I got into the meat of this third book in the trilogy. C.D. Bradley takes some specific problems that our veterans’ face and writes from the heart of the veteran’s viewpoint with powerful emotional realism.

When I started this trilogy, I thought I was just getting a well written erotic military series that I would read and enjoy the sex scenes and try to figure out the suspense subplot on the side. This trilogy is so much MORE!

I cannot recommend this trilogy enough. C.D. Bradley’s writing is captivating, intense and emotional from page one.

Written for and posted first on The Romance Reviews.com.

Book Review: Silver Thaw by Catherine Anderson

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

SILVER THAW (Mystic Creek, #1) by bestselling author Catherine Anderson is the start of a new traditional contemporary romance series set in Mystic Creek, Oregon. This is an extremely well written story that has a hero that we all dream of meeting and a heroine with a small daughter who both need him desperately.

Jeb Sterling is a self-employed precision woodworker who finds messages scattered across his land on pink strips of paper. He becomes intrigued by the writer’s hopes and wishes for herself and her six year old daughter. When a severe ice storm hits, Jeb goes to check on his mysterious new neighbors and ends up rescuing Amanda Banning and her daughter. He finds himself drawn to this pair that are on the run and hiding from a physically abusive spouse and father.

Amanda and her daughter’s previous physical and psychological abuse is handled very convincingly by this author. Jeb is a strong hero to take on this pair and to deal with all the fallout to come. There are mild religious references, but only before meal prayers and the idea of praying for help. All Ms. Anderson’s books have very mild sexual scenes and focus more on the growing of the love between the H/h. The growth of the relationship in this book is the main focus. It is well plotted and realistic to the situation.

This romance is character driven and tells the tale of overcoming past adversity and starting over with the love and help of a strong hero and a caring community.

I am very much looking forward to reading the next book in this series.