Category Archives: Rated C+

July 28, 2023 · 12:01 am

Friday Feature Review: The Second Chance Store by Lauren Bravo

Title: The Second Chance Store by Lauren Bravo
Publisher: Avon
Genre: Contemporary, Friendship, Fiction
Length: 444 pages
Book Rating: C+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher

Summary:

If clothes can get a second chance, why can’t we? Brimming with life, love, and the stories bound up in even the most everyday items, The Second Chance Store is a tale of friendship, loss, and dusting yourself off and starting over—a novel filled with humor and a testament to the enduring power and joy of charity shops.

City dweller Gwen feels like she’s living a secondhand life. She’s thirty-eight, perpetually single, and in dire need of a dentist’s appointment. Her friends are busy procreating in the country, and conversations with her parents seem to revolve entirely around hedge borders and the trash pickup schedule. Above all she’s lonely. But then, isn’t everyone?

Then she’s let go from a job she drifted into a decade ago and never left, and Gwen realizes it’s time to make a change, starting with cleaning out her apartment. In the charity shop where she literally and metaphorically unloads her baggage, she discovers a group of weird and wonderful people devoted to finding a new home for donated items that have lost their use elsewhere. Gwen volunteers there—and finds a new home for herself among her fellow workers while discovering joy in the untold stories of secondhand things.

Now it’s time for Gwen to get out of her life in pause, and to find a way to move forward with bravery and humanity—and more regular dental care.

Review:

The Second Chance Store by Lauren Bravo is a lovely novel of new friendships and beginnings.

After losing her job, Gwen Grundle takes stock of her life which comes up lacking. Deciding to make changes, she begins volunteering at a local charity shop. Gwen works with an eclectic group of people where she also finds unexpected connections and friendships. She also reflects on her strained relationship with her parents. Will Gwen find the impetus to pick up the pieces of her life and find happiness? Or is she doomed to repeat the mistakes of her past?

The novel’s pacing is a little slow as Gwen struggles to find the energy she needs to move forward after losing her job. Two unexpected plot twists offer the reasons for how she ended up in her current situation. Gwen is not the most likable character but the people she meets at the charity shop are quite interesting. In between chapters are short vignettes about the objects that end up in the charity shop. While the importance of these detours is not always apparent, they do play a vital role in the unfolding story. The novel ends on an uplifting note that readers will appreciate.

Comments Off on Friday Feature Review: The Second Chance Store by Lauren Bravo

Filed under Avon, Contemporary, Friendship, Lauren Bravo, Rated C+, Review, The Second Chance Store

May 31, 2022 · 12:01 am

Review: Don’t Get Close by Matt Miksa

Title: Don’t Get Close by Matt Miksa
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Genre: Contemporary, Domestic Terrorist, Suspense
Length: 347 pages
Book Rating: C+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

An infamous reincarnation cult resurfaces in the wake of a deadly bombing, and it’s up to an FBI novice to learn its true aim—and uncover its dark past before it consumes her. 

Special Agent Vera Taggart walked away from a promising career as an artist to join the FBI, and she impresses her new colleagues with her eerie ability to divine conclusions from the grisliest crime scenes. Taggart’s first assignment is a decades-old cold case centered on a cult of suicide bombers known as the Sons of Elijah who believe they’ve been reborn hundreds of times, going back centuries. It seems like a low-risk assignment until a bomb tears apart a crowded Chicago restaurant. The Sons of Elijah have returned—and now it’s up to Taggart to stop their modern-day reign of terror.

Taggart’s investigation begins with Dr. Seth Jacobson, a renowned psychiatrist who claims to help people remember past lives through hypnotherapy. Jacobson had treated two of the Sons of Elijah’s founders before they’d gone on to commit a series of horrific murders. Desperate to understand how these ordinary patients could have taken such a violent path, Taggart agrees to undergo similar treatment with Jacobson.

Through her hypnosis sessions, Taggart comes to suspect the Sons of Elijah are targeting a high-tech government laboratory that could expose the group’s greatest secret with a controversial experiment. To save millions of innocent lives, Tag must come to grips with the shocking truth about the cult and her own puzzling role in its timeless mission. The fate of humanity rests on her ability to determine which threats are real and which exist only in her mind—and to decide whose side she’s really fighting for.

Review:

Don’t Get Close by Matt Miksa is an intriguing mystery.

FBI Agent Vera Taggart has just completed training when she is assigned to the Sons of Elijah case. This doomsday cult has been quiet for decades but Caleb Miller’s domestic terrorist bombing revives interest in the case.  Vera has a vested interest in catching Caleb and she is sometimes reckless as she pursues him and questions his psychiatrist Dr. Seth Jacobson. With time slipping away, Vera must figure out what the cult’s next target might be but will she uncover the truth in time?

Vera’s desperation for answers takes her down an unexpected path with Dr. Jacobson. She also learns shocking information about the people who were originally part of Sons of Elijah cult. Vera and the other agents are puzzled by the resurgence of the cult and why it originally went dormant. Unbeknownst to her, Special Agent in Charge Gina Butler has an ulterior motive for recruiting her and a shocking discovery leaves Vera reeling.

Don’t Get Close has a unique premise that is quite interesting. Vera is a well-drawn character that is unusual but appealing. The other characters are well developed and the Chicago setting springs vibrantly to life. The storyline is a bit convoluted and some of the passages slow down the pacing. With unforeseen twist and turns, Matt Miksa brings this suspenseful mystery to a dramatic conclusion.

Comments Off on Review: Don’t Get Close by Matt Miksa

Filed under Contemporary, Crooked Lane Books, Domestic Terrorism, Dont Get Close, Matt Miksa, Rated C+, Review, Suspense

May 20, 2022 · 12:01 am

Review: A Kind of Hush by JoDee Neathery

Title: A Kind of Hush by JoDee Neathery
Publisher: Imagery Lit
Genre: Contemporary, Fiction
Length: 340 pages
Book Rating: C+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by the Author

Summary:

A Kind of Hush examines how life is seldom a tidy affair, exploring whether there is a gray area between right and wrong. Matt and Summer Mackie with children Willa and Gabe are enjoying a June outing at nearby Zoar Valley Gorge, an area showcasing waterfalls, forests, shale cliffs, and a whitewater creek running through the ravine, when tragedy strikes. One parent survives along with their teenage daughter and seven-year-old son found hiding in the nearby woods. Was this a tragic accident or something more heinous, and if so, whodunnit and whydunit?

Set in Buffalo, New York, and in the Big Bend area of Texas, the heart of the novel centers on how survivors deal with the circumstances and subsequent revelations surrounding the incident. But as each one begins to piece together the events of that day, a mantle of ambiguity—a kind of hush—hangs between them like a live grenade without its pin.

Review:

A Kind of Hush by JoDee Neathery is a family-centric novel about grief and healing.

The Mackie family has already experienced one tragedy when a hiking trip results in the death of a parent. The remaining family members try to navigate their way through mourning their loss while trying to understand the cause of the accident. While oldest daughter Willa is defiant and angry, her brother Gabe finds healthy ways to cope with his pain. Their grandparents and aunt assist them during this terrible time and the death of their loved one is a reminder of how fragile life can be.

The local sheriff’s office believes they know who might be responsible but their suspect proves to be quite slippery. This person leads them on quite the chase as he manages to elude them at every turn.  He also manages to convince people along the way that he is quite harmless but some of them can see past his helpful, innocent façade.

A Kind of Hush is a unique family drama with interesting characters. The storyline is intriguing but the pacing is occasionally slow because of overly detailed passages. The overall tone is lighter than expected and some aspects of the story are more realistic than others. JoDee Neathery brings the various settings and characters vibrantly to life and readers will be satisfied with the novel’s conclusion.

Comments Off on Review: A Kind of Hush by JoDee Neathery

Filed under A Kind of Hush, Contemporary, Fiction, Imagery Lit, JoDee Neathery, Rated C+, Review

September 17, 2021 · 12:01 am

Review: Along Came a Lady by Christi Caldwell

Title: Along Came a Lady by Christi Caldwell
All the Duke’s Sins Series Book One
Publisher: Berkely
Genre: Historical, Romance
Length: 320 pages
Book Rating: C+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

The brooding, illegitimate son of a duke meets his match in the determined woman hired to transform him into a gentleman from USA Today bestselling author Christi Caldwell—perfect for fans of Bridgerton.

Rafe Audley lives to thwart his father, the Duke of Bentley. The ne’er do well who abandoned his children claims he wants to make up for his failures, but Rafe only cares about protecting the people of his mining community and providing for his three siblings, who’ve been his sole responsibility since childhood. So far, Rafe has turned away the duke’s man of affairs, solicitor, and other interlopers, until the clever duke sends the unlikeliest of people to convince Rafe to join English High Society—a bold and intriguing woman.

Edwina Dalrymple has never failed a charge. She’s quite adept at successfully transforming young women of the gentry and daughters of newly minted lords to take their place in society. Taming a bastard son of a duke will be child’s play, plus this job promises to enhance her reputation within the ton. All she has to do is fetch the wayward Rafe and groom him to be presentable to Polite Society.

As the tenacious teacher and her domineering, stubborn, refuses-to-be-taught pupil engage in a fiery battle of wills, their chemistry ignites and the true lesson becomes clear: opposites attract and hearts must be heard.

Review:

Along Came a Lady by Christi Caldwell is an entertaining historical romance with a substantive storyline.

Edwina Dalrymple has made her way in life all on her own. She instructs young men and women on the ways of Polite Society. Edwina’s latest job will be challenging but the payoff could be huge for her business. She is determined to bring the Duke of Bentley’s illegitimate adult son, Rafe Audley, to London in order to present him to Society. Edwina is calm, cool and mostly collected as he attempts to thwart her at every turn.  She is also a little horrified to discover she is attracted to the incorrigible man. Will Edwina bring the extremely reluctant Rafe to meet his father? And will she be able to resist giving in to their unexpectedly mutual desire?

Rafe has been responsible for his brothers and sister for his entire life and he has no interest in meeting his detested father. He is satisfied with his job as foreman in the local coal mine and he is very resistant to Duke’s overtures. Rafe is still resentful that his brother Wesley approached the Duke in order to leave Staffordshire.  So, initially, he is absolutely dead set against going to London and he will stoop to any level to try to run Edwina off. But Rafe’s unanticipated attraction to Edwina and his soft spot for his adored younger sister Cailin might convince him to change his mind.

The first installment in the All the Duke’s Sins series, Along Came a Lady is a perfect mix of steamy, serious and humorous. The storyline has substance and deals with the very real problem of illegitimate offspring of the aristocracy and the occasionally detrimental effects on their children even into adulthood. Edwina and Rafe are well-developed characters whose mutual stubbornness can be off-putting. The pacing is slow but picks up by the last quarter of the story. Some of the elements are a little repetitive and a few of the tricks used by Rafe to dissuade Edwina are mean-spirited. Although a little predictable, Christi Caldwell brings this intriguing historical romance to a very satisfying conclusion.

Comments Off on Review: Along Came a Lady by Christi Caldwell

Filed under All the Duke's Sins Series, Along Came a Lady, Berkley, Christi Caldwell, Historical, Rated C+, Review, Romance

September 7, 2021 · 12:01 am

Review: Gone By Morning by Michele Weinstat Miller

Title: Gone By Morning by Michele Weinstat Miller
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 336 pages
Book Rating: C+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

New York City in June is no joke–and as a wave of violence engulfs the sweltering city, an even greater danger looms in this riveting thriller for fans of Iris Johansen and Tess Gerritsen.

As the heat rises on a New York summer, a suicide bomb set off in a Times Square subway station nearly claims the life of 68-year-old ex-madam Kathleen. Then a woman is brutally murdered, her body dumped on a marshy beach in Queens. The woman, Sharon, was last seen by 26-year-old Emily–a Deputy Press Officer working at City Hall–getting into a car in front of the building where she and Kathleen both live in far upper Manhattan.

Emily requests an autopsy report from the Chief of the NYPD, but she doesn’t realize the gravity of using her position to gain information. Things turn deadly when a bomb is planted in her building, gutting it with a raging fireball. Kathleen, Emily, and Emily’s two-year-old daughter, Skye, barely escape with their lives.

Could Kathleen’s criminal history be at the heart of the violence? If Emily can’t help her, Kathleen could spend the rest of her life in prison. And when Emily discovers a shocking connection between herself and Kathleen, the stakes become impossibly high.

By the time Emily realizes she’s in grave danger, it may be too late. She’s beyond the reach of the cops, of City Hall, of her family…and a killer is closing in fast.

Review:

Gone By Morning by Michele Weinstat Miller is an intriguing mystery.

Sixty-eight-year-old Kathleen Harris is a former madam who barely escapes a subway bombing. She is surprised when, notafter the bombing, she is contacted by one of her former call girls, Sharon Williams. They have not been in contact for several years, so she cannot imagine why she asked for the meeting. Kathleen is later concerned when Sharon fails to show up at her apartment. Although Sharon is later found murdered, Kathleen is aware the police will not put much effort into finding her killer.

Twenty-six-year-old Emily Silverman and her two-year-old daughter Skye live in the same apartment building as Kathleen. She and Kathleen are also friends and unbeknownst to Emily, there is a deeper connection between them. Emily works as a Deputy Press Secretary for Mayor Derek Sullivan and Kathleen asks her to see if she can out more information about the investigation into Sharon’s murder. They quickly deduce Sharon’s death is not a priority and they put themselves in danger after their decision to look into her murder on their own.

Gone By Morning is an engaging mystery with a multi-layered plot. The characters are well-developed with fascinating backstories. Emily and Kathleen’s search for answers about Sharon’s murder takes a very shocking turn.  Chapters from the bomber’s point of view provide insight into his somewhat devious motive for his crime. The chapters from the villain’s perspective are a rather melodramatic. The storyline is well written but the pacing is somewhat slow although it eventually gains speed. Michele Weinstat Miller brings this suspenseful mystery to a satisfactory conclusion but the last chapter raises some interesting questions.

Comments Off on Review: Gone By Morning by Michele Weinstat Miller

Filed under Contemporary, Crooked Lane Books, Gone By Morning, Michele Weinstat Miller, Mystery, Rated C+, Review, Suspense

September 3, 2021 · 12:01 am

Review: The Wildest Ride by Marcella Bell

Title: The Wildest Ride by Marcella Bell
Closed Circuit Series Book One
Publisher: HQN Books
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Length: 400 pages
Book Rating: C+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

The world watches on as reality TV meets rodeo in this competition like no other. In front of the cameras, Lil and AJ are each other’s biggest rivals. Off-screen, it’s about to get a whole lot more complicated…

At thirty-six, undefeated rodeo champion AJ Garza is supposed to be retiring, not chasing after an all-new closed-circuit rodeo tour with a million-dollar prize. But with the Houston rodeo program that saved him as a wayward teen on the brink of bankruptcy, he’ll compete. And he’ll win.

Enter Lilian Sorrow Island. Raised by her grandparents on the family ranch in Muskogee, Oklahoma, Lil is more a cowboy than city boy AJ will ever be. It shows. She’s not about to let him steal the prize that’ll save her ranch, even if he is breathtakingly magnificent, in pretty much every way going…

This summer, in this bold, uplifting novel, Marcella Bell reminds us that even when it comes to rodeo, romance is the wildest ride of all!

Review:

The Wildest Ride by Marcella Bell is a rodeo romance with an ingenious twist.

Lilian “Lil” Sorrow Island has been pinching every penny she can to save her family’s ranch. But when her beloved gran reveals they have to come up with a lot of money very quickly or they will lose the ranch. But not to worry, Gran has a sure-fire plan that she has already put into motion. She has signed Lil up as a contestant for a rodeo reality show. Shock does not even begin to describe Lil’s reaction to this announcement. But Lil is not in a position to say no since she wants to keep the ranch in the family as much as her gran does.

AJ Garza is a rodeo super star whose retirement tour has lasted three years. Now seriously thinking about what comes next for him, he returns to Houston where he learns the program that inspired his career is in danger of shutting down.  AJ grimaces at the thought of the reality rodeo show but the prize money would ensure the doors stay open while they work on out a permanent funding solution.

Twenty-seven-year-old Lil is tough as nails and she can take care of herself. She is the only female competitor and she is surprised by the public reaction as she advances through each round. Lil tends to be a solitary person so she is content to spend time on her own. This becomes very important due to her very unexpected and unwanted attraction to her rodeo idol.

Thirty-six-year-old AJ is a wildly popular rodeo star and he has plenty of swagger. He would do anything for the mentor he views as a father figure, even if it means competing in the reality show. AJ has been in the rodeo business long enough to recognize talent and he knows that Lil has what it takes to win the show. But with the future of the CityBoyz at stake, AJ knows he has to win the competition. But he not does count on his sizzling attraction to his fiercest competitor which is a bit of a distraction.

The Wildest Ride is a clever romance with a multi-cultural cast of characters and a storyline that highlights  racism in the rodeo world. The reality show aspect of the plot is very creative and is mostly drama-free. Lil not only has race barriers that prevent her from achieving her goals, she also faces sexism. AJ can be a little arrogant but he respects the other riders on the circuit. The relationship between AJ and Lil starts as insta-lust that gradually turns into love. While the banter is snappy, there are long, repetitive passages with both AJ and Lil overthinking their decisions and their futures. Some of these paragraphs occur within conversations which makes it difficult to keep track of the ongoing discussion.  Marcella Bell brings this unique romance to a satisfying, but abrupt, conclusion.

Comments Off on Review: The Wildest Ride by Marcella Bell

Filed under Closed Circuit Series, Contemporary, HQN Books, Rated C+, Review, Romance, The Wildest Ride