Category Archives: Rated B

May 13, 2022 · 12:01 am

Review: The Summer We Forgot by Caroline George

Title: The Summer We Forgot by Caroline George
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult, Mystery, Romance
Length: 416 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

Caroline George once again transports readers with lush, evocative prose, leading them to ask the question: what happens when we can’t even trust ourselves?

Some memories are better left forgotten.

Darby and Morgan haven’t spoken for two years, and their friend group has splintered. But when the body of their former science teacher is found in the marsh where they attended camp that summer, they realize they have more questions than answers . . . and even fewer memories.

No one remembers–or no one is talking.

The group of reunited friends suspects that a murderer is stalking the coastal highway 30A, and they are desperate to recover their memories as quickly as possible . . . before their history they can’t remember repeats itself.

Everyone has a secret.

As tensions rise and time runs out, Darby and Morgan begin to wonder if they can believe one another . . . or if they can even trust themselves.

Review:

The Summer We Forgot by Caroline George is an intriguing young adult mystery.

Darby and Morgan’s friendship ended two summers ago when their science teacher, Dr. Richard Herowitz, disappeared. Their rift also altered their group friendship in the aftermath of their curious summer counselor job at Camp Choctawhatchee.  When Herowitz’s body is discovered, the group of friends realize none of them have many memories of what happened at the camp. As they work together to uncover the truth about Herowitz’s death, will they also repair their friendships?

The Summer We Forgot is a fast-paced young adult mystery that is very engrossing. The perspectives alternate between Morgan and Darby’s points of view. The addition of police interviews adds interesting details about the teens and their recollections of what happened at Camp Choctawhatchee. With themes of forgiveness and parental expectations, Caroline George brings this clever mystery to a twist-filled conclusion.

Comments Off on Review: The Summer We Forgot by Caroline George

Filed under Caroline George, Contemporary, Mystery, Rated B, Review, Romance, The Summer We Forgot, Thomas Nelson Publishing

April 26, 2022 · 12:02 am

Review: Sniffing Out Danger by Elizabeth Heiter

Title: Sniffing Out Danger by Elizabeth Heiter
K-9s on Patrol Series Book Two
Publisher: Harlequin Intrigue
Genre: Contemporary, Romantic Suspense
Length: 256 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by the Author

Summary:

Her first big case…
Could be her last.

When former big-city cop Ava Callan stumbles upon a bomb, she seizes the chance to prove herself. Not only to the small-town police department where she’s transitioning to become a K-9 handler…but especially to charming lead investigator Eli Thorne. The only thing more explosive than her chemistry with the out-of-town captain? The danger menacing them at every turn…

From Harlequin Intrigue: Seek thrills. Solve crimes. Justice served.

Discover more action-packed stories in the K-9s on Patrol series. All books are stand-alone with uplifting endings but were published in the following order:

Book 1: Decoy Training by Caridad Piñeiro
Book 2: Sniffing Out Danger by Elizabeth Heiter
Book 3: Foothills Field Search by Maggie Wells
Book 4: Alpha Tracker by Cindi Myers
Book 5: Scent Detection by Leslie Marshman

Review:

Sniffing Out Danger by Elizabeth Heiter is an intriguing romantic suspense set in a small town. Although this release is the second installment in the K-9s on Patrol ­series, the multi author books stand on their own.

K-9 Officer Ava Callan is a Chicago transplant now living in Jasper, Idaho. She does not feel as if she fits in and being assigned a K-9 partner makes her feel isolated from her fellow officers. Ava and police dog Lacey are making a welfare check when they find what appears to be a bomb. The police department does not have an explosives expert so they request the assistance of McCall police department Captain Eli Thorne to assist them. He and Ava work closely with her fellow officers Brady Nichols and Jason Wright to find the bomber before disaster strikes.

After closing a big narcotics case with the Chicago PD, Ava is ready for a change. She has adjusted to the slower pace of life but Ava is finding it difficult to make friends. Ava keeps to herself and she is really enjoying having Lacey with her. She knows she is not Eli’s first choice for the team, so Ava is surprised by how well they work together.

Eli knows time is not on their side as he and the Jasper PD try to find their bomber. Their first person of interest is bartender Jennilyn Sanderson.  She has not been in town long but she is familiar to the police department. While Jennilyn has been in a little bit of trouble because she does not hesitate to jump in the fray when necessary.  Will Ava and Eli locate her before another bomb detonates?

Sniffing Out Danger is the perfect blend of romance and suspense. Ava and Eli are well-drawn, multi-faceted characters. Eli is a bit dismayed that Ava is impervious to his attempts to charm her. Their search for the bomber throws them together which provides them the opportunity to get know each other. Their simmering attraction underlies the fast-paced investigation to catch the bomber. With an unexpectedly dangerous plot twist, Elizabeth Heiter brings this thrilling romantic suspense story to a heartfelt conclusion.

Comments Off on Review: Sniffing Out Danger by Elizabeth Heiter

Filed under Contemporary, Elizabeth Heiter, Harlequin Intrigue, K-9s on Patrol Series, Rated B, Review, Romantic Suspense, Sniffing Out Danger

April 22, 2022 · 12:01 am

Review: Wish You Were Gone by Kieran Scott

Title: Wish You Were Gone by Kieran Scott
Publisher: Gallery Books
Genre: Contemporary, Domestic Mystery
Length: 351 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

This “captivating thriller full of twists and surprises” (Megan Miranda, New York Times bestselling author)—about what happens when the death of a husband and father isn’t the tragedy everyone believes—is perfect for fans of the Netflix original series Dead to Me.

Emma Walsh has finally worked up the courage to confront her husband James about his drinking—his alcoholic rages, his blackouts, and the fear his behavior has created for her and their two kids. But James never shows up to meet her as planned, and all her righteous words go unsaid. And unsaid they remain, because the next time Emma sees James, his body lies crumpled amidst the wreckage of his flashy car, which has been smashed to its final resting place halfway through the back wall of their suburban house’s roomy garage.

In the aftermath of the fatal crash, Emma and her teenage children begin to embrace life without James’s looming, volcanic presence. Buoyed by the support of her two closest friends, she struggles to deal with her grief, complicated by the knowledge that her husband’s legacy as an upstanding business owner and family man shines only because so many people, for so long, were so willing to keep his secrets—secrets that twist into new and unexpected shapes as the mysterious details of his last day of life begin to come to light.

A sinister and suspenseful domestic thriller, lauded as “stylish” by Publishers Weekly and “delicious” by Booklist, Wish You Were Gone will keep you guessing “until not just the last page, but the last paragraph” (Chandler Baker, New York Times bestselling author)

Review:

Wish You Were Gone by Kieran Scott is an engrossing domestic mystery.

Emma Walsh is absolutely furious when her husband James does not show up to the restaurant for dinner. She is planning to hand over divorce papers to her alcoholic, abusive husband but after waiting for him, she returns home. She is a little surprised when he does not answer any of her texts but she is unconcerned enough to go to bed before he returns home. Emma is awakened in the middle of the night by what turns out to be her drunken husband crashing his car into their garage. Although the police are satisfied his death is just a tragic accident, Emma is not so sure after discovering some little things that do not add up. But that leaves her wondering who would have reason to kill James?

Emma can barely remember when her marriage was happy. James is drastically different from the kind-hearted man she married and she knows it is time to end the marriage. When Emma finds the first thing that is not consistent with James’ typical behavior, she turns to her best friends, Gray Garrison and Lizzie Larken. Gray’s husband Darnell is James’ business partner and Emma has been close to Lizzie for several years. In between attempting to uncover the truth about what happened to James, Emma tries to be there as much as possible for her teenagers, Hunter and Kelsey.

The deeper Emma digs into her husband’s life, the more the realizes she does not him as well as she thinks. She begins to suspect he was having an affair but trying to figure out who the “other woman” is turns out to be somewhat tricky. Emma also discovers shocking information about James’ future plans and she begins to harbor a few suspicions about someone close to their family. She is also becoming concerned about Hunter and Kelsey who turn out be keeping a few secrets of their own.

Wish You Were Gone is a fast-paced mystery with plenty of unexpected twists and turns. The characters are multi-faceted and easy to like. The storyline is well-developed with chapters that alternate between various points of view. With the suspense building with every chapter, Kieran Scott brings this clever domestic mystery to a jaw-dropping and thoroughly shocking conclusion.

2 Comments

Filed under Contemporary, Domestic Mystery, Gallery Books, Kieran Scott, Mystery, Rated B, Review, Wish You Were Gone

April 18, 2022 · 12:01 am

Review: Pay Dirt Road by Samantha Jayne Allen

Title: Pay Dirt Road by Samantha Jayne Allen
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery
Length: 304 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

Friday Night Lights meets Mare of Easttown in this small-town mystery about an unlikely private investigator searching for a missing waitress. Pay Dirt Road is the mesmerizing debut from the 2019 Tony Hillerman Prize recipient Samantha Jayne Allen…

Annie McIntyre has a love/hate relationship with Garnett, Texas. Recently graduated from college and home waitressing, lacking not in ambition but certainly in direction, Annie is lured into the family business – a private investigation firm – by her supposed-to-be-retired grandfather, Leroy, despite the rest of the clan’s misgivings. When a waitress at the café goes missing, Annie and Leroy begin an investigation that leads them down rural routes and haunted byways, to noxious-smelling oil fields and to the glowing neon of local honky-tonks.

As Annie works to uncover the truth she finds herself identifying with the victim in increasing, unsettling ways, and realizes she must confront her own past – failed romances, a disturbing experience she’d rather forget, and the trick mirror of nostalgia itself – if she wants to survive this homecoming.

Review:

Pay Dirt Road by Samantha Jayne Allen is an intriguing small-town mystery.

After college graduation, Annie McIntyre finds herself right back in her hometown in Texas. She is working as waitress and living with her cousin, Nikki Avery, when a co-worker goes missing. Annie and Victoria Merritt both work as waitresses and she is worried when Victoria fails to show up for her shift. They were both at the same party the night before on the land adjacent to her grandfather Leroy’s property. Annie has just started doing office work for Leroy and his partner Mary-Pat Zimmerman at their private investigation company. Although Mary-Pat wants them to stay out Victoria’s case, Annie and Leroy cannot help but trying to find out what happened to her.

Annie is quickly reminded of things in her past she would rather forget as she reunites with t foremer classmates she once knew. She has mixed emotions about meeting up again with Wyatt Reed, her teenage boyfriend who broke her heart when he ended things with her. Equally confusing is seeing Justin Schneider again. He is tangled up in a part of her history that she would rather not resurrect.

Although much about the town has stayed the same, the arrival of an oil company is a new complication. Many of the roughnecks are strangers but Justin’s brother Troy works for the company. Annie discovers he has a previously unknown connection to Victoria but does he have anything to do with what happened to the missing waitress? And then there is the hit and run accident that occurred the same night that Victoria disappeared. Is it just a coincidence these two events  happened near one another?

Pay Dirt Road is an interesting mystery that is initially a little slow-paced. Annie is very reflective as she tries to learn the truth about what happened to Victoria. Her family is a dysfunctional but she is fiercely loyal to her loved ones. She is a somewhat impulsive and sometimes confrontational as she searches for answers. The storyline is engaging and the setting springs vividly to life. With outstanding plot twists, Samantha Jayne Allen brings this suspenseful mystery to an action-packed conclusion.

Comments Off on Review: Pay Dirt Road by Samantha Jayne Allen

Filed under Contemporary, Minotaur Books, Mystery, Pay Dirt Road, Rated B, Review, Samantha Jayne Allen

April 17, 2022 · 12:01 am

Review: The Arc by Tory Henwood Hoen

Title: The Arc by Tory Henwood Hoen
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Contemporary, Women’s Fiction, Romance
Length: 344 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

Can you curate your soulmate? Thirty-five-year-old Ursula Byrne, VP of Strategic Audacity at a branding agency in Manhattan, is successful, witty, whip-smart, and single. She’s tried all the dating apps, and let’s just say: she’s underwhelmed by her options. You’d think that by now someone would have come up with something more bespoke; a way for users to be more tailored about who and what they want in a life partner––how hard could that be?

Enter The Arc: a highly secretive, super-sophisticated matchmaking service that uses a complex series of emotional, psychological and physiological assessments to architect partnerships that will go the distance. The price tag is high, the promise ambitious––a level of lifelong compatibility that would otherwise be unattainable. In other words, The Arc will find your ideal mate.

Ursula is paired with forty-two-year-old lawyer Rafael Banks. From moment one, this feels like the electric, lasting love they’ve each been seeking their whole adult lives. But as their relationship unfolds in unanticipated ways, the two begin to realize that true love is never a sure thing. And the arc of a relationship is never predictable…even when it’s fully optimized.

Review:

The Arc by Tory Henwood Hoen is a unique romance that is quite enjoyable.

Thirty-five-year-old Ursula Byrne is an independent career woman who is burned out by dating apps. She is ready to give up on love when she is provided with an introduction to The Arc, a company that approaches matchmaking in a decidedly different manner. Ursula is intrigued but the price tag for the opportunity is steep. Luckily for her, she gets a side job that takes the money concern off the table. After spending seven days undergoing somewhat unusual testing, she is matched up with forty-two-year-old lawyer, Gabriel Banks.

Ursula and Gabriel immediately hit it off and their romance unfolds quickly.  They truly enjoy each other’s company and their time together is fairly free from stress. Ursula wants a relationship where she does not feel like she gives up important parts of herself. Gabriel has insecurities from previous failed romances but he has not quite given up on love. While their first few months together are blissfully happy, Ursula and Gabriel’s first disagreement is the beginning of trouble in paradise. Will they give up at the first sign of trouble?

The Arc is an interesting novel that blends romance with satire. Ursula is a likable character with a few idiosyncrasies. Gabriel’s family life is colorful and he is completely charmed by Ursula. Their romance is funny and a little silly at first. It is not until their relationship is tested that Ursula really begins to find her way. Gabriel is always a little more grounded but he also has room for to grow. Tory Henwood Hoen brings this clever romance to a heartwarming conclusion.

Comments Off on Review: The Arc by Tory Henwood Hoen

Filed under Contemporary, Rated B, Romance, St Martin's Press, The Arc, Tory Henwood Hoen, Women's Fiction

March 26, 2022 · 12:02 am

Review: These Deadly Games by Diana Urban

Title: These Deadly Games by Diana Urban
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult, Suspense, Thriller
Length: 407 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

Let’s play a game.

You have 24 hours to win. If you break my rules, she dies. If you call the police, she dies. If you tell your parents or anyone else, she dies.

Are you ready?

When Crystal Donavan gets a message on a mysterious app with a video of her little sister gagged and bound, she agrees to play the kidnapper’s game. At first, they make her complete bizarre tasks: steal a test and stuff it in a locker, bake brownies, make a prank call.

But then Crystal realizes each task is meant to hurt–and kill–her friends, one by one. But if she refuses to play, the kidnapper will kill her sister. Is someone trying to take her team out of the running for a gaming tournament? Or have they uncovered a secret from their past, and wants them to pay for what they did…

As Crystal makes the impossible choices between her friends and her sister, she must uncover the truth and find a way to outplay the kidnapper… before it’s too late.

Author of All Your Twisted Secrets, Diana Urban’s explosive sophomore novel, These Deadly Games, will keep you riveted until the final twist is revealed.

Review:

These Deadly Games by Diana Urban is a spellbinding young adult thriller.

Crystal Donovan desperately needs the prize money from an upcoming egames tournament. The teams need to be five players so she and her friends are currently pitting their skills against each other for the coveted spots. But Crystal is soon consumed with fulfilling the demands of an anonymous person who has kidnapped her younger sister, Caelyn. Having proved the kidnapper knows her every move, she cannot reveal to anyone (and especially not the police) what she is being forced to do. When it becomes obvious the kidnapper is targeting her friends, Crystal must figure out why in hopes of outsmarting this dangerous person.

Crystal is frantic as she races against time to complete the tasks assigned to her. It is not until later in the day that realizes the kidnapper is setting her up to take the fall for the outcome of these dark deeds. Despite her desire to tell her best friends about what is happening to her, Crystal remains quiet as she tries to keep anyone from realizing something is drastically wrong. Even when things turn deadly, Crystal continues following the increasingly dangerous orders from the clearly disturbed kidnapper.

These Deadly Games is a suspense-laden thriller that is incredibly compelling. Crystal is a clever young woman whose gaming skills come in very handy while trying to outwit the kidnapper and save Caelyn. The supporting cast of characters is diverse and well-developed. The storyline is engrossing and moves at a blistering pace. With outstanding plot twists, Diana Urban brings this captivating young adult thriller to an edge of the seat conclusion.

Comments Off on Review: These Deadly Games by Diana Urban

Filed under Contemporary, Diana Urban, Rated B, Review, Suspense, These Deadly Games, Thriller, Wednesday Books, Young Adult