I don't pick up a lot of middle-grade fiction, but every now and then, something piques my interest somehow and I dive in. I love when it turns out asI don't pick up a lot of middle-grade fiction, but every now and then, something piques my interest somehow and I dive in. I love when it turns out as well as this one did.
The tone of this book flows right from the start. It's a mix of snark and insight told in a straight-up manner that is immediately engaging. Friday Barnes is a self-taught auto-didact with a love for mystery solving and quality alone-time, and a distaste for physical exertion—so if Veronica Mars were an introverted wuss in middle school. Which undersells the story dreadfully but is about as good as I can come up with for plot/character description.
And I think I'll leave it at that, except to add that I loved it right from the git-go and gulped it down whole. If you think you may be intrigued, the first chapter will give you all you need to know if you'll enjoy it or not.
A note about illustrations: The copy I have has marvelous illustrations by Phil Gosier. They're the perfect enhancement to the story and full of character. I looked forward to each one as a discovery in its own right.
A note about cliffhangers: This ends on a tease that some may call a cliffhanger. It may qualify, but it isn't the reader-hating abomination that comprises most cliffhangers. All the story threads wrap very well, indeed, so when the zinger hits at the end, it's pure invitation and doesn't leave any question about what happened or alter our understanding of events to that point. If you're going to do a cliffhanger, this is the model to follow!...more
This is third in the Heirs of Willow North series and other related series in the world exist as well. But this one is pretty well self-contained withThis is third in the Heirs of Willow North series and other related series in the world exist as well. But this one is pretty well self-contained with only some passing mentions of characters from other books so you can probably read this as a stand-alone. That said, I really liked that each of the other two books include Veronica, at least some (more in Stranger than in Ally), so it may be nice reading them in order.
Okay, non-standard disclaimer. Melissa is awesome and I'm the smartest guy in my years at university for having recognized her excellence and the proof is that I convinced her to marry me. Feel free to disregard this review as hopelessly biased, however much I strive for honesty.
It was a real surprise when Melissa said that the final book in this trilogy would feature Veronica. I am, however, smart enough to have kept that surprise to "Hmmm. That will be an interesting challenge." Veronica is fifty by the time the story starts and didn't make a very strong impression in those other books so I was unsure what to expect. I'm thrilled by how it turned out because I loved seeing her grow into herself by taking her future more actively in hand and going back to the Scholia to complete her studies. I loved seeing the school setting from the perspective of the non-traditional student and how she made friends and became involved in their lives.
One of the interesting aspects of Veronica's growth was how she had such a hard time asserting herself . . . until it was on behalf of someone else. It was interesting because her life to that point hadn't had a lot of call for her to step up for others (being at the heart of power and attached to those in charge) and I loved how she came to acknowledge that she could assert herself and how the practice on behalf of others set herself up for being better at it when called on to come to her own defense later on.
I'm also thrilled with how well the plot came together. This is, at its heart, a mystery and I love seeing it work so well. I may be biased, but I loved discovering it along with Veronica and . . . the others (no spoilers). Okay, I'm totally biased because I remember brainstorming some of those elements with Melissa. So it's a good thing that my memory is bad enough that I didn't remember most of the details until they hit the plot as I read through the story after release. I'll defer to others whether it works as well as I think it does, but the pace is good and I like the characters.
And I'd probably best leave it at that. It's worth the five stars, and I'm happy the challenge turned out so well—particularly that the romance, while a subplot, was such a strong one.
A note about Chaste: There's no explicit sex at all, though some mention of (married) shenanigans exist. I consider it very chaste as even the mentioning was pretty tame....more
I struggled getting through this. A lot of that is the stupid romance where the only impediment is that both leads have an irrational negative motivatI struggled getting through this. A lot of that is the stupid romance where the only impediment is that both leads have an irrational negative motivation* so they're both all "oh, no we can't possibly" when there isn't really anything at all holding them back. I thought for a while that Nick might have some tragic reason in his past, but that phizzed out hard.
And the plot is kind of dumb, too. I mean, Riley is not just a psychic, she's a psychic with extremely clear and on-point visions and impulses that are always, and I mean always accurate. And she spends the entire story, even part of the epilogue for heaven's sake, being all "oh, no, I just want to be normal" like that's a thing to aspire to. I mean, I know people do aspire to that, but they're generally people who don't have, you know, superpowers. I always find it tedious when someone has this amazing gift and treats it like some kind of disfiguring malady. Ride that sucker all the way to the bank, forehead! Or fight injustice. Or whatever. But bemoaning how "weird" she is just doesn't cut it.
And that's before you get to the slapstick. Or the gunfights where you have half a dozen people shooting at others and nobody gets hit or seriously injured. Well, okay, you have a couple of comedic wounds, like Nick being shot in the bum. And one or two injuries were serious-ish, if you count one or two walk-on characters. But the most frustrating part is when Score puts her thumb on the scale to draw out the stupid. Like when Riley surprises the bad guy, clocks him upside the head with a skateboard (slapstick, remember?) and then she runs away so that he can still be chasing her. Note, she'd knocked the gun out of his hand. She had a weapon and was standing over him. No other bad guys anywhere around. And she ran away rather than pick up the gun and aim it his way. Or, you know, beating him with that skateboard until he stopped moving. I'm good either way, really. What I'm not good with is a continuation of a chase scene after she ended the chase...
Anyway, the story is silly. The characters are shallow and prone to authorial intrusion for yucks. And at least half the secondary characters are straight-up straight-lines. To be fair, all of this was obvious from the start. So if you want to see if your response will be similar to mine, it'll only take a couple of chapters in a sample read for you to tell. For me, though, this is two stars. What can I say? Some of those yucks landed and made me laugh. If I could get past all the teeth-grinding we'd be golden...
A note about Steamy: I forget if there were two explicit sex scenes. There's most of one at any rate, but I don't think there's much more. So it's the lower end of my steam tolerance. It was a bit acrobatic for how short it was, so call it more author manipulation. Oh. I just realized that... Ew...
* Negative Motivations: I kind of hate that the term "negative motivation" isn't widespread, yet. Since it isn't, I'm going to save off this little jag to append to my reviews that feature the term. Jennifer Crusie blogged about it a bit back (or, if that link doesn't work, here's a cache of the original) and it changed how I understand story. The problem with the term is that if you've never heard it before, you'd assume it meant motivations that are harmful or immoral. Not so. What it refers to is motivations not to do something. The thing is that many of us are motivated to not do things for a lot of different, perfectly valid and reasonable, reasons. The problem is that in a story motivations to not do things are a huge drag on the plot—particularly considering the fact that most negative motivations are overcome by the character simply deciding they don't care any more (or, rather, that they do care and are now motivated to do the thing). So not only do you have a counter to action but you also have a situation where to overcome it, all a character has to do is change their mind. Which means eventually, the reader is rooting for the character to get over him/herself already and do the thing we want them to do. Conflict drives story. Conflict between a reader and a main character drives readers away from story....more
This is a sequel to The Red Files. Not a series. A sequel. Same characters and progressing plotlines. So read that one first.
I don't generally do trueThis is a sequel to The Red Files. Not a series. A sequel. Same characters and progressing plotlines. So read that one first.
I don't generally do true sequels to romances because I don't want the regression in the relationship that is standard fare in them. I don't like people screwing with my HEA, is what I mean. But since the previous book was as much mystery as it was romance and because the author handled it as well as she did, I took the chance. I'm glad I did.
You know mostly what to expect from the first, so that justification held true. This is a good thing. The plot doesn't appear at first to have anything to do with the first book, but that's the strength of a good writer putting together a mystery. And Winter handled it very well, letting those threads tie together in natural, but still unexpected, ways.
I had some concern when Catherine's ex, Stephanie, showed up as that's an invitation to relationship shenanigans. I'm happy to say they didn't work that way at all and Stephanie turned out to work into the plot and acted only to strengthen the relationship and in the right ways. Plus, I really liked how Winter turned the evil other woman to her purposes, changing it from a cliché to something with some depth to it.
The family dynamics from both leads, and how they played into the relationship between Catherine and Lauren, were another stand-out. It wasn't all hugs and puppies and it wasn't all dire or hijinks, either. Winter does extremely well wrangling a lot of character interactions and giving them all the depth they need. Lauren has lots of brothers who might have become indistinguishable if she weren't careful. But she was and that worked out well, too.
The big-bad, though? Yeah, that was sour. Did we really need to make it (view spoiler)[about neo-Nazis? Really? (hide spoiler)] I mean, the tech pushed the border of the feasible but not outrageously so. And the libertarian in me loved the underlying theme of individual rights and protecting privacy and preventing both corporate and government abuse of private information. Plus, I loved the explicit expectation that government lists are never as secure as we are assured they will be when those in power want to create them. But the main bad-guy just. Ugh.
So yes, that last drags this down to four stars for being silly because that's deadly in a mystery. It may have worked differently for me if the romance had been forefront. Possibly.
A note about Steamy: There are explicit sex scenes, but I let this go long enough I forget how many. About the middle of my steam tolerance. They felt kind of gratuitous, though, because they were mostly outside of the emotional/intimate arc of the characters....more
This was a decent investigative mystery with romance elements that worked in the end, but only barely.
The plot had a strong and steady pace and that hThis was a decent investigative mystery with romance elements that worked in the end, but only barely.
The plot had a strong and steady pace and that held my interest throughout. I had to consciously suppress what I know about the details because I'm more than passingly familiar with tech and security (fields that lie at the heart of their investigation) and while the trappings hold together fine the details simply don't. Which is frankly to be expected and Winter does a great job putting together the framework such that the motivations driving the various parties involved hold together amazingly well. And I particularly liked that she gave many of the opponents Lauren and Catherine face complex backgrounds that made their interactions move from cooperation to opposition in a fluid, but reasonable, manner.
Until the epilogue, I was going to say that the romance felt rather lacking, however. This is mostly down to Catherine being so closed off for so long and holding onto her standoffishness all the way through a dark moment. At that point, I didn't actually buy that what they had had enough foundation to last at all. It was a beginning, but it didn't feel like enough. And I was skeptical that an epilogue could pull it together, but that turned out to be a premature evaluation. And it wasn't even that the epilogue was idealized or anything. Quite the opposite, in fact. Instead, it showed the compromises they had made and many of the accommodations in their relationship. But better than that, though, is that it showed how they had become a team and why it is that they stayed together. And why they'd make the choices and sacrifices in future to remain together. It was a really fantastic piece of work, frankly, and redeemed the whole romantic arc for me.
So this ends up with a wobbly 4½ stars that I'm rounding up for the romantic redemption, the strong mystery, and the next note that surprised me in a great way.
A note about Politics: Winter does a great job keeping this apolitical, which is an achievement when the story is fundamentally about government corruption. No parties are mentioned and we don't meet any politicians who are pure and good or anything like it. So while the primary corruption is in Nevada (and presumably involved Republicans), there are explicit indications that it reaches into everything everywhere. Her characters, dedicated journalists, even call out the sad state of modern journalism for being shallow and too willing to take a party line for their own story angle, even, and including, their acknowledged model, Helen Thomas. This was unexpected for me because I'd think that the one subgenre where you didn't need to worry about offending a large percentage of your audience for taking sides would be a lesbian romance. I know that no single group is monolithic in outlook, but those in the audience who weren't actual Democrats would at least be used to messages from that perspective in their art and entertainment. So Winter did an incredibly good job with a difficult thing that she probably didn't have to do at all. It maybe helped that this was published in 2015, so before some of the more heated polarization the last four years have been.
A note about Steamy: There is a single explicit sex scene, though with a memory back with more detail later. It's the light side of my steam tolerance. I actually didn't like how it played out on the emotional/intimacy level, though it was completely in character all around....more
This is third in an Urban Fantasy series that has plot and character elements that build over time. So definitely read them in order.
Having read the oThis is third in an Urban Fantasy series that has plot and character elements that build over time. So definitely read them in order.
Having read the others, you know pretty much what to expect with this one. So let me just say that I really liked the developments in this and that I think Harper pulled off a really great achievement creating lasting growth with essentially a "Groundhog Day" plot—i.e. Emma goes through the same day multiple times and that's pretty much the entire book. So it's all one day, and yet, you get some great progression on the series as a whole, including the relationship between Emma and Lukas.
Also, the plot was outstanding and well-thought out and holds up, at least for me (I'm not very critical of plot-logic while reading, but I do tend to catch obvious stumbles). So I'm giving this all five stars and I wish I hadn't caught up to the publication of the stories in the series because I want the next one right now...
A note about Steamy: There's a single explicit sex scene putting this on the low end of my steam tolerance. It has been a long time coming and it developed very well, I think....more
This is sixth in a series and many of the character and story backgrounds are built through the others, so I recommend reading in order.
While I knew mThis is sixth in a series and many of the character and story backgrounds are built through the others, so I recommend reading in order.
While I knew mostly what to expect, I wasn't nearly as satisfied with this story. The opening has Maggie engage in a stupidly clumsy fit kicked off by a deeply unprofessional prank by Lenny that I hated every moment of. Since she severely sprained her wrist (such that it affected the rest of the story) that annoyance persisted throughout. So with every mention of her painkiller-induced brain fog and every time she couldn't do a thing because of that stupid wrist I got to revisit my dissatisfaction with that forced opening. And I really hated the central jerk, Theresa and even more so that she got her way every freaking time (until someone finally managed to murder her off, an event that took way, waaaay too long to happen).
Speaking of taking too long to happen, Keane did something she hasn't before. Here's the last line of the first chapter "Neither of us knew that in less than twenty-four hours, Theresa would be dead, and I’d be accused of her murder." This is unbelievably clumsy regardless of everything else, but it sets up a stupid amount of tension because (view spoiler)[a) the idiot woman doesn't die until chapter 20 (51%), b) Maggie being "accused of her murder" doesn't happen until chapter 29 (82%), and c) Maggie is never actually accused of the murder, nor was she ever actually a suspect and it's all a misunderstanding with Lenny and Sile having a quarrel(hide spoiler)]. So that whole stupidly awkward foreshadow took forever to start, and it was (mostly) a lie anyway.
I thought better of Keane, frankly. I'm chalking this up as an uncharacteristic misstep and/or personal and idiosyncratic pique on my part and I'll still snatch up the next should one be forthcoming. Anyway, three stars and grudging ones at that.
A note about Chaste: So Maggie and Liam are definitely "involved". But still nothing more than kissing on-page and they're still talking about moving in together....more
This is fifth in a mystery series that has built relationships and some plot elements over time so I recommend reading these in order.
By now, you knowThis is fifth in a mystery series that has built relationships and some plot elements over time so I recommend reading these in order.
By now, you know what you're getting and I mean that in the best way. The mystery in this one is slightly better with less of a reliance on coincidence. Or, at least, the coincidences in this one arose from having things that were connected be connected.
Enhancing this one was getting to meet Maggie's sister, Beth. I loved that she was given some depth and that we were along to see Maggie get to know her better and outside of the rivalry that had soured their relationship.
The biggest downside remains O'Shea, but in this one, it looks like he might have (finally) gone too far. Let's just say that if he's still around next time, I'll be deeply disappointed. At any rate, he drops my rating half a star to 4½ but not so badly that I'll round down.
A note about Chaste: There are some great relationship developments (mainly Maggie acknowledging to herself that this is something she values, treasures, and is worth working on), but still no mention of sex. I'm assuming that they're doing it because of how long they've been together. But that's all assumption and I kind of like it that way....more
This is fourth in a mystery series that carries some character arc developments over time. So I recommend reading them in order.
So I won't go into theThis is fourth in a mystery series that carries some character arc developments over time. So I recommend reading them in order.
So I won't go into the plot because by now you know about what to expect. I'll just say that this one felt lighter on coincidence, though not without it entirely. It's probably the strongest mystery plot so far and I really liked the twists in it.
And I liked the character developments. Liam's daughter, Hannah, shows up and I appreciated how Keane developed that dynamic (both with Liam and with Maggie). The developments with Lenny being much more of a contributor to the outfit was awesome, too. The only sour note is the continuing aggravation of Sergeant O'Shea. I'm so tired of that guy and his over-the-top obliviousness. I really hope Sile becomes more of a feature and that we can retire that buffoon.
The plot and character developments, along with the really strong mystery, have this at 4½ stars with the missing half-star pretty much down to O'Shea. I'm rounding up though, because, again, O'Shea is the only downside I felt strongly about.
A note about Chaste: Maggie and Liam are officially a couple, though it's unclear if sex is happening. Hannah's presence prevents any intimacy between them, and that's all good. So like previous entries in the series, this is very chaste....more
This is third in a mystery series and the two previous books illustrate important parts of the background and some of the ongoing relationships. I recThis is third in a mystery series and the two previous books illustrate important parts of the background and some of the ongoing relationships. I recommend reading in order, not least for details with Sergeant O'Shea, Lenny, and Liam.
The tourist season is in full swing on Whisper Island and Maggie is officially a P.I. with a license and everything. I love that she's explicitly working to make the island her home and leveraging her former career skills as a police detective to make a go of it. It isn't clear how much call there would be for a PI in a small community, but Keane doesn't make it this huge success thing and Aunt Noreen is still providing lots of support, both emotional, and with shifts at the Café. So I liked that pretty well.
The mystery is stronger in this one, with a thoroughly despicable victim and large cast of suspects of varying sympathetic callouts. I kind of thought I'd hate the "find the twenty-years-missing sheep" plot more than I did, though. I mean, that turned out extremely satisfying, even if it was mostly background through the story. And I think I'll just have to take the role of coincidence in stride for Keane as it seems to be a factor every time, at last to some extent. Less this time, actually, with only really one that was a bit of a stretch.
I kind of hated the stupid kink aspects of this one, and having Maggie and Lenny go "undercover" in mostly-not-there costumes was ridiculous (and not in a good way). It was all so tacked-on without having any real relevance so it seemed mostly to exist to add a bit of slapstick. And that's always going to rankle this reader. Though I did like Lenny's casual confidence as that played against type but very well with his character, so there's that.
That last puts this at 3½ stars. I'll round up because I really liked the relationship developments with Liam; plus Lenny's explicitly going for PI status so he can be an official assistant was just made of awesome. I look forward to both those aspects developing in the next book.
A note about Chaste: Liam uses Maggie to get close to the suspects in this one by posing as her boyfriend. I was really glad that he went out of his way to let her know that this was not just for convenience and that kissing her was always in the plan, at least on his part. She still isn't officially divorced, so he's taking it slow and all, but he uses his words to tell her what he intends and that just made him awesome. Like he wasn't already awesome, but yeah... Anyway, this is still very chaste with only a couple of plot-relevant kisses....more
This is second in a mystery series. Some character developments and other plot-like elements are established in that first book so I definitely recommThis is second in a mystery series. Some character developments and other plot-like elements are established in that first book so I definitely recommend reading from the beginning. Keane gives enough background that you don't have to but I don't see why you wouldn't want to start at the start.
With a cast/setting limited by the small island community Maggie is settling into, I was interested to see how Keane would handle more mystery shenanigans. And I think she did well. The island is preparing for their tourist season kick off (St. Patrick's day) so it's natural that there be some turmoil, including a murder and something weird happening at the inn. Naturally, Maggie gets pulled in. I really liked how this includes her becoming more explicitly invested in the island and its community. And that Maggie begins exploring plans that might lead her to staying longer on the island. And I particularly liked working out a functional-but-careful relationship with Melanie Greer (erstwhile nemesis).
Some of the plot is a bit convenient (without breaking the plot or engagement with Maggie). Like having Maggie be the one who stumbles on the victim and a bit of coincidence in a key connection while in nearby Galway. And I don't like the risqué bit of the maid uniforms. That seems like a lawsuit waiting to happen and very out of place in a supposed five-star hotel. Not that I know much about five-star hotels, but still.
Anyway, this is a solid four stars, like the first, though it's slightly better as Keane seems to be settling into the series very well.
A note about Chaste: There are some developments with Sergeant Hottie that could some day amount to a romance, though not entirely smoothly. No romance, yet, though, so still extremely chaste....more
This is a very charming mystery with a likeable cast and a great setting. I liked Maggie right away and her embracing the opportunity to return to a pThis is a very charming mystery with a likeable cast and a great setting. I liked Maggie right away and her embracing the opportunity to return to a place that had (mostly) happy memories from her childhood when her life blew up. There are newly-refound friendships and some old animosities and characters that were quirky without being over the top. I particularly liked how investigating the unexpected murder of one of the least-liked people on the island lead to the discovery of sordid details of the people of the island without making it seem like you'd somehow found yourself on monster island.
Indeed, the complexity of the interwoven plot was fun to navigate, even if some of the side characters verged on caricature. Which sounds worse than it is as all the central characters had all the complexity they needed to be engaging while still serving the needs of their respective plot roles.
And now I'm sounding clinical. The truth is that I was charmed from the start and couldn't wait to pick up the next in the series. So I'm giving this a solid four stars and I'm happy I found an engaging mystery with characters I want to spend more time with.
A note about Chaste: Maggie isn't looking for (or finding) a romantic relationship. Her marriage just blew up and divorce proceedings are underway so there's not really room for new intimacy. So there's not so much as any kissing so this is very chaste. Not unusual in the genre......more
This is second in a series and I think it needs to be read in order. Events in the first are still playing out (mostly in their relationship and familThis is second in a series and I think it needs to be read in order. Events in the first are still playing out (mostly in their relationship and family) and I think it'd be uncomfortable jumping in here.
This was a pretty big disappointment on pretty much every level. The plot was stuttery with a lot of casting about fruitlessly. Worse, it's pretty clear that duc d'Arblier is being setup as a super villain and that he's going to forever escape on wings of authorial manipulation. And I'm really not a fan of the kidnapping/threatening as late-stage emotional enhancer that looks like it'll be the pattern as well.
But what I really hated was the games Bolen plays with their relationship. I mean, it was bad enough that she manipulated things so that their marriage (which happens pretty early) isn't consummated until the epilogue due to one interruption after another. That just got tired. The worst was having Daphne tell lies to her husband and him finding out and getting all distant and cold. Neither one had the courage to actually talk to the other and that is just stupid in a relationship that is supposed to be singularly strong and based on mutual respect and honesty.
In other words, it became clear with this story that Bolen wasn't going to take the story seriously and was going for hijinks in a Regency setting. The cook that can't cook, the post-boy turned coachman/amateur spy, the twins who tell each other everything (except when they don't). Bah. And don't even get me started on Jack turning down titles and promotions (the latter of which he actively earned) and Daphne's dowry for heaven's sake. Like living in London is going to be a cakewalk on just his captain's salary? He's really going to support the daughter of an earl on his "honor"? As if that idiocy had anything to do with honor and not just self-satisfied pride.
Anyway, I'm officially off the series and won't continue. It's 2½ stars for mostly-competent writing and nailing the setting and I'm not going to round up because I see literally no reason to justify it.
A note about Chaste/Steamy: This sells itself as "sweet". That's as much a lie as it was with the first. Yeah, there's no explicit sex, but the yearnings and the openly sensual conversations, not to mention the skimpy nighty and Jack ruminating over her, er, attributes (without euphemisms). Yeah, not chaste. I don't think it quite qualifies for the steamy tag, but it's definitely not chaste....more
This is third in a mystery series with a central arc to the main characters. I definitely recommend reading at least these first three in order as thiThis is third in a mystery series with a central arc to the main characters. I definitely recommend reading at least these first three in order as this one culminates in Kate and Tony finally getting married.
Having read the others, you mostly know what you'll have in this one. There are two things that I wasn't very on board with and I suspect both are going to continue forward as the rest of these stories develop.
First, I really hate setting up Sir Duncan as a sort of Moriarty-style mastermind. My familiarity with Sherlock and Moriarty isn't great so I don't even know if that's apt. But what I dislike about Sir Duncan so far is that I hate that he always comes off winning, that Tony can't touch him, and that his success is based on this weird supposition that he has a mesmerist-like success with fascinating young people into doing his bidding.
Second, and even more vexing personally, is that Vic Jackson is portrayed as such an incompetent boob with Kate regularly running rings around him and yet he keeps winning, too. He isn't subtle or bright or even cunning-in-a-low-way so having him continually coming out ahead irks me. A lot. It says bad things about everybody else in the New Scotland Yard and I don't think that's Jameson's intent. Or maybe it is? Regardless, it gripes my paladin soul having the lazy and/or stupid continually rewarded.
Which sounds like I hated the story, but both those gripes are a relatively small part of the stories. I really like how Kate, Depall, and Tony work together. They have great interactions and their trust in each other and persistence in seeking justice are fantastic. And there's a whole slew of occasionally-appearing supporting characters who stand out, too. So it's still all good, even if this time I'm rounding 3½ stars up to get the four star rating.
A note about Chaste: Kate and Tony are "doing it", but not on the page. Which works very well, I think, as those private intimacies aren't important to the story....more
This is second in a series and much of the setup happens in the first. You could start here if you like, but I highly recommend reading the first, er,This is second in a series and much of the setup happens in the first. You could start here if you like, but I highly recommend reading the first, er, first.
If you've read the first, then you know what to expect with this one, more or less. In a good way. We get a few sections from Bhar's PoV and the underlying plot/mystery isn't quite as strong with a key reveal left til late. But I liked the story and the characters remain my central engagement and it has a good pace and progression.
So it's a solid four stars, I think.
A note about Steamy: Tony and Kate get together in this one and there is sex. There's enough explicit goings on for me to mark it as Steamy, but only just. So the very lowest possible steam rating. Which works very well, I think, given the story and characters as written....more
I picked this up because a friend mentioned liking it and that it was free on Amazon (it still is, as of this writing). And I'm really glad that I didI picked this up because a friend mentioned liking it and that it was free on Amazon (it still is, as of this writing). And I'm really glad that I did. It's a bit light for a mystery and a bit investigation/plot focused for a romance but the cast of characters are engaging and it was really fun seeing Tony and Kate dance around each other, earning and giving mutual respect.
And I don't have a lot more to say about it, really. The romance doesn't conclude here, and Tony falls a bit fast for my liking. I'm not sure why Kate's emotional attachment makes more sense, but she does. Maybe because we know that she has been open to relationships so it isn't the lifestyle turn-around it would be with Tony? I don't know. Anyway, it was fun and hit the right mood and I'm definitely interested in the next. I may pick up a bundle if I can find one priced well-enough...
A note about Chaste: There's no shenanigans and only a very light, perfunctory kiss in this story. Which was about right for the progression we have so far....more
I'm going to lazy-out on this one because Sherwood said all the necessary/right things in her review. She doesn't do ratings, but for me, this was fouI'm going to lazy-out on this one because Sherwood said all the necessary/right things in her review. She doesn't do ratings, but for me, this was four stars, largely because I just couldn't put it down, it was so captivating!
A note about Steamy: Okay, I'll add this tag. There's no romance, but some sex and enough explicit to tag it. I hate to call it gritty because . . . ow. But it's gritty......more
This held my interest in spite of some real drawbacks. The worldbuilding is standard and there's not much originality having a heroine with a deadly sThis held my interest in spite of some real drawbacks. The worldbuilding is standard and there's not much originality having a heroine with a deadly secret and a crush/interest who would find that secret off-putting. But I liked Dani's "voice" and her determination to see things through and Conor was a fun foil, too.
The plot mostly worked, though I got tired of the bad guys popping in forever and Dani being prevented from catching up with any of them. It was kind of amazing that she got so many clear shots at them with her magically-sharp sword and only managed to slice a few fingers through the whole book. (view spoiler)[Well, okay, and the leader's head, but that was after a lot of flail and too late to completely erase my exasperation. (hide spoiler)] It was like the bad guys had magic sword-dodging powers all the time. Actually, those action sequences had a lot of magical stuff happening and I don't mean the fireballs. The choreography doesn't work is what I'm saying with people popping in and out of range of things awful conveniently and with good-guy witnesses conveniently unconscious just when Dani needs to use her forbidden power.
And her PI "business" really, really, bugged me. I mean, it's like the author doesn't know anything about how private investigators work and things like "expenses" and insisting on up-front payment seemed like foreign concepts to Dani.
So yeah, it was mainly the character voice that held me engaged. It's remarkably consistent so if you find yourself engaged in the first bit, it's likely the story will hold you throughout. That puts it in three-star land for my own reckoning, but that's a wobbly evaluation and I won't be continuing with the series.
A note about production: There are frequent copy-edit errors. Mostly missing or added words. Though this one stood out because it was funny: "Mr. Upstanding didn’t want to be excused of hiding evidence."
A note about Chaste: If there's a romance, it's one set for a very slow burn. I liked Conor and I think they may turn into a great team if he can learn to see shades of gray. But in this book, there's not even any kissing, so I'll mark it chaste....more
This is a bit of a weak mystery coupled with a weak romance that has some strong characters and a vivid setting and interesting background. So it mostThis is a bit of a weak mystery coupled with a weak romance that has some strong characters and a vivid setting and interesting background. So it mostly worked for me as long as I was content to just read along (as opposed to figuring out the mystery or engaging in the romance).
I liked Frances right from the start when she makes her bid for independence. I liked that she just kept rolling with all the setbacks and doing her best taking them in stride one at a time. And I liked the friends and employees she gathers to herself now that she's free to make choices and how they fit together in their household.
And I enjoyed her growing partnership with George once she started letting it happen. He's got hidden depths and I loved seeing how intrigued he became when he realized that her hidden depths were so appealing to him. It frustrated me for a good half of the novel how hard she worked at avoiding him, though. I mean, we learn very early that he is protecting her deepest secret and doing so completely unremunerated and with respect. He's literally the last person she needs to worry about trusting and yet she spends no small amount of effort ditching and bobbing and weaving to avoid him. It just made no sense. That lifts in the latter half of the story, but it left too little time to resolve a romance by that time. So it's just as well that Freeman didn't try stuffing one in and it looks like the plan is for a slow-burn over multiple volumes. Which can be lovely, but we'll see how it goes in the next before I'll know if I like it or not.
Anyway, the mystery is weaksauce with the eventual villain having a personality change in the "let me explain my plot to you" scene so it was pretty much impossible to deduce the truth in advance. Also, the first quarter of the story or so features Frances being kind of stupid about "oh, no, they couldn't possibly" for way too many people (particularly badly with her in-laws who totally didn't deserve her forbearance). I enjoyed the setup for future stories involving the police detective and whatever the heck George turns out to be, but this initial mystery really should have been better since it's meant to establish the series.
So this is a 3½ish story that I'll round up because I enjoyed Frances so much. She had me laughing out loud enough that rounding down just isn't going to work for me.
A note about Chaste: Like I said, there's no real progress on a romance in this one so it's absolutely chaste. There's enough hint of that slow-burn, though, that I'll still tag it as both romance and chaste, anyway....more
This is third in a series, but you don't really need to read the others first. I recommend that you do for two reasons. First, Luther and Raina play aThis is third in a series, but you don't really need to read the others first. I recommend that you do for two reasons. First, Luther and Raina play a larger role in this one than they have in the others and it's nice having their full history. Second, the other books are a bit better, I think, and you might as well start with the best. Also this one features a tie into Quick's Arcane Society series because Mattias is one of the infamous Joneses (and it's pretty clear that he's one of the Joneses).
Okay, let me just say that while the other covers have been pretty good, this one is outstanding! I love it as a representation of Amalie and there's even a scene in the story it could easily be a representation of.
So. There are a couple factors that kept me from enjoying this as much as the others. For Matthias, I didn't like that Quick pulled in psychic talents by giving him the ability to detect verbal lies. At least this one isn't about psychic talents like the Arcane Society stories are, but I was enjoying this series as a straight-up actiony/mystery thing separate from those. Now I'm going to have to be wary in future novels that we'll have more woowoo intruding at odd moments.
For Amalie, I didn't like the whole "psychotic killer who liked to see trapeze artists fall to their deaths" angle. It stuck around way too long and viewpoints from creepy psychos bug me on a character-building level. I mean, if you can't bother coming up with better motivation than "doing bad stuff gives a tingle" then I don't feel obliged to take it seriously as a character/person. Yeah, some very small subset of humanity has this mental damage. But I don't care to have them as viewpoints in my stories.
So this has shakier plot elements and Matthias's "talent" bugged me just a little. But the rest of what I've come to expect from this series was all present. I liked the main couple. I loved them becoming a team. And I liked the side characters around them more than a little, too. Also, the plot hung together even through a couple really excellent twists, some of which escaped me entirely. Also, I kind of love that Amalie (view spoiler)[was clever and quick-thinking enough to rescue herself believably from the psychos that beset her (hide spoiler)]. I love strong women and Amalie delivered on every level.
So this ends up a four-star read, but a solid four stars I think. I enjoyed it immensely and the things that bugged me didn't intrude on me too much (though they easily could have if I had been in a worse mood).
A note about Steamy: There are two explicit sex scenes, though neither one is terribly long. So this is still in the lower end of my steam tolerance. Plus, bonus, I kind of like how they played out and that Quick didn't get creative with the bendy-circus-people thing that someone with less fortitude might have done....more
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