Courting Darkness by Robin LaFevers

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Content: Strong Language, A couple of  rather descriptive sex scenes. In my opinion too mature for young teens.



When Sybella accompanies the Duchess to France, she expects trouble, but she isn’t expecting a deadly trap. Surrounded by enemies both known and unknown, Sybella searches for the undercover assassins from the convent of St. Mortain who were placed in the French court years ago.

Genevieve has been undercover for so many years, she no longer knows who she is or what she’s supposed to be fighting for. When she discovers a hidden prisoner who may be of importance, she takes matters into her own hands.

As these two worlds collide, the fate of the Duchess, Brittany, and everything Sybella and Genevieve have come to love hangs in the balance.

I loved LaFevers' His Fair Assassin trilogy so when I heard she was writing a duology that would continue the story but with some new characters, I was really looking forward to reading it. Unfortunately I did not love this as much as I loved His Fair Assassin. There were some good things about this book. Sybella and Beast being at the top of the list, but I found the character of Genevieve pretty unlikable. Her chapters would have been a complete slog if not for the fact that Maraud was in them. This author has a way of making me fall in love with the leading men in every one of her books and this one was no exception. He was the best new character in the whole story. Unfortunately there were somethings that happened concerning him made me both angry and sad.

This is a historical fantasy set in the 1400s just after the events of the Mad War. As in the previous trilogy, Anne, the duchess of Brittany is a major character in this book. It was interesting to read about her marriage to the King of France, and all the court intrigue involved, even though there was certainly a lot of creative license involved in the writing of the historical figures. This and the previous books did get me interested enough to research the Mad War, Anne, the King of France and all the other people who were alive then and that was great reading itself.

I wanted to love this, I really did, but overall it felt a bit lackluster compared to the previous books. I will however read the second book in the duology to see where the story goes for the characters that I do like so much, and being that the end of this book puts so many people in jeopardy I really need to find out what happens next!

Lake Silence by Anne Bishop

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Content: Strong Language


 
After her divorce, Vicki DeVine took over a rustic resort near Lake Silence, in a human town that is not human controlled. Towns like Vicki’s have no distance from the Others, the dominant predators that rule most of the land and all of the water throughout the world. And when a place has no boundaries, you never really know what’s out there watching you.

Vicki was hoping to find a new career and a new life. But when her lodger, Aggie Crowe–one of the shapeshifting Others–discovers a dead body, Vicki finds trouble instead.

Initially I wasn't sure how I would like this new set of books set in the world of the Others. I was worried that I would miss the old cast of characters, but I loved this book. Vicki and Aggie were both great characters, as well as Julian and Grimshaw. I hope we get to read more about them in other books. There is always a bit of comic relief when the Others are involved, so there were several things in this book that made me smile and even laugh out loud. I love that the crows were in this book, and I loved them as much here as I did in the last series.

As with the last series there are humans who are stupid enough to think they can defy the Others and get away with it. One of the best things about this series is anticipating how they are going to meet their demise courtesy of the Others. It's never pretty but it's always satisfying. I enjoyed being entertained by this book, and I'll be reading the next book in the series soon.

Among the Wicked by Linda Castillo

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery
Content: Strong Language, A woman is raped but it is not described.



Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is called upon by the sheriff's department in rural, upstate New York to assist on a developing situation that involves a reclusive Amish settlement and the death of a young girl. Kate infiltrates the community and goes deep under cover. In the coming days, she unearths a world built on secrets, a series of shocking crimes, and herself, alone... trapped in a fight for her life.

This was a little different from the other books in the series because Kate isn't in her usual element and Tomasetti is barely in the book at all, but I liked the change of scenery. Parts of this book were pretty gripping and kept me on the edge of my seat. I was however slightly disappointed that the undercover work Kate did left her mostly isolated from a good part of the Amish settlement. I was expecting her to become more integrated in the community. That being said, I enjoyed the friendships she made with the women of the quilting group.

I thought Kate was a little dense not to know what was going on at a couple of points as it was pretty easy to figure out. Even though it was pretty easy to figure out what was going on, I did not see that twist concerning a certain person. I'm not altogether sure how I feel about it either. There is also one thing that happened between Kate and the Bishop that I thought happened too soon in the story. I would have preferred more suspense and for the feeling of imminent danger to continue on for longer before this thing happened.

Kate was herself here and once again went headlong into danger with little regard for her safety. There was one thing she did near the beginning because she wanted to help a woman, but it did nothing to help anyone and could have completely blown her cover. The thing that I find ridiculous is that she keeps getting so mad at Tomasetti for worrying about her and not wanted her to do certain things, but he has good reason. She claims she is careful but she isn't, and that's the real reason he has problems with her doing her job. If I overlook these annoyances about the series it is very good. Unfortunately sometimes these things are hard to ignore and that's why this book gets 3.5 stars instead of 4.

Murder on Trinity Place by Victoria Thompson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery
Content: Clean



The year of 1899 is drawing to a close. Frank and Sarah Malloy are getting ready to celebrate the New Year at Trinity Church when they notice Mr. Pritchard, a relative of their neighbor's behaving oddly and annoying the other revelers. The next morning Sarah and Frank are horrified to learn Pritchard was murdered sometime in the night. Frank and Sarah delve into Pritchard's past and realize there may have been a deadly side to the dawning of the new century.

This was a very enjoyable installment in the gaslight mysteries series. I liked it better than the last book. The book begins with Frank and Sarah attending a dinner party at their neighbor Mrs. Ellsworth's house. Her recently married son Nelson and his wife Theda have also invited Theda's family to the dinner and it's a little tense as Theda's father is very opinionated and doesn't hesitate to let his opinions known when certain subjects come up. Ultimately the dinner ends in disaster and poor Theda is left in tears. One thing I noticed about this book is that the character of Mrs. Ellsworth is much more serious here. There are no silly superstitions mentioned this time around, but it made sense considering what was happening in the book.

As usual I figured out who the murderer was pretty easily, but this book actually did throw a couple of good red herrings in there. I actually attached a bit more to the murderer's motivations than what was concluded in the book though. One thing that does bother me about the murders in this series is that too many people are murdered that are somehow acquainted with Sarah and Frank. This is actually something that happens a lot in mystery series that can make them seem implausible. In this case though, with Frank being a private investigator there should be ample opportunity for the author to capitalize on that and have him investigate cases that have nothing to do with anyone he or Sarah knows. It would be so much more believable.

One thing I do really like about this series is that the author always adds in some real historical facts from the time period. I learned a few interesting things as I read this book that I didn't previously know. One is how Wall Street got its name. It was not at all what I expected. I also learned about the "milk wars" and what swill milk was. Another thing I learned about was the origins of the board game Life. It also seemed that there was some debate over whether the turn of the century should be celebrated in 1900 or 1901.

Like the last book in the series, this one included characters that we met in a previous book. I'm really liking that this seems to be a thing now in each book. This time around we revisit the character of Jack Robinson from Murder in the Bowery. Sarah plays matchmaker for Jack and one of the ladies staying in the clinic, and I liked that part of the story a lot. I would love to see more of them in future books.

I also have to mention one other thing that I loved about this book. Frank finally gets a motorcar!

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing me with a copy of this book.

The Crawling Darkness by J.L. Bryan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Ghost Story, Paranormal, Mystery
Content: Clean

 
Ghost removal specialist Ellie Jordan must face a dangerous, shape-shifting entity that she and Calvin have encountered once before, with tragic results. The spirit has the power to reach into the minds of living and feed on their fears, taking the shape of their worst nightmares, and it has awoken in search of new victims.

Now Ellie must try to succeed where she and her mentor failed before, and try to defeat the twisted and powerful old ghost before it can claim another soul for its collection.

Ok so I went from reading something light and humorous to something dark and creepy. I do this a lot actually, even with TV. I'll go from Hallmark channel to Discovery ID all the time! For this dark and creepy read I decided to go with Ellie Jordan because the reviews promised that this addition of the series was an improvement over the first two books, not that those two books were bad, but I felt like they were lacking some depth and character development.

I'm happy to report that this book was indeed an improvement. There was a bit of character development here, although not loads of it. There was also the addition of a love interest for Ellie, and I liked that a lot. Ellie needs a personal life. I want to know what she does when she isn't hunting ghosts.

As for the ghost in this story, it was a real creepy one. There were certain parts of this that creeped me out while I was reading in bed at night, and I didn't see the twist coming which was great. I would say this is the creepiest book of the series so far. I liked this one enough to keep reading the series. Hopefully we keep getting more character development.

Swamp Team 3 by Jana Deleon

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery
Content: Strong Language


 
Undercover CIA agent Fortune Redding spent her first three weeks in Sinful, Louisiana dodging insults, makeup advice, guard dogs, bullets, and Deputy Carter LeBlanc, both professionally and personally. But just when she thinks things are going to settle down in the small bayou town, someone sets her friend Ally’s house on fire.

Has it really only been three weeks since Fortune arrived in Sinful, Louisiana? It feels like three years. Ok, that may be because I've been reading these for the last three years. That's one book a year, with the exception of year one when I read two of them. That should tell you how uncompelling (Is that a word?) this series is to me. I pick one up occasionally when I want something that will make me laugh. Unfortunately I always end up being disappointed. These books don't make me laugh nearly as much as I'm hoping they will, but yet I keep coming back for more. WHY? I wish I knew the answer to that question. My best guess is that these books are filling some home sickness that I have for Louisiana.

There were a couple of things I liked about this book, the little touch of romance, and the friendship between Fortune and Ally. Other than that I thought this was a bit lack luster. Nothing in the story made me really laugh at all, and there is usually one thing that does in these books. I also felt like there were too many things going on in this mystery. The addition of the stalker was just too much.

Now that I've read this fourth book in the series and it was the least humorous one of the bunch, I'm going to force myself to give up this series. I really don't need to waste my time on it any more. I would much rather spend that time on something that really makes me laugh. I'm going to try reading more of Molly Harper's books but if anyone has any suggestions I would love them!

After the Storm by Linda Castillo

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery
Content: Strong Language



When a tornado tears through Painters Mill and unearths human remains, Chief of Police Kate Burkholder finds herself tasked with the responsibility of identifying the bones--Kate digs deep into the case only to discover proof of an unimaginable atrocity, a plethora of family secrets and the lengths to which people will go to protect their own.

Talk about horrific deaths. I thought I had read just about every kind of horrible death there could be, but nope, this book included yet another one. Let's just say I will never look at pigs the same way again. It seems as if the Amish community as a whole is getting darker in this series. There are just so many individuals from that community at this point in the series that have been involved in or done something terrible. I had to laugh when I got to a part where Kate states that she is the chief of police in a small town and that her job is relatively safe compared to other places. Who is she kidding? All those murders in that tiny little town make Painters Mill the most dangerous town in the US!

The mystery in this one was ok. It was pretty obvious who had been involved in the decades old murder, but I was surprised a little by the second killer and also a little sad that it went that way. The best thing about this book was the personal drama between Kate and John Tomasetti. For a little while there I thought I was going to end up despising Tomasetti, but he pulled though eventually. I did think his reaction to something felt a little manufactured just to add drama, especially considering what I've come to know about him as a character. It just didn't quite fit.

Overall I liked this book a lot and I'm surprised at how quickly I've been going through the books in this series. What started out as a slow progression has turned into a marathon read. I plan on getting caught up on this series this year so I'll keep reading, but because this series is so heavy on the dark and sinister, I do think I need to take a breather for a little while and read something lighter.

The Dead Will Tell by Linda Castillo

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery
Content: Strong Language, Implied Sex



Everyone in Painters Mill knows the abandoned Hochstetler farm is haunted. But only a handful of the residents remember the terrible secrets lost in the muted/hushed whispers of time—and now death is stalking them, seemingly from the grave.

After reading the last book, and with the way it ended I was expecting Kate to still be worried about that secret from her past to be discovered, but there wasn't any mention of it at all in this book. Instead, it's Tomasetti who has something from his past come up. It has to do with what happened to his family 3 years ago, and it really throws him. I can't say that I completely agree with how he ends up dealing with it, but I also can't blame him either. Let's just say he uses the Burn Notice method on someone. If you've ever seen that TV show then you know how they deal with criminals in it, and you will know what I mean.

The mystery this time around was pretty good. The thing that happened to the family that lived on the farm was very sad. It wasn't hard to figure out who the "ghost" was that was going around murdering people, but that twist at the end did surprise me a bit. One of the best things about this book is that Kate actually got backup this time before she rushed into a dangerous situation. Of course that didn't go real well, but at least she tried. One thing that didn't make sense to me though, was why the killer shot at them instead of just continuing to hide until they left.

The only thing that I really didn't like about this book was the repetition of different phrases that the author would use. For some reason the author really seemed to favor the phrase "he wrapped his hands around my biceps" or some variation of that phrase. It was repeated four times in this one book and one time in the last book. A few of those times it was used when characters were about to get romantic, and I didn't think it was a very good phrase to use in that situation.

Overall this book was a good addition to the series, and like the book before, it left me wanting to immediately pick up the next one and read it.

Her Last Breath by Linda Castillo

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery
Content: Strong Language, Off page sex 


A rainy night, an Amish father returning home with his three children, a speeding car hurtling toward them out of nowhere.

What at first seems like a tragic, but routine car accident suddenly takes on a more sinister cast as evidence emerges that nothing about the crash is accidental. But who would want to kill an Amish deacon and two of his children?

First off I have to say that if you want to be surprised about anything in this book DO NOT read the book description! I added a very abbreviated one to my review because I was able to figure out the whole book easily after reading the whole description.

Going into this book we are introduced to an Amish family, a father and his three kids, who are on their way home. Of course from the small description I added to my review you can tell this doesn't end well. The author didn't pull any punches here, and it was brutal. After getting to know these adorable kids it was hard to read about their deaths, but it also made me keep reading.

This is the fifth book in the series and I'm slowly making my way through the books. It was nice to be back in Painter's Mill with Kate even though some of the things that happened in the book annoyed me. I seriously doubt anyone would still be able to rescue themselves from the situation Kate finds herself in near the end of this book. There were several things that happened that didn't seem very realistic, and after everything that happens I doubt Kate would be able to stand, much less everything else she manages to do.

I also really, really hope Kate stops doing stupidly reckless things. Imagine you are investigating a murder and you find evidence outside a house that you've just left. You realize this person may have done it and decide you need to investigate the out buildings at this house. This person has stated that they will be leaving the house in about 20 minutes or so. What would you do? My first thought was to leave. Then wait until the other person leaves and call backup. Then go check out the out buildings. That seems like the smart thing to do right? Well that is not what Kate does. I'm not going to go into what she does, you will have to read the book to find out, but I don't think it's very plausible that Kate became a police chief when she does these kinds of stupid things.

So that stuff almost ruined this book for me. What ended up saving it was Tomasetti. He has grown leaps and bounds as a character and I've come to like him more than Kate. I especially enjoyed that Tomasetti has bought himself a house and sets out to fix it up himself. And of course he is hoping Kate will approve. He makes great strides in his relationship with Kate, who is slower at coming around. I honestly wanted to knock some sense into Kate, but I'm happy with the way things end.

Besides the main mystery, this book also brings back into play the big secret from Kate's past that we learned about in book one, and she is left worrying that it will be exposed. There is no resolution there so I guess I'll be biting my nails waiting to find out how that ends up.

Cold Shadows by J.L. Bryan

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Ghost Story, Paranormal, Mystery
Content: Clean


Footsteps in the attic. Toys that play by themselves. A dark presence in an upstairs room.

It's been almost two years since I read the first book in this series. I liked it a lot, but for some reason I didn't find myself wanting to return to Ellie's world right away. I did finally decide to pick this one up though, and it was enjoyable. I love ghost stories and this one had its creepy moments, but there is just something lacking in this series for me. I think the main thing is that there is next to no story besides the job they are on. I would very much like to see more character development and more story away from the job. Who are these characters besides ghost hunters? We have been told some background on Ellie, but I need to see more. I've read a few reviews for the third book in the series and it seems like that may be coming. I'm enjoying this series, and even though I don't think it's spectacular, it has potential so I'm willing to give it at least one more try.

Courting Scandal by Jaima Fixsen

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Historical Romance
Content: Clean


Laura Edwards, a French émigré fallen on hard times, took to the stage to support her brother's medical career. Now that he's established, he wants her to turn respectable, landing her in the country hiding in plain sight from one of her biggest admirers, Jasper Rushford, the care-for-nothing son of the local viscount.

Jasper Rushford doesn’t want drama—when visiting a sister who’s about to give birth, the more placid the event, the better. But when he recognizes the doctor’s mousy sister as the darling of London’s stage, theatrics are inevitable.

I enjoyed this last book in the Fairchild trilogy, but not quite as much as the two previous ones. I liked Jasper a lot in the previous books, and I was happy that he got a book dedicated to him this time around, but as it happens, this is my least favorite story line out of the trilogy. I didn't care for Laura too much in the beginning, but she eventually grew on me. Also, the acting thing wasn't as interesting to me in the first place and I thought the drama surrounding Laura and her uncle was a bit overblown.

All that being said, I still liked this book quite a lot, and if I wasn't comparing it to Fairchild, and Incognita I might have given it 4 stars instead of 3.5.

New release today and on sale for 99 cents! Finding Cupid

Finding Cupid by Bridget E. Baker

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Romance
Content: Clean


There are two things event planner Geo Polson will not do. She never plans weddings, and she never ever dates. No exceptions.

Billionaire venture capitalist Trig Thornton doesn't worry about rules. After all, you don't finish first by staying in your lane. But when his best friend forces him to help plan a bachelor party, he doesn't expect the wedding planner to catch his interest.

Geo's already broken one cardinal rule at the behest of her bestie. There's no way she's going to so much as bend another. But Trig isn't easily dissuaded, and he's set his sights on her. Will he heal Geo's wounded heart, or shatter it to pieces?

Finding Cupid is a fun Valentines read. I read the first book in this series, Finding Santa at Christmas time and loved it, so I was looking forward to reading this one. Overall I liked this and had a hard time putting it down, although I did not like it as much as Finding Santa.

Obviously this is a romance, and I don't usually read romances unless they are historical, but Bridget Baker is an author I'll make a exception for because I enjoy her novels so much. There were several things about this book that I loved. I loved how cute Geo and Trig were together, I loved how the author inserted herself into the book at one point (Geo is reading a book and talks about the author, who happens to resemble this one an awful lot). I loved that the book incorporated several different locations. I loved that we got to revisit Mary, Luke, and other characters from Finding Santa. And I loved how everyone in the book thought Mary was weird for her love of doing taxes, which I thought too when I read that book.

As for the characters, I liked the main character Geo a lot, but Trig had to grow on me. Luckily it didn't take too long for that to happen, but I didn't like the way he manipulated her into going skiing, even if she did end up enjoying it. Also his lack of awareness of how his whims could inconvenience other people put me off a little as well. At first he just seemed like one of those rich guys who thinks he can have whatever he wants whenever he wants it, but in the end his heart was in the right place and I ended up liking him quite a lot.

The same tropes used in most romance novels were used in this one, but I thought they were done well, and the reservations the couple had about falling in love made sense considering their backgrounds. I think the supporting characters are all great, especially Paisley, who I'm expecting will get her own book eventually. I'm enjoying this series, and I'm looking forward to reading the next book. If you like clean contemporary romance then you should give this series a try.

Thanks to the author for providing me with an ARC of this book.