Finding Home by Bridget E. Baker

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Romance
Content: Clean 



Family is more than shared DNA. . . and a home is more than a nice house.

Cole's mother married the Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein when he was only three years old. When his step-father’s failing health requires Cole to step in and help out, he does it without complaint, knowing he can never ascend the throne. When his step-father offers to adopt him, Cole knows it's unlikely the other members of the Princely Family will ever accept an adopted heir. Even so, part of him wants to try.

Beth grew up surrounded by loving siblings and doting parents, but she wasn't born into this idyllic family. When her biological mother reaches out, explaining that she’s a huge star in Europe, Beth feels as if fate has orchestrated their reunion. Her bio mom is impressed with Beth's skill at the piano and invites her to join the European tour. Beth jumps at the chance, but the reality isn't quite the dream she imagined.

When Beth finds herself in a jam in the middle of Europe, can Cole rescue the damsel in distress, even though he's not technically a prince? And can Cole and Beth find the true meaning of home. . . together?


 
      Vaduz Castle


"Only once have I ever felt completely at home...
 
When I'm texting you, when I'm talking to you, and especially when I'm with you, I'm finally home."

Last year I thought book 5, Finding Holly would be the last book in this series. It was a bittersweet goodbye. I was happy to have read the whole series, and for one of the beloved characters, Paisley to finally get her happy beginning, but a little sad that there would be no more books to read. Shortly after I finished that book Bridget Baker announced that she had decided to write one more. This time it would be Cole's story. Cole was introduced in book 5 as Paisley's brother. He was an interesting character so I was happy to read more about him and find out who he falls in love with. Little did I know it would be Rob's sister. Rob from previous books, but namely Finding Liberty, my favorite book in the whole series and my very favorite guy from the series. Needless to say, I gobbled this book up. I enjoyed getting to know both Cole and Beth more, and their beautiful love story. This book is set mostly in picturesque Liechtenstein, and I'm not gonna lie, it kind of made me want to visit that place.

Bridget knows how to write endearing characters that seem real, but at the same time I always feel like I've escaped to somewhere else. I know I've said this before, but this reminded me a lot of a Hallmark movie, only better. The characters have more depth, and I can relate to the way they feel.

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

A Merciful Death by Kendra Elliot

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery
Content: Strong language, Kidnapping, Rape that is repeatedly done off page and is not described


FBI special agent Mercy Kilpatrick has been waiting her whole life for disaster to strike. A prepper since childhood, Mercy grew up living off the land—and off the grid—in rural Eagle’s Nest, Oregon. Until a shocking tragedy tore her family apart and forced her to leave home. Now a predator known as the cave man is targeting the survivalists in her hometown, murdering them in their homes, stealing huge numbers of weapons, and creating federal suspicion of a possible domestic terrorism event. But the crime scene details are eerily familiar to an unsolved mystery from Mercy’s past.

Sent by the FBI to assist local law enforcement, Mercy returns to Eagle’s Nest to face the family who shunned her while maintaining the facade of a law-abiding citizen. There, she meets police chief Truman Daly, whose uncle was the cave man’s latest victim. He sees the survivalist side of her that she desperately tries to hide, but if she lets him get close enough to learn her secret, she might not survive the fallout…

I went into this having only read one other book by this author, Hidden, and I liked it better than this one. This was the authors first published series and I think she improved a bit with her later book. This book was set in the Northwest in a community of preppers. I don't know a lot about preppers. I've always kind of just thought prepping was a solitary activity. I didn't realize there could be whole cult-like communities of these people. There are according to this book anyway, which is a work of fiction, so I don't know how accurate the description of this town and people really is. I did find their behavior a bit disturbing. I'm all for being prepared with some extras, but the level of prepping these people do, and the mentality that the world could fall apart at any time is not a way I would want to live my life. What I'm trying to say is that being prepared with emergency supplies is smart, but living and breathing the possibility of a disaster or a government takeover every day of my life, is a level of paranoid I can't get behind.

So back to the book...while I liked this ok, I thought the prepper aspect of the story overshadowed the mystery a bit. The mystery itself was rather dull, especially considering it involved a serial killer, and I thought the reason behind the murders was a let down. I also wasn't that crazy about the main character. She grew on me a little as I read, but she was kind of forgettable. She also kept a secret that was really overblown. Being an FBI agent she would have known that this secret she was keeping was rather silly, and things wouldn't end up the way she thought they would. This was probably the most annoying thing about her.

I liked the main character's blind sister, and the love interest as well. He was probably my favorite character in the book. I liked that their romance developed slowly and didn't feel like insta-love, but I didn't exactly get his attraction to her either. Overall, I was a little disappointed in this one.

The Smallest Part by Amy Harmon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Romance
Content: Strong language, a couple of steamy sex scenes.


It was a big lie. The biggest lie she’d ever told. It reverberated through her head as she said it, ringing eerily, and the girl behind her eyes—the girl who knew the truth—screamed, and her scream echoed along with the lie.
“Are you in love with Noah, Mercedes?” Cora asked. “I mean . . . I know you love him. You’ve been friends forever. We all have. But are you in love with him?”
If it had been anyone else—anyone—Mercedes would have stuck out her chest, folded her skinny arms, and let her feelings be known. She would have claimed him. But it was Cora. Brave, beautiful, broken Cora, and Cora loved Noah too.
So Mercedes lied.
And with that lie, she lost him. With that lie, she sealed her fate.
She was the best friend, the bridesmaid, the godmother, the glue. She was there for the good times and the bad, the ups and the downs, the biggest moments and the smallest parts. And she was there when it all came crashing down.
This is the tale of the girl who didn’t get the guy.

After finishing Making Faces I wasn't ready to move on from this author, so I picked this one up pretty soon after. Yet again I was moved by the powerful story here. Not as much as I was with Making Faces but this was still a good story about friendship and love. This book was steamier than the other books I've read by this author, but also just as romantic. The chemistry between Mercedes and Noah was off the charts! I loved them both. Cora on the other hand, I never could like all that much. Her actions were selfish, and Mercedes was a true friend. Truer than I think a lot of people would have been. But that's the beauty of this story.

While this was an enjoyable read that I found almost impossible to put down, there was an element to it that I felt was odd. I think if I had read The Law of Moses first it wouldn't have felt quite so odd. Going in I wasn't aware that Noah was first introduced in that book. The element I'm referring to is the one where a couple of characters can see the ghosts of people that have died. It wasn't something I was expecting to happen in a contemporary romance, but it didn't ruin the story for me either. I kind of liked the added spiritual aspect, I'm just sure the book needed two separate people with this ability.

 
“In the end, only three things matter. How much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you.”
- Unknown

misUnderstood by Bridget E. Baker

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Content: Clean


 
Melina's parents do not get along, not even a little bit. All Melina wants is to make her parents proud, to make them smile. But what brings joy to one causes the other to scowl. There's only one thing they both agree upon-Melina must win in single combat at the Centennial Games.

Melodics requires complete understanding of your opponent. Melina has no trouble analyzing and comprehending the motivations of others, which makes her a force to be reckoned with. But as the end draws near, as success dangles just out of her grasp, she discovers she may not know herself as well as she thought. And the thing she has refused to accept might be the very cause of her downfall. 

 

I enjoyed this story, but maybe not quite as much as the other books in the series. That's mostly due to the fact that Melina isn't one of my favorite characters. After reading this, I did end up liking her more than I had before, but more importantly, I understood her.

This book also revealed some important things pertaining to the other books in the series, and there were some things revealed that I had been wondering about for a while. I especially appreciated getting insight into her parent's relationship. This was one thing that helped me understand Melina's motivations. After reading this I had more sympathy for her father, and more disdain for her mother. I'm not gonna lie, I really dislike that women.

Overall this was a good read and I'm looking forward to reading the next books in the series.

Making Faces by Amy Harmon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult, Christian
Genre: Romance, Contemporary Fiction
Content: Strong language, Some steamy makeout scenes


Ambrose Young was beautiful. He was tall and muscular, with hair that touched his shoulders and eyes that burned right through you. The kind of beautiful that graced the covers of romance novels, and Fern Taylor would know. She'd been reading them since she was thirteen. But maybe because he was so beautiful he was never someone Fern thought she could have . . . until he wasn't beautiful anymore. Making Faces is the story of a small town where five young men go off to war, and only one comes back. It is the story of loss. Collective loss, individual loss, loss of beauty, loss of life, loss of identity. It is the tale of one girl's love for a broken boy and a wounded warrior's love for an unremarkable girl. This is a story of friendship that overcomes heartache, heroism that defies the common definitions, and a modern tale of Beauty and the Beast, where we discover that there is a little beauty and a little beast in all of us.

“I wrote your name across my heart so we could be together, so I could hold you close to me and keep you there forever.”

I've had this book on my Kindle for several years now, and finding myself in between obligated reads (buddy reads, book clubs, NetGalley, etc.) I decided it was finally time to read it. I have also recently had some rather disappointing reads of late. I already knew I loved Amy Harmon as a writer, so I figured she wouldn't disappoint me. I've read all her fantasy stuff, and they rank among my favorite books, but this is the first contemporary novel I've read by her. Let me just start out by saying that this book made me cry! It also had my heart soaring. Like all of Harmon's books, this one was deep and beautiful. I rarely give out 5 stars, but this one, I knew well before I finished that it was going to be a 5 star read for me. I loved these characters so much. Fern, Ambrose, and Bailey all have a special place in my heart now. Thank you Amy Harmon for writing books that make my heart sing, and make me feel all the feels. What wonderful medicine for the soul!

“You know that thing people always say, about beauty being in the eye of the beholder?... I always thought it meant we all have different tastes, different preferences . . . you know? Some guys focus on the legs, some guys prefer blondes, some men like girls with long hair, that kind of thing. I never thought about it really, not before this moment. But maybe you see beauty in me because you are beautiful, not because I am.”

Myths and Mortals by Charlie N. Holmberg

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: New Adult, Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Content: A pretty horrendous murder


Sandis has escaped Kazen’s grasp, but she finds herself unmoored, reeling from her thief friend Rone’s betrayal.

Kazen has been hurt but not stopped, and he’ll do anything to summon the monster that could lay waste to the entire world. Sandis knows she must be the one to stop him, but with her own trusted numen now bound to another, and finding herself with no one she can trust, she is in desperate need of allies. Rone seems determined to help her, but Sandis has no intention of letting him get close to her again. What she doesn’t know is how much Rone gave up to protect her. Or how much more he is willing to give up to keep her safe.

As chaos mounts, Sandis must determine whom to trust. After all, the lines between enemy and ally have never been less clear…and corruption lurks in the most unlikely of places. 

I didn't like this book as much as I liked the first book in this trilogy. After a while, Sandis began to annoy me. Honestly there was too much angst thrown in and it got annoying. I wanted the characters to move forward way before they did. I understood why sandis felt the way she did toward Rone, but it could have been resolved sooner.

I thought the parts where Sandis was conflicted about who she was, and the way wanted so badly to feel wanted and loved, were compelling and heartbreaking. That was probably the best part about the story. I also found her difficulty giving up the life as a slave, due to her past connection with Irath and how much she missed that, to be interesting but frustrating at the same time.

Just like the last book, the characters did some things that I thought were stupid, but I enjoyed this enough to give it 3 stars anyway. There is only one book left, and this book ended with something disastrous happening, but I'm not feeling compelled to read on at this time. I don't like when this happens. I want to feel the itch to keep reading. I want to be bursting with anticipation for the next book, especially when there is only one book left to go. So I'm rather frustrated with my lack of motivation to keep reading to get to the end of this trilogy. I'm not crossing it off my to-read list yet, but I will be reading other things until I either feel the urge to read it, or decide I just don't care enough to continue.

Fangs in Fondant by Melissa Monroe

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Paranormal, Cozy Mystery
Content: Clean


This vampire has a sweet tooth — two of ‘em
Priscilla Pratt is 377 years old, give or take a decade.

She’s the best baker in Bellmare, Massachusetts, and just wants to continue to lead a quiet life in the quaint and haunted tourist destination.

Not even an elaborate, last-minute wedding cake commission— a multi-tiered, fondant replica of Dracula’s castle— could be a stake in her side.

But when the bride turns up dead hours before the wedding, Priscilla and her pastries are the first to be suspected.

Priscilla will have to get to the bottom of this frosting-laden murder, or her business and reputation will be six feet under.

You might NOT want to take a bite out of this one, as I found it to be rather dull. Paranormal Cozies are not something I've read before this book, but the odd combination interested me, so I decided to give it a try. I went into it thinking it would be cute and funny. There could have been plenty of opportunities for humor (and maybe a little romance) as this vampire involves herself in solving a murder mystery. On top of that she bakes sweets, so it just had to be cute and entertaining, right? Unfortunately, I found this book to be a let down in most all aspects.

The characters were likable, but a bit flat, and the vampire's backstory was boring. There were some interesting ideas with vampires coming out to the public, and the rules and regulations on them that ensued. One example would be how it is now illegal to turn minors into vampires. I thought it was interesting, and also a little weird how the existing child and teen vampires were adopted by people, and enrolled in school like normal kids. For me, never really growing up and repeating school over and over would be one way to describe living Hell! 😂

Unfortunately, with this book being a disappointment, I will not be continuing on with this series.

The Art of Theft by Sherry Thomas

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery
Content: Strong language


As "Sherlock Holmes, consulting detective," Charlotte Holmes has solved murders and found missing individuals. But she has never stolen a priceless artwork—or rather, made away with the secrets hidden behind a much-coveted canvas.

But Mrs. Watson is desperate to help her old friend recover those secrets and Charlotte finds herself involved in a fever-paced scheme to infiltrate a glamorous Yuletide ball where the painting is one handshake away from being sold and the secrets a bare breath from exposure.

Her dear friend Lord Ingram, her sister Livia, Livia's admirer Stephen Marbleton—everyone pitches in to help and everyone has a grand time. But nothing about this adventure is what it seems and disaster is biding time on the grounds of a glittering French chateau, waiting only for Charlotte to make a single mistake...



I liked this book almost as much as the previous one, which in my opinion was the best of the series so far. This time around Charlotte and company leave London for Paris and get involved in a scheme that ends up much bigger than they originally thought.

Going in, I wasn't real enamored with the plot of this book. Compared to the plots of the other books in the series, art theft didn't seem all that interesting to me. But as I continued to read I ended up enjoying all the disguises and subterfuge. The plot also got more twisty and took some turns that I wasn't exactly expecting, but also wasn't surprised at either.

I was happy that Livia and Mr. Marbleton got some page time, and I was hopeful for them. Of course, I also feared that their situation probably wouldn't end up all rosy, being as complicated as it is. I won't spoil what happens, but I do want all the best for my favorite character.

The relationship between Charlotte and Ingram frustrated me a bit, but also kept me intrigued. There is delicious chemistry between the two of them, and I find myself torn over whether I want them to just come to some sort of understanding and move on to the next stage, or continue with all the hot and cold behavior while longing for each other, because it makes for great tension.

On other notes- Mrs. Watson's backstory was the least interesting thing about the book to me, and I missed Treadles and Alice. However the very end kind of made up for the lack of them in this story. Charlotte's battle with Maximum Tolerable Chins was amusing and relatable.

I especially enjoyed these quotes:


“At least once in his life, he would like for her to look at him as she would a morsel of fine French pastry. Or a slice of Victoria sandwich. Or even a humble piece of buttered bread.”


"I have learned to heed my own opinion of myself more than anyone else’s. A woman who allows the disdain and casual callousness of strangers to make her feel less worthy can have nothing but a difficult time...”


“He had never been naked in a room with two women present, and certainly not two women whose sole focus was undressing a different man—he almost laughed as he came out from behind the screen.”


Overall, I'm still enjoying this series. I like the way we get the mystery of the week sort of format with each book, but that we also have the ongoing mystery plot that has been taken up a notch with each book.