Review: Becoming Belle

Becoming Belle by Nuala O'Connor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Becoming Belle was an unexpectedly enlightening historical fiction concerning a young woman who is a singer and dancer in the late 1800's in London who becomes entangled with a crook, a male friend and her beloved Viscount Dunlo of Ireland. Living a free Bohemian lifestyle has made herself Belle a target when a lawsuit is brought against her and her friend for adultery. When will people learn to mind their own business and allow others to live their own lives without outside interference? Unfortunately being in the public spotlight makes many demands on those who work under the stage lights. I thought the book was well planned out with many ups and downs that we all experience in our own lives, so it was easy to relate to how Belle, her friends, and family felt about the situations at hand.

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Review: Shark: Infested Waters

Shark: Infested Waters by P.K. Hawkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The movie Anaconda came to mind when I was reading the part concerning the rough shape of the boat that the unsuspecting vacationers have booked for a week cruise through the Amazon on. Things start going from bad to worse when the drunken Captain strands the vacationers on a small piece of land that is shrinking quite quickly from the monsoon rains only to learn that the bull sharks are very hungry. Just when you think nothing else could go wrong, one of the vacationers is actually a murder on the run.

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Review: The City of Brass

The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Bravo! absolutely amazing. I loved it, all the details in all aspects. Peoples aren't always who they pretend to be. I have not read a book so intriguing since I first started reading the Game of Thrones series. But with an Arabian nights theme with mythological beings who live for centuries and have magical powers but they are oppressive to another tribe whom they consider lowly scum within their magical hidden island in the middle of a cursed lake. When a young human Nahri accidentally summons a genie our djinn as they book calls him, who end up having a feeling for each other only to separated with his death, then she is set to wed a prince... did that wet your appetite? Good, this was a wonderful book. Oh yeah, they travel can travel on a magic carpet!

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Review: Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen

Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen by Sarah Bird
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Cathy Williams a slave with roots to an Amazon Queen from Africa who uses her heritage as a guiding hand in all she does. With the strength of her forefathers, she is first assigned to help the cook during the end of the Civil War who is General Sheridan's personal cook. From there she heads out west to join the Buffalo Soldiers from 1866 to 1868.

I really enjoyed this book, women have been going to war and doing everything men have done for centuries. It is wonderful that writers give women the credit we deserve for the contributions we made to history.

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Review: Fatemarked

Fatemarked by David Estes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Make yourself comfortable so you take in all that goes on in this book, as the first book in the Fatemarked Epic tales we are introduced to a cast of characters that will blow your mind in a tangled mess of juxtaposing. Love conquers all or opposites attract or even loyalty and duty are everything is what comes to mind while reading this harrowing tale of a prophecy of the death of seven Kings before the kingdoms will have peace. Did you like books by JR Toilken or RR Martin then you will love this.

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Review: Murder on the Marshes

Murder on the Marshes by Clare Chase
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When you been stalked before you might think you know what to expect but when journalist Tara Thorpe receives a threatening doll it brings back the nightmares and also a handsome police detective. With so many suspects and a revenge that was long in coming this was a real who done it tale. I look forward to reading "Death on the River" the next book in this series.

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Review: Shark: Infested Waters

Shark: Infested Waters by P.K. Hawkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The movie Anaconda came to mind when I was reading the part concerning the rough shape of the boat that the unsuspecting vacationers have booked for a week cruise through the Amazon on. Things start going from bad to worse when the drunken Captain strands the vacationers on a small piece of land that is shrinking quite quickly from the monsoon rains only to learn that the bull sharks are very hungry. Just when you think nothing else could go wrong, one of the vacationers is actually a murder on the run.

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Review: The Mark

The Mark by Jason Pinter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Everyone says that Henry Parker is an old man's name but what they don't realize is how resourceful he really is. Pinned with a murder he didn't commit, on the run from not only just one pissed of detective but also a highly paid assassin is on his tail too he must clear his name before he ends up dead. Well paced with plenty of twists in the action and drama unfolding with each turning of the page.

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Review: In Sheep's Clothing

In Sheep's Clothing by Emily Kimelman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

War is hell and women who lives are affected by it are made into either slaves or fighters. When Sydney Rye goes missing after a botched mission where she is left mortally wounded in Afganistan. Jihad fanatics have kidnapped many young women but many are rising up against their captors all on the words of a woman who comes out of the desert to free her fellow women and kill their captors. An interesting book but I would have liked to have had a little more background on the organization and who is Sydney Rye? Maybe I should have started on the first book instead of the ninth. Overall it had a good storyline.

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Review: The Mansion

The Mansion by Ezekiel Boone
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In our ever increasing desires to make our lives more productive, we rely on new computer technology to help us along. But, at what cost are we entrusting our lives and the lives of our loved ones to a possible tragedy at the hands of a machine who's been invaded by an evil ghost in the machine? In this Syfy thriller, we find two young men who have invented a software program called "Nellie" that will interpret your every need before you even know you want it. When Billy and Emily had left Shawn at the cabin, they walked away from the project that would make Shawn a mega-billionaire many times over and with Billy and Emily hitting really tough times, so when Shawn invites Billy to fix the "Nellie" program he is overjoyed to accept the job. Things start out fine but things start going wrong from day one. I found this book both entertaining and intriguing, good characters and a nice flow to the overall book.

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Review: Thresher: A Deep Sea Thriller

Thresher: A Deep Sea Thriller by Michael Cole
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If you enjoyed the original shark horror book by Peter Benchley's "Jaws" then you're in for some deja vu'. I mean this in a good way. There are only so many ways a shark can attack boats, people, and other animals. Its all in the suspense that leads up to these attacks and this book will keep you up all night reading because going to sleep is no longer an option now that you have fully visualized this killing machine that will haunt your dreams if you close your eyes. Dun dun dun da... We all know about GMO's but do we really "know" what long-term effects will be? Bigger better and much much more aggressive, sound familiar? Read in honor of 2018 Shark Week.

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Review: City of Secrets

City of Secrets by Victoria Thompson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have been enjoying Victoria Thompson's novels for several years now, and she never fails to provide an exceptional piece of writing. In this series, we are introduced to a young woman, raised by her father who taught her the fine art of grifting. With the help of her fiance who is an upstanding gentleman that prides himself on his honesty must learn to make exceptions to solve the murder and theft of a widows lives savings. Victoria Thompson has developed good solid characters that are genuinely everyday heroes and some dastardly villains that deserve their final punishments. With her vast knowledge of the historical facts during the early 1900th century, she sets the scene with historical events. Always a pleasure to read her books.

“Because sometimes you have to do something bad to do something good.”

― Oscar Wilde, The Complete Fairy Tales



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Review: Foundryside

Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The young thief who has a rune-scribed plate in her head can gain knowledge by touch objects is set on a job to steal a small box for a large sum of money from a heavily guarded warehouse down by the river docks, but nothing is ever as easy as it first seems. With most of the city looking for our young thief she has few options available for her. This book was terrific, and my only negative thought was about the small percentage of crude language used to describe fecal matter. I think this would be a wonderfully illustrated animation and hope there will be more adventures with our team of mix-matched hero's. Will the city be rebuilt? Who will be in power? So many different scenarios...

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Review: Fortune in Blood

Fortune in Blood by Phil Philips
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The powerful Peruggia crime family of Los Angeles has bungled an enormous heist and lost the patriarchs eldest son in the ensuing gunfight at the bank. JoeyPeruggia, the carefree surfer son, is now expected to step into his brother's shoes and recover the millions of money sitting in police headquarters. FBI agent has been dating the eldest son and wants her share of the millions along with the corrupt cops who are in the Peruggia's pocket who will breeze the way for the heist. But things never go as planned and this book has plenty of action, corruption and a few good guys who get the job done in the end, but at what cost. The story moved at a good pace with lots of twists and turns to keep the reader's attention. Characters were believable and well developed.

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Review: Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding

Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding by Rhys Bowen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Georgie, who has royal blood and Darcey have finally set a date for their wedding and have been looking for a new place to call home. With her Uncle away on one of his many travels to far off lands, his house has been left vacant with only a small handful of servants employed. Plus strange things have been happening there. Can Georgie get to the bottom of all the shenanigans that have been happening at her new domicile? This story was the first book with Georgie and Darcey as the main characters that I have read by Rhy Bowens. I enjoyed most of the book, but I felt that our main character was a bit of a snob which kind of put me off in fondness for our heroine.

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Review: Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding

Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding by Rhys Bowen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Georgie, who has royal blood and Darcey have finally set a date for their wedding and have been looking for a new place to call home. With her Uncle away on one of his many travels to far off lands, his house has been left vacant with only a small handful of servants employed. Plus strange things have been happening there. Can Georgie get to the bottom of all the shenanigans that have been happening at her new domicile? This story was the first book with Georgie and Darcey as the main characters that I have read by Rhy Bowens. I enjoyed most of the book, but I felt that our main character was a bit of a snob which kind of put me off in fondness for our heroine.

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Review: An Interlude in Berlin

An Interlude in Berlin by Jefferson Flanders
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

As a big fan of James Bond, I naturally assumed that it was a spies job to seduce women for information as part of their job description. But this young CIA man finds himself transferred to Berlin after a messy affair with an upper ranking members wife tries to commit suicide after the incident ended. Do to his loose morals the Russians decide to plant a young actress in his path only to have the tables turned. I liked the story but thought something was lacking; maybe it could have been a longer story with more details.

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Review: Leave No Trace

Leave No Trace by Mindy Mejia
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When a young man who had gone missing ten years earlier while on a camping trip with his father in the Minnesota wilderness is sent to a mental institution to evaluate him. At the hospital, a young, inexperienced speech therapist is challenged with getting Lucus to open up about where he has been? And where is your father? In a tangled mess Lucus must piece the puzzle pieces together as to why he and his father remained in the woods all these years. When Maya finally earns the trust of Lucus, she learns that his father is deathly sick and Lucus is the only one who can find him. What to do? Small ripples can cause huge after effects.

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Review: Mountain of the Dead

Mountain of the Dead by Jeremy Bates
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This mystery thriller suspense story based on an actual event takes place in the dangerous Ural Mountains of Siberia in Russia. A band of college students plans to make their level III hike during the winter of 1959, but only one will return home. So many years later an author decides to solve the mystery of what might be the actual events that happened on the mountain by traveling there but will any of them return from their quest? Was this a military cover-up? Are there creatures out there that shun man? A Snowman, Aliens, Yeti or Bigfoot? I found this a story exciting since it is all speculation as to what could have been the exact cause of these unexplained deaths. We will never know what happened that fateful night. The author covers just about every, conspiracy related topic in this the fifth book in the "World's Scariest Places" series. I look forward to reading the first four.

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Review: The Company of Demons

The Company of Demons by Michael Jordan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

With a serial killer who seems to defy aging, he comes back to haunt a loose morals middle age attorney whose father a deceased cop who took his own life instead of facing the shame of not being able to catch this brutal murderer is set up in a big way. What a tangled web people play for their sick enjoyment in this web of lies and deceit. Who can you trust? Are the people you have in your life indeed who they say they are? There were quite a few good continuous situations that kept the action going all through the book.

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