Monthly Archives: April 2019

Review: Breaking Silence

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Review: Breaking SilenceBreaking Silence (Kate Burkholder, #3) by Linda Castillo
Series: Kate Burkholder #3
Published by Minotaur Books on March 27, 2012
Genres: Mystery
Pages: 308
Goodreads
four-half-stars

Thrilling Mystery Based in Amish Country

“This was one of those times when justice will make for a very cold bedfellow.”

FINAL DECISION: Emotional, gripping and at times really scary, BREAKING SILENCE is a great addition to a fantastic series. Kate is a strong woman who can be admired even as her world is at times spinning out of control.

THE STORY: Kate Burkholder, police chief of a small town has seen the burden of recent cases beginning to wear upon her. She is drinking too much and has almost constant insomnia. A tragic accident on an Amish farm results in several children being orphaned. When what appears to be a horrible but routine accident turns into a murder investigation, Kate’s own past being raised Amish and her natural sympathy for the orphaned children make her determined to find out what happened to this family. A possible connection to a recent string of hate crimes against the Amish bring Kate’s friend and lover John Tomasetti to town.

OPINION: Every book in this series is compelling. The close emotional connection that Kate has to these cases makes the drama more immediate and also tears at Kate as a character. The reason I like these books is because the journey that Kate is on. I can read a standard mystery anywhere. What I like is compelling characters who I can care about. I am enthralled by Kate’s difficulties and her developing relationship with John. The mysteries drive the drama but I like these books because they give me more than a whodunnit. This book has a twisty mystery and more insight into Kate’s psyche.

WORTH MENTIONING: I enjoy how the book moves between Kate’s first person narrative and the third party narrative of other characters. This is true throughout the series, but I think this technique gives Kate’s voice primary emphasis while including the views of other characters.

CONNECTED BOOKS: BREAKING SILENCE is the third book in the Kate Burkholder series. It can be read as a standalone although there are ongoing relationships and issues concerning Kate that are played out throughout the series.

STAR RATING: I give this book 4.5 stars.

four-half-stars

Review: Deep Kiss of Winter

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Review: Deep Kiss of WinterDeep Kiss of Winter (Includes: Immortals After Dark, #8; Alien Huntress, #3.5) by Gena Showalter, Kresley Cole
Published by Pocket Books on December 28, 2010
Genres: Paranormal
Pages: 520
Goodreads
four-stars

Loved the Kresley Cole Novella

DEEP KISS OF WINTER is a winter themed book composed of two long novellas.

UNTOUCHABLE by Kresley Cole: This novella is the eighth book in the Immortals After Dark series. Daniela the Ice Maiden is a Valkyrie and the Rightful Queen of the Icere the Fey of the Frozen North. She is a reluctant because the touch of any person other than those from her homeland create terrible pain for both her and the man. Murdoch Wroth is a vampire soldier who was a rake in his human life and is one vampire who doesn’t want to find his Bride (the one woman who can make the vampire’s heart beat again). Of course, Daniela is Murdoch’s Bride and the two begin a contentious difficult on again off again relationship.

I thought this was a great holiday story. It begins at the beginning of the series and then follows the entirety of the series. It ends with the four vampire brothers and their brides. I enjoyed this replay of the series from a different viewpoint. The other part I really enjoyed was the difficult relationship between Daniela and Murdoch because of her touching issues. I liked that the book did not brush that issue aside. These two have a long difficult road to travel for their happiness and I appreciated the complexity and breadth of the story. Rating: 4.25 stars.

TEMPT ME ETERNALLY by Gena Showalter: The story of Aleaha Love a shapeshifter who has taken the identity of Macy Briggs, who is a cop with alien investigations. She ends up going out on a mission for the first time. She encounters Breean Nu, a golden skinned warrior who has come to planet with his men trying to find a new home. When he sees Aleaha, he has an attraction to her and decides that he doesn’t want to let her go. He takes her captive.

This was the first thing I have read by Showalter and I thought the story was strange and interesting, but I didn’t feel the connection between the characters. I believe the story is part of a series and perhaps it would be better if I had read those books first. I did find the shifting heroine to be intriguing and I wish I knew more about her. Rating: 2 stars.

four-stars

Review: The Warlord Wants Forever

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Review: The Warlord Wants ForeverThe Warlord Wants Forever (Immortals After Dark #1) by Kresley Cole
Series: Immortals After Dark #1
Published by Pocket Books on November 22, 2011
Genres: Paranormal
Pages: 192
Goodreads
four-stars

Fresh, Humorous, Sexy and Intriguing

FINAL DECISION: Immediately intriguing, this book begins the Immortals After Dark series by seamlessly introducing a new world and keeping the focus on the relationship between the main characters — all in just over 150 pages.

THE STORY: Nicholai Worth is a vampire general who is searching for his Bride — the woman who can make his heart beat and bring him into his full power. He ends up finding Myst the Coveted, a Valkyrie who taunts him leaving him unfulfilled for five years. When he finally catches up with her, he intends to make her pay for his torment.

OPINION: Many times a first book in a paranormal series will suffer because of the needed time to introduce the world it inhabits — not with WARLORD WANTS FOREVER. The focus here remains on the characters of Nicolai and Myst. They have a seriously combative relationship and their “cross-species” romance is something that must be navigated carefully. A true Romeo and Juliet type story, these two have the world against them and yet are destined to be together. I loved that these two are both warriors and respect one another in the end.

WORTH MENTIONING: These are some sexy unearthly characters.

CONNECTED BOOKS: WARLORD WANTS FOREVER is the first book in the Immortals After Dark series.

STAR RATING: I give this book 4 stars.

four-stars

Review: Pray for Silence

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Review: Pray for SilencePray for Silence (Kate Burkholder, #2) by Linda Castillo
Series: Kate Burkholder #2
Published by Minotaur Books on June 22, 2010
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery
Goodreads
five-stars

Everything You Could Want in a Crime Thriller/Mystery

“Some cases are more complicated than others.”

FINAL DECISION: A satisfying mystery combined with continued revelations and painful parallels to Kate’s past and those of her lover John. PRAY FOR SILENCE is a worthy sequel to the first book in this series.

THE STORY: Chief of Police Kate Burkholder straddles two worlds. Having grown up Amish, she understands and respects the people, but she also rejected the life and now lives apart from them. Ten months after the horrific events in SWORN TO SILENCE, things have returned to normal except that Kate has an on again off again lover in John Tomasetti and Kate’s own demons seem closer to the surface. Painters Mill is struck by another horrific event as a whole Amish family is brutally murdered. The Platt family had moved to Painters Mill only a year ago and now an entire family is wiped out. Although the family seemed normal, Kate knows that every family can harbor dark secrets.

OPINION: This is one scary book. There are many twists and turns which make is a great mystery. What makes is a great thriller is how haunted Kate is by her own past and how that intertwines and makes more immediate the murders here. Not only is there a difficult murder mystery to solve but readers also get more revelations about Kate’s own past, her shaky mental stability and the way that the past seems to bleed into Kate’s work. More about John’s own problems are revealed as he has weaned himself from his addiction to prescription drugs but instead suffers debilitating anxiety attacks. I loved how these two closed people warily circle one another wanting and fearing a connection between them. The emphasis in this book is always on the crime but it is always shown through the first person narrative of Kate. The personal connection is what makes these crimes especially relevant and keeps them from being intellectual exercises.

WORTH MENTIONING: There are some graphic depictions of violence involving murder and rape.

CONNECTED BOOKS: PRAY FOR SILENCE is the second book in the Kate Burkholder series. It can be read independent of the first book in the series, but there are ongoing stories that make this book richer and for that the books should be read in order.

STAR RATING: I give this book 5 stars.

five-stars