Monthly Archives: February 2022

Review: All Scot and Bothered

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I received this book for free from Netgalley in order to prepare an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.


Review: All Scot and BotheredAll Scot and Bothered (Devil You Know, #2) by Kerrigan Byrne
Series: Devil You Know #2
Published by St. Martin's Paperbacks on September 29, 2020
Genres: Historical
Pages: 395
Goodreads
one-half-stars

 

FINAL DECISION: I was bored by this book. The story, the hero and heroine, nothing interested me. I felt the story was more interested in complaining about women’s role in the world rather than the romance.

THE STORY: Cecelia Teague has a secret benefactor from whom she inherits a girls’ school — and a gambling establishment. This unwittingly places her in opposition to one of her best friend’s brother-in-law, Cassius Gerard Ramsay, Lord Chief Justice of the High Court, who has made it his mission to investigate the establishment and bring to justice those who are engaging in illegal activities. Taking on a disguise, Cecelia confronts Ramsay who finds himself attracted to both the innocent Cecelia and her alter ego.

OPINION: Disappointing book. There is no fire here. The book was dull and so were the characters. The book feels like the author wanted to tell a story about a woman rejecting conventions of her time and then grafted the romance upon the story. As a result, neither the characters nor the romance had any interest.

I read romance books for the romance between the characters — not about the self-actualization of women or their feminist ideas. I’m not against either of those things, but if the romance is not primary, then it is not really a romance to me. Yes, there is the relationship focus in the book, but the characters felt bland.

This is the worst of Byrne’s books I’ve read. The decline from the Victorian Rebels series is serious and I would not recommend reading this one. It seemed rather pointless.

WORTH MENTIONING: There is a darling little girl who is central to the story.

CONNECTED BOOKS: ALL SCOT AND BOTHERED is the second book in the Devil You Know series. The romance here is self-contained and while characters from the first book are in this book, this book can be read as a standalone.

STAR RATING: I give this book 1.5 stars.

NOTE: I received an eARC via Netgalley in order to prepare this review. I was not required to write a review or to write a positive review. All opinions contained herein are my own.

 

one-half-stars

Review: Last Guard

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I received this book for free from Netgalley in order to prepare an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.


Review: Last GuardLast Guard (Psy-Changeling Trinity, #5; Psy-Changeling, #20) by Nalini Singh
Published by Berkley on July 20, 2021
Genres: Paranormal
Pages: 384
Goodreads
four-half-stars

 

FINAL DECISION: Singh does “damaged” heroes and heroines better than almost anyone. How two people who to the world (and themselves) appear different find the person who brings wholeness and acceptance to one another. Combining the ongoing drama of the overarching storyline with the deeply personal connection between these two made this an immensely satisfying read.

THE STORY: Canto Mercant, mysterious and fiercely loyal, approaches the cold and dangerous Payal Rao about the collapse of the PsyNet. In joining forces, the two also confront their own pasts and the weaknesses of mind and body. Canto has remained a hidden part of the Mercant family, rejected by his own father, as his spinal injury communicated imperfection and weakness during Silence. Now that Silence has fallen, the “imperfect” must be brought out of the shadows.

OPINION: The inclusiveness of Singh’s Psy-Changeling world always takes my breath away — optimistic and never heavy-handed, the world is deeply imperfect but there are good people working to correct the flaws. (At the same time, there are plenty of evil forces out to create chaos).

I loved the sweet and fierce relationship between Canto and Payal. The deep acceptance between them. While there have been similar relationships between “broken” people, this one has its own unique qualities that have echoes of other stories but is also quite different. Different challenges, different personalities. Each couple approaches their challenges in different ways which keep these stories fresh and interesting.

The story builds upon the prior stories in the Psy-Changeling universe in new ways raising new challenges to the world. At this point in the series, I wonder how Singh will possibly be able to resolve all these issues, but I have faith because Singh so beautifully gathered the strands in the first “season” of the Psy-Changeling world.

Canto is one of my favorite heroes now. He’s got his own quirks, but his intense loyalty to Payal and his willingness to serve as Payal’s “knight” and let her shine may be a precursor of the female “alphas” whose stories are yet to be told.

WORTH MENTIONING: Lots of cameos from characters from the Psy-Changeling & Trinity series.

CONNECTED BOOKS: LAST GUARD is the fifth book in the Psy-Changeling Trinity series. The Trinity series is a direct spin-off of the Psy-Changeling series and thus this book can also be considered the twentieth book in that series. The romance here is self-contained, but the overarching plot is a continuation of the story in the Trinity series and is much better when read at least as part of the Trinity series.

STAR RATING: I give this book 4.5 stars.

NOTE: I received an eARC of this book via Netgalley. I was not required to write a review or to write a positive review. All opinions contained herein are my own.

 

four-half-stars

Review: Devil in Disguise

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I received this book for free from Netgalley in order to prepare an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.


Review: Devil in DisguiseDevil in Disguise (The Ravenels, #7) by Lisa Kleypas
Series: The Ravanels #7
Published by Avon on July 27, 2021
Genres: Historical
Pages: 384
Goodreads
five-stars

 

“He would relive that kiss in a thousand dreams. It had been as unlike anything that had happened in his life before, as it would be from anything that came after.”

FINAL DECISION: I guessed the twist in this one almost immediately, but I loved it anyway because this is a wonderful story of two people who fall in love and the plot is almost superfluous. Kleypas does so much was characters who are entirely likable and yet make the romance compelling.

THE STORY: Lady Merritt Sterling, a widow, is running her husband’s business when she meets Kier MacRae, a Scottish distiller. From the moment the two meet there is something between them. But the class differences between them weigh heavily on Kier who does his best to keep his distance from the tempting widow. Merritt, on the other hand, knows from experience that regrets are corrosive. At the same time, someone seems determined to kill Kier.

OPINION: This book just warmed my soul. One this I loved about it was its context. In many ways, this is the story about family, and I loved how the couple here is supported and loved by the families in the story. The romance is luscious, incredibly sexy, but also has a sweetness and loveliness that I really enjoyed. The story warmed my heart as most of the conflicts were external and these are just two really good people. Perhaps life and society and villains might try and keep them apart, but they are decent and kind to one another.

Kier is just adorable (who doesn’t love a Scotsman who is hardworking and responsible and a big handsome man). He is respectful to Merritt and even when he doesn’t see a future for them, he is not dismissive of her thoughts. Indeed, he treats her with respect and talks to her. At the same time, he isn’t a pushover who takes all his cues from her.

Merritt is also refreshing as a heroine. Strong and independent, she also understands sacrifice and compromise. She doesn’t insist on her own way — even if Kier does consider her fondly as “bossy”.

Sometimes I love dramatic angsty books, and sometimes I love books like this: really good people who are making the best choices they can.

WORTH MENTIONING: Fans of Kleypas will get glimpses of plenty of her characters from previous books. Merritt is the daughter of the couple from IT HAPPENED ONE AUTUMN and we also get more of Sebastian and Evie from DEVIL IN WINTER. There are plenty of updates all around!

CONNECTED STORIES: DEVIL IN DISGUISE is the seventh book in the Ravenels series. This series, however, has become deeply entwined with the Wallflowers series. All the books in the Ravenels series that start with “Devil” are in essence spin-offs of DEVIL IN WINTER. This book can be read as a stand-alone, but I highly recommend reading both series — they are fantastic.

STAR RATING: I give this book 5 stars.

NOTE: I received an eARC of this book via Netgalley in order to prepare this review. I was not required to write a review or to write a positive review. All opinions contained herein are my own.

 

five-stars

Review: Guild Boss

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I received this book for free from Netgalley in order to prepare an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.


Review: Guild BossGuild Boss by Jayne Castle
Published by Berkley Books on November 16, 2021
Genres: Paranormal
Pages: 304
Goodreads

 

FINAL DECISION: This book was just fun. An action-adventure paranormal sci-fi futuristic mystery. The conflict here is external concerning the plot so the romance just felt sweet and enjoyable. Loved the strong characters — and who can resist a pizza-eating dust bunny?

THE STORY: A return to Harmony, a colony of earth now cut off where people have various psychic powers interacting with the alien world. Lucy Bell disappears into the tunnels under the city and is rescued by Gabriel Jones, one of the Guild Hunters. While Lucy insists that she was drugged and kidnapped, people believe that she got drunk after a party and wandered into the tunnels. The incident ruins Lucy’s reputation in her profession and months later when Gabriel comes back into her life, she is working as a guide on a studio tour. Now the Guild Boss of Illusion Town, Gabriel reconnects with Lucy as the two discover what happened the night Lucy disappeared.

OPINION: This book was deeply satisfying for me. It was light and fun (although there is a serious storyline — it’s not a comedy). It had a fun action-adventure vibe that I needed right now. I admit to being a huge Arcane fan and love whenever connections to that series come up. In this book Castle leans into the connection which was gratifying.

Nobody writes the “corporate” romance better than Jayne Ann Krentz (aka Jayne Castle) and this book moves the Guild more towards a polished organization. As someone who reads all three of Krentz’s different time periods, this book just felt like a great synthesis of all of them. The reveal of the significance of the book’s title was fun and just lifted the story with a little comedy.

I loved Gabriel who is put in his place by the strong Lucy. Their relationship has real equality, and there is chemistry and Castle always has great dialogue that builds a great relationship. These two are obviously meant for one another and much of the conflict is external involving the mystery, but it works here.

The only reason that this isn’t a perfect 5 star for me is that frankly there are other Castle books from this series that I love better. This one was really good, enjoyable, a rollicking adventure, and hit both the tone that I wanted and also had some great nostalgia.

I’m so glad that Castle is back writing this series and look forward to more.

WORTH MENTIONING: Gabriel is definitely one of those Jones for fans of Jayne Ann Krentz’s Arcane series. For fans of that series (who may be disappointed that Krentz abandoned the storyline in her contemporary romantic suspense), some of the past storylines are picked up here.

CONNECTED BOOKS: GUILD BOSS is the fourteenth book in the Harmony/Ghost Hunters series. The book can be read as a standalone although a new reader will need to catch up on some of the worldbuilding rules. This book is also connected with the Arcane series (which spans all three of Castle’s noms de plume — Jayne Ann Krentz, Amanda Quick, and Jayne Castle).

STAR RATING: I give this book 4.5 stars.

NOTE: I received an eARC of this book via Netgalley. I was not required to write a review or to write a positive review. All opinions contained herein are my own.