Learning to Love by Jennifer Wilck

December 3, 2018 By 5 Comments



Learning to Love by Jennifer Wilck
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Full (292 pgs)
Heat: Spicy
Rated: 4.5 stars
Review by Rose

Dina Jacobs is a single librarian who has never fit in due to her off-the-charts intelligence, frizzy hair and rounder-than-socially-acceptable figure. She left her past behind until she receives an invitation to her ten-year high school reunion, and all her insecurities return.

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When Dina and Adam run into each other on a deserted road, Dina thinks Mr. Flashypants can’t possibly be interested in someone like her. Adam thinks Dina is just the person to help him improve his reputation. Lies and insecurities force them to take a look at themselves. Can they trust each other to look beyond the surface?

What a fun book! Even though the book is number 3 in the series, it can easily be read as a standalone. I’ve never read the other books in the series and I had no trouble following the story at all, even though I could tell that there were past relationships with some of the secondary characters.

The chemistry between Dina and Adam is off the wall, and I loved Dina’s character! She is socially awkward, prefers books to most people, is a treasure trove of trivia that she spouts off whenever she gets nervous, and is a librarian. What’s not to like? Adam I had a little more trouble connecting with. He is a wealthy lawyer who is having trouble at work and seems, at first, to be a spoiled brat. I wanted to take him and shake him sometimes, especially near the end of the book.

The secondary characters, as well, were well-drawn– especially with Dina’s friends, they seemed like people I would like to hang out with. I also liked the way that Ms. Wilck brought in some Jewish traditions and experiences. Even though I am somewhat familiar with Judaism, I still learned some thing I didn’t know.

This is my first book by Ms. Wilck, but I don’t think it will be my last – I was very impressed with her writing style.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , , ,

Albion Moon by M.L. Mastran

November 29, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Albion Moon by M.L. Mastran
Albion Moon Chronicles. Book 1
Publisher: Champagne Book Group
Genre: Contemporary, Historical, Paranormal, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full Length (178 pages)
Heat Level: Sensual
Rating: 4.5 stars
Reviewed by Orchid

Evaline needs to find out what happened to her brother Jimmy. As she digs deeper into his disappearance, the search reveals an ancient family secret carried through the bloodline that began centuries ago in the Scottish Highlands.
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As this secret from the old world closes in on Evaline, she also needs answers for her disconcerting feelings toward the mysterious Mason. He not only seems to always know when she is in danger, but he is insistent on protecting her, no matter the cost.

She must also find the answers for all the strange visions and dreams she is having about Jimmy. What does it all mean? Is it connected to the secret closing in on Evaline and friends? As the old world collides with the new, Evaline quickly finds that she must choose to stand and fight or risk losing everything she holds dear.

In Elizabethan Scotland the Mac Griogair clan is forbidden to use their clan name or they will be executed. Members of the clan go far and wide, changing their names to avoid detection. When the ban was lifted in 1774 the main hub of the clan set out to bring the travellers back into the fold, but a lot of them didn’t want to come. The word went out, return or be annihilated.

Evaline (or Eva) returns to her hometown and continues the search for her brother who disappeared. Her investigation has brought all sorts of threats in her direction. The Cowen family own the local diner and she is attracted to one of the brothers, but there is something strange about the whole family. In her dreams she sees a large wolf and believes this has something to do with her brother’s disappearance.

This is a very good tale of deception, mystery and paranormal. A bit weak in the part where Eva won’t tell Mason what is wrong, I know she’s strong willed but she has an inkling of Mason’s true identity and this should ensure that he will believe her and help her.

Other than the above, the story holds together very well. Every detail was visible to me as I read it, especially the food aspect and the Cowen’s house and land. Good read and very enjoyable story.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Ride ‘Em Cowboy by Anne Kane

November 29, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Ride ‘Em Cowboy by Anne Kane
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Short story (53 pages)
Other: M/F
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Fiona really wasn’t in the market for a lover or a partner or some guy to give her a sappy sweet happily ever after. Been there, done that, got the scars to prove it. She just wanted a nice one-night stand. She planned to be long gone come breakfast time.

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Simple, right? So how did it all go so very wrong?

Fiona is looking for Mr Right Now – she doesn’t believe in all that romance novel crap and she wanted to be long gone before breakfast options needed to be discussed. When a leather-clad cowboy turned up on a Harley Fiona knew she’d found the man who could help her out for the night. The only problem for Fiona and Wyatt will be keeping to their original rules of no strings and one night….

I really appreciated how, despite the short length of this story, I didn’t feel as a reader that Fiona and Wyatt simply jumped straight into bed. Sure they went on a fast track from meeting, hooking up and heading to the motel room, but there was just enough pacing – for me, at least – to feel and believe in their connection. It was a “Right Now” connection, not anything burning more long-term, but they were both very clearly on the same page in that respect. The sizzle when they touched, the small but gentlemanly gestures Wyatt performed to show his character ran deeper than just a bad-boy biker cowboy, all these things added up to me and helped me feel like this was more than a short wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am style of quick sex story. This also helped me feel far more attached to the characters and care for more than just their one night of passion.

While the twist of Fiona and Wyatt’s one night stand not being confined to one night (and the reasons behind that) weren’t much of a surprise to me, I found this sense of familiarity didn’t bother me or detract from my enjoyment of the story. Fiona and Wyatt were interesting characters and not the two-dimensional cut-outs that they could easily have been (horny, gun-shy, modern woman and bike-loving, complicated cowboy). The author did an excellent job to my mind of making both Fiona and Wyatt appealing and well-suited to each other. I enjoyed watching them try to overcome the complications of being surprised by a previous lover in their present lives and the chemistry between them was thick and believable enough that I was invested in the outcome of their romance.

Fun and sexy, I found this to be a great short story with a light plot and interesting characters.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Lullaby for a Lost World by Aliette de Bodard

November 28, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Lullaby for a Lost World by Aliette de Bodard
Publisher: Tor Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror, Paranormal, Historical
Length: Short Story (16 pages)
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Charlotte died to shore up her master’s house. Her bones grew into the foundation and pushed up through the walls, feeding his power and continuing the cycle. As time passes and the ones she loved fade away, the house and the master remain, and she yearns ever more deeply for vengeance.

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Charlotte was such a sympathetic character. This is never something I thought I’d say about a ghost who had homicidal urges, but she had excellent reasons for behaving the way she did. The people who took her life did so in such a despicable way that I couldn’t help but to hope that she’d find some way to make peace with it. She was young, poor, and defenceless when she died. Any one of those would have made me feel sympathy for her, but for it to happen to someone who fit all three of those groups only increased my urge to find out what her ultimate fate would be.

There was only one small thing I wish had been done differently with this tale, and it had to do with the ending. The final scene was by far the most exciting part of the plot, so I was a bit surprised by how abruptly it ended. It would have been nice to know how that scene turned out even if the narrator wasn’t planning to tell the audience anything else about how she planned to get her revenge for her murder.

This was one of the most grisly things I’ve read this year, and that was a good thing. Charlotte’s death was bloody, violent, and honestly disturbing at times. Learning about why it happened only made me more eager to find out if anyone would ever pay for what they did to this poor girl. I wanted her killers to deal with the consequences of their actions almost as much as she did! It was the only way she’d ever find peace. Knowing how horribly her life had ended was an integral part of understanding why her afterlife was so restless and full of justified anger.

Lullaby for a Lost World was deliciously scary. Anyone who loves their horror grim and ghastly should check it out.

Filed Under: Horror, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Rabbit’s Snow Dance by Joseph Bruchac and James Bruchac

November 27, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Rabbit’s Snow Dance by Joseph Bruchac and James Bruchac
Publisher: Dial Books
Genre: Childrens, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Historical
Length: Short Story (32 pages)
Age Recommendation: 3+
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Rabbit loves the winter. He knows a dance, using an Iroquois drum and song, to make it snow—even in summertime! When rabbit decides that it should snow early, he starts his dance and the snow begins to fall. The other forest animals are not happy and ask him to stop, but Rabbit doesn’t listen. How much snow is too much, and will Rabbit know when to stop?

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With great power comes many opportunities to misuse it.

Repetition is one of those things that can make or break a children’s book. Luckily, the repetition in this book was handled perfectly. It happened often enough to give the storyline a sense of rhythm, and the words used in it were so catchy that I actually really liked seeing them pop up over and over again. They also gave the audience a lot of insight into Rabbit’s personality. The more he repeated those terms, the more I learned about who he was as a character.

The only thing I wish had been added to this tale was an explanation of where Rabbit’s powers came from. His ability to control the weather was impressive. I only wish I could have known if it was something he’d always been able to do or if his decision to make it snow in the middle of summer was a one-time mistake. With that being said, this is a minor criticism of something I enjoyed reading quite a bit.

There was so much humor tucked into the plot. I chuckled my way through many of the scenes, especially the later ones when Rabbit’s wish for winter weather began to come true. There were so many moments where his stubborn insistence on skipping ahead to his favorite season had consequences that he couldn’t have seen coming but might have taken they risk they’d happen anyway if he did. It was delightful to watch this character react to everything that happened to him as a result of his stubbornness.

I’d recommend Rabbit’s Snow Dance to readers of all ages, from kids to adults, who love legends.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

A Life Unfolds in the City by Ruth Zavitsanos

November 26, 2018 By Leave a Comment


A Life Unfolds in the City by Ruth Zavitsanos
Publisher: CiaoSummer Press
Genre: Historical, YA
Length: Full length (232 pages)
Age Recommendation: 16+
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Lavender

New York City, 1906– With the fast-approaching death of their mother, the lives of two sisters, Martha and Lilah Caldon, are about to change. Lilah, the younger of the two, is favored by their mother. She receives the best education and attends various social events outfitted in the finest wardrobe. The only exception is the annual Broadway play Martha attends with her parents, when Lilah is left at home. Every year since she turned 16, Martha and her parents go backstage after the play to meet Miss Sahara, the beautiful leading actress.

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Being a young woman in New York in 1906 could be quite challenging, and this story opens up that world and its possibilities. Readers get to know two very different sisters who have a nice life but are facing the loss of their mother. As they deal with it, their true natures come out.

Martha is engaging and relatable. When her father takes her to the theater, she meets interesting people. Rick is instantly charming, and he shows Martha around. The author of the story treats her readers to wonderful little details of the backstage world.  When Martha and Rick interact, the writing is so well done that readers can feel Martha’s excitement right along with her.

This is a tale of young love, but there’s a parallel story of lost love found again. The two stories are interwoven beautifully. There were surprises in the unfolding of events, unexpected deals made, betrayal, and treachery. A need for forgiveness arises, and readers will wonder if the characters have it in them to do so, after all that’s happened.

World events of the era are thrown in to add interest, and when the characters get involved or voice their thoughts, it reveals a lot about them.

This is a wonderful little story, a historically-set drama that is well worth the read.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Blue is a Darkness Weakened by Light by Sarah McCarry

November 23, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Blue is a Darkness Weakened by Light by Sarah McCarry
Publisher: Tor Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (24 pages)
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Sarah McCarry’s “Blue is a Darkness Weakened by Light” is about a lonely young woman, recently moved to the big city, who is looking for love. What she finds is a friend and confidante who is much older and wiser than she.

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The sarcasm in this story made me smile. It existed for a specific reason, and it served that purpose well. I especially liked how it poked fun at a specific fantasy sub-genre while also wandering into that type of storytelling at times and when necessary. The contradiction between these two things was as unexpected as it was amusing.

This tale could have been interpreted in one of two contradictory ways. While I can’t go into detail about what those ways were without giving away spoilers, I do wish the narrator had given the audience more hints about both options. I adore ambiguous fiction, but I prefer to be able to point out multiple parts of a text that make it sound like a specific theory could be the right one. There weren’t quite enough examples of this for me to go for a five-star rating even though I loved the concept in general.

The most interesting scenes to me were the ones that could have easily happened in the real world because they dealt with the main character’s crushing loneliness. This wasn’t something I was expecting the narrator to cover when there were so many other things going on for the characters, but it was handled beautifully. I could feel the protagonists loneliness growing heavier by the minute. It gave me a lot of sympathy for her and made me hope she’d figure out a solution to her problems soon.

Blue is a Darkness Weakened by Light should be read by anyone who prefers their vampires dark and dangerous.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , ,

Ghost Hedgehog by Nina Kiriki Hoffman

November 23, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Ghost Hedgehog by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Publisher: Tor Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (28 pages)
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

With all the places ghosts could go, why do they keep hanging around me?

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One of the most interesting parts of this story involved the way the ghosts behaved in it. Most of the paranormal fiction I read is about vengeful spirits, but that didn’t describe these characters well at all. Despite the fact that they were deceased, they behaved in pretty similar ways to how the living would act in the same situations. At first I was surprised by this change, but I soon grew to like it quite a bit.

There was only one small thing I wish had been done differently with this tale, and it had to do with how the characters talked about the evil entities in this universe called Shades. Their descriptions of these creatures were deliciously frightening when they were talking about what Shades were capable of doing to humans. However, there wasn’t as much attention paid to the history of these things. It would have been nice to have a bit more information about where they came from and why they were so dangerous to the living.

The character development was strong. By the final scene, I was wishing that this had been the first chapter of a full-length novel instead so that I could continue to see how Jack evolved as a result of his ability to see and communicate with the dead. As satisfied as I was by how everything was wrapped up, I also saw so many exciting possibilities for future adventures for this character. Hopefully, the author will write them one day.

Ghost Hedgehog made me shudder in the best possible way. I’d wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who loves reading about hauntings.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Making the Moose Out of Life by Nicholas Oldland

November 22, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Making the Moose Out of Life by Nicholas Oldland
(Life in the Wild)
Publisher: Kids Can Press
Genre: Childrens, Action/Adventure, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (32 pages)
Age Recommendation: 3+
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

From the creator of Big Bear Hug comes the comic-adventure story of a mild-mannered moose who learns how to take life by the antlers. This moose may live in the wild, but he doesn’t act it — he watches from the sidelines as his friends have fun. Every now and then, he wonders if he’s missing out on anything.

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The moose’s unlikely hero-journey is a lighthearted, contemporary fable that celebrates living life to the fullest.

There is such a thing as being too cautious in life.

From what I’ve observed so far, one of Mr. Oldland’s biggest strengths has to do with how inclusively he writes about the struggles his characters face. In this particular case, the moose’s reluctance to try something new could be a hint that he was dealing with any number of mental illnesses that children in real life sometimes develop. The moose’s desire to stick to what he knows could also be understood as a phase that many kids go through or part of his naturally shy personality in general. I loved the fact that this was left up to the reader to decide. It’s something I’d feel equally comfortable reading to a child who had been diagnosed with a specific illness as I would with someone who was simply more reserved than most kids and needed a little encouragement to try new things.

The only thing I would have liked to see done differently in this story had to do with the total lack of a name or nickname for the main character. It’s something I’ve mentioned in reviews of other books in this series. While it’s a minor complaint, it sure would be nice to know what to call all of the interesting characters I’ve met in this universe. The moose had such a well-developed personality in particular that it felt odd to me to not have this piece of information about him. If not for this, I would have chosen a full, five-star rating.

Not every emotion is a cheerful one. The best scenes were the ones that showed how the moose reacted when his first attempts to try new things didn’t turn out the way he was hoping they would. He didn’t know how to react when that happened, and I appreciated the fact that the narrator acknowledged that. There’s something soothing about watching a character experience a setback but refusing to give up.

Making the Moose Out of Life was a gentle and kindhearted adventure that I’d recommend to anyone who wonders if they should take more risks.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Temptation Trials Revolution by B. Truly

November 21, 2018 By 9 Comments


Temptation Trials Revolution by B. Truly
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Sci-Fi (Dystopian), Romance
Length: Full (326 pgs)
Heat: Hot
Rated: 4 stars
Review by Poppy

There are always two sides to a story. Can love withstand the ultimate temptation?

A new Regime has arisen from the havoc and destruction of World War III. Society now has to follow the strict mandates, reign under the dictatorship of His Highest Eminence or suffer the consequences.

Tobias and Kincade are part of a cryptic organization that’s trying to uncover the secrets behind the Regime. Something is suspicious with the new world order—why else would they want to control the most powerful emotion of love? With mandatory arranged marriages at the age of twenty-one, the only way to fight for love is through the Temptation Trials—a government-sponsored reality TV show.

Kincade and Tobias know the rules, but after they meet the women of their dreams, they face a difficult decision. With their impending birthdays around the corner, the guys have to decide if they will bend to the Regime’s will or fight for their relationships.
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Lust, mistaken for love, will lead to down a treacherous path. They soon learn that the spirit may be willing, but the flesh is weak.

Can love save their souls, or is lust too tempting?

After reading the first book in this series (told from the women’s POV), I was interested to get the other side of the story. Years ago, there was a failed reality show named “Temptation Island” which basically put people in committed relationships into deliberately sexy circumstances with others to see if they’d cheat. This book series reminds me of that show … on steroids.

As with most dystopian novels, the government is bad here. I’m still not 100% certain why the government chose this particular “rule” for their own, but I’m suspending my disbelief here and running with it since that is sort of the mystery the characters are trying to solve themselves. In the first book, I actually liked the guys better than the girls, for the short time I saw them, so was glad to get to see them again. One thing I enjoyed was the guys’ sense of humor and snark about things. It’s pretty typical (especially for “tough guy” Tobias). However, there was a lot of emotional stuff with them thinking sappy thoughts about the girls that felt a little off. Not that guys aren’t romantic or loving, but it’s not typically the focus, the be-all-end-all of their thoughts.

I suppose this can stand alone in the series, but I think the world-building in this one wasn’t as strong. Possibly because the author assumes the reader has read past books in the series. Other that that (and wondering what was going on with the women) though, I think this could be read alone.

Since Tobias and Kincade were undercover to find out what was going on with this governmental rule, there was a little more digging into the mystery of “how” and “why” here. We got it in the women’s book, too, but not as frequently.

Also, in my own personal set of preferences, I hate romances about cheating. Here, though, it doesn’t feel wrong, exactly, and I’m not sure why that it. Maybe because the guys aren’t around their women here? I’m not sure why. Also–and I had this same issue in the women’s book–I’m not entirely certain I want our main characters to end up with the women they originally loved. It’s true! The author has done a good job selling the other characters here.

While perhaps not as violent and bloody as most dystopian novels, it’s still a decent entry into the genre. Add in plenty of sex and sexual innuendo, and you have a book any adult could enjoy. It’ll be interesting to see where the story goes next.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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