Category: Fiction

The Girl in Times Square by Paullina Simons

Title: The Girl in Times Square
Author: Paullina Simons
Pub. Date: 30-Jun-2004
Rating: 4.7 Stars

I am so in love with Paullina Simons’s writing. She captured me with The Bronze Horseman, and I have been a fan ever since. The Girl in Times Square just solidifies my admiration of her work.  It is one of the most heart wrenching stories I have read.

Lily Quinn is twenty-four and still in college since she lacks a few credits to graduate. Lily just can’t seem to get her life together. Her boyfriend has moved out of their tiny apartment she shares with her friend Amy and now she has to pay his portion of rent. She can barely afford her share. Feeling like she is drifting, she lets her grandmother talk her into visiting her mother in Hawaii. Continue reading “The Girl in Times Square by Paullina Simons”

Son of a Gun by Lee Ness

Title: Son of a Gun
Author: Lee Ness
Pub. Date: 4-Dec-2017
Rating: 4 Stars

When I was asked to review Son of a Gun, by Lee Ness, it was pitched to me as in the vain of the Jason Bourne books by Robert Ludlum. Since I loved that series, I was stoked to read this book and I was not disappointed. There was lots of action, plot twists, and characters to love and some to hate.

John King is a nobody, he does not exist and he likes it like that. In the world of espionage, he operates within, he is known simply as Eidolon, an apparition, and he is the best.  As an assassin for hire he uses this to his utmost advantage. He works alone, stays in the shadows and even his face is not known.  Continue reading “Son of a Gun by Lee Ness”

The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

Title: The Sun is Also a Star
Author: Nicola Yoon
Pub. Date: 1-Nov-2016
Rating: 5 Stars

The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon is another one of those books that has been on my to-be-read list since it first came out.  Why, oh why does it take over a year to get to such a good book? After reading books like this I almost always beat myself up for not getting to it sooner.

In this story, the author is asking the reader to believe in fate and love at first site. Daniel is in the right place at the right time to meet Natasha.  Only Natasha is scheduled to be deported back to Jamaica that very evening. Therefore, Daniel has only a few hours to convince Natasha that two people can fall in love in an initial meeting and he has the science to prove it. Natasha is very skeptical, and rightly so, especially since she is Jamaican and he is Korean and she knows her parents would never approve of a relationship with Daniel.  Continue reading “The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon”

Snow by Mikayla Elliot

Title: Snow
Author: Mikayla Elliot
Pub. Date: 31-Jul-2017
Rating: 4.5

As a lover of fantasy and paranormal I have read a lot of vampire stories some good, some bad. Snow by Mikayla Elliot most definitely falls into the good category. It is a different take on the standard vampire tale.

Neva is a young woman who is working in her parents’ bakery until one day she is whisked away to the castle of a nearby Lord as a potential wife. Once at the castle she is turned into a vampire by Lord Thedryk. She is told she is the person that the vampire world has been waiting centuries for to be reborn.  She is the one that will change the course of all vampires forever.  Because of this, she is the target of the vampire Zachariah who wants to stop her fulfilling her destiny. Before she even has a chance to figure out what her destiny will be she must deal with Zachariah.  Continue reading “Snow by Mikayla Elliot”

The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman

Title: The Rules of Magic
Author: Alice Hoffman
Pub. Date: 10-Oct-2017
Rating: 5 Stars

I could not wait to get my hands on this book. Therefore, I was super excited to see it was a selection at Book of the Month. I loved Practical Magic and just knew that The Rules of Magic would be the same. I was right!

The Rules of Magic is the prequel to Practical Magic and in it we meet Jet and Franny, when they are young, along with their brother Vincent. The story starts in New York when the three siblings are still children living under what they consider harsh parental rules. They can’t wear black, red shoes, or have any books on magic, among other things. They know they are different but their parents refuse to discuss their heritage with them. Then one day an invite from their Aunt Isabelle arrives and the trio sets off to Massachusetts on their summer break for a visit.  Continue reading “The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman”

The Devil and the Muse by Mandy Beverly-Jackson

Title: The Devil and the Muse
Author: Mandy Beverly-Jackson
Pub. Date: 12-Jun-2017
Rating: 4 Stars

The Devil and the Muse by Mandy Jackson-Beverly is the second book in the Creatives Series. I did not read the first book in the series, while I would have liked to, I found it not necessary. The author did a good job of catching the reader up to date. It helped that a description of the characters was included in the very beginning of the book. I referred to it several times until I got caught up on the cast and their roles in the story.

The Allegiance is a group of individuals headed by immortals under the protection of the goddess The Lady and the Rose. Their purpose is to protect and nurture Creatives and other magical beings from those who would do them harm. Creatives are those individual that have a unique gift of being able to see events that lie hidden underneath a painting. In the past, Creatives have been hunted down and killed as witches. Now the Creatives are using their power to help a group of girls who have been kidnapped, raped, tortured and killed by the soldiers of an evil vampire named Kenan who is the devil incarnate. The Allegiance must work quickly if they are to save these young girls.  Continue reading “The Devil and the Muse by Mandy Beverly-Jackson”

The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee

Title: The Queen of the Night
Author: Alexander Chee
Pub. Date: 2-Jan-2016
Rating: 3 Stars

The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee is one of those books that I should have fell in love with from the opening pages. From the synopsis it sounded to me like most everything I love about historical fiction. Sadly, I was disappointed.

Lilliet Berne is a famous Paris opera singer with a checked past. She has survived untold hardships to arrive at the place she is today. There are only a few people who know the whole truth of who Lilliet really is, a sum total of four, and it seems one of them is out to expose her. She knows this because a new opera has been written just for her, the crowning glory for an opera singer, and her life is the story. All her secrets will be exposed to the world. Continue reading “The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee”

Beneath Copper Falls by Colleen Coble

Title: Beneath Copper Falls
Author: Colleen Coble
Pub. Date: 10-Jul-2017
Rating: 4 Stars

Beneath Copper Falls by Colleen Coble is a crime thriller/romance for lovers of fast paced novels. This is the sixth book in the Rock Harbor series, but fear not, it can be read as a stand-alone. Since I have not read the others in the series, I can honestly say that I suffered no ill effects.

After leaving an abusive relationship, Dana Newell has returned home to the UP of Michigan and has a job waiting for her as a 911 dispatcher. She is excited to see her brother, her friends and have her life return to normal. She moves in with her brother and starts the process of rebuilding.  Continue reading “Beneath Copper Falls by Colleen Coble”

The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2017 edited by John Joseph Adams and Charles Yu

Title: The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2017
Author: John Joseph Adams
Pub. Date: 3-Oct-2017
Rating: 4 Stars

The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2017 edited by John Joseph Adams and Charles Yu is an anthology of short stories that embraces all varieties of Sci-Fi and Fantasy.  It is an interesting and diverse compilation.

It opens with Head, Scales, Tongue and Tail by Leigh Bardugo a story about a young girl who falls in love with a boy that is not really human. It was probably my favorite and set my expectations high for this anthology. Another favorite of mine was Everyone from Themis Sends Letters Home by Genevieve Valentine a story about the repercussions of a world in which everyone is plugged in and what are the rights of people in that type of world. Continue reading “The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2017 edited by John Joseph Adams and Charles Yu”

Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney

Title: Sometimes I Lie
Author: Alice Feeney
Pub. Date: 13-Mar-2018
Rating: 5 Stars

Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney is a chilling debut novel that you will not put down until the last sentence is devoured. This psychological thriller is in the vain of Gone Girl and is sure to keep you awake long after you have finished reading. Definitely one of the best this year.

At this point I usually give a synopsis of the plot; however, this time it is impossible to without some sort of spoiler and I hate spoilers. Believe me, this book is too good and you will be thanking me after you read it. Instead I am just giving you the blurb from the book. Continue reading “Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney”