Although I write exotica it is far from the only genre I read. When I come across a good story, I like to share my thoughts here.
We've all been there. Our life is falling apart and in despair, we turn to shopping therapy to make us feel better. But unlike Hazel Hart, we've never bought a home online. A home in a completely different state, sight unseen. A home she can barely afford.
Things don't get any better for Hazel when she packs up and with best friend Zoey in tow, heads to her new home in Story Lake, PA. Before she even crosses into the city limits, she wrecks her rental, assaults the town's beloved mascot, and destroys a historic landmark.
Hazel is the kind of FMC I love. Quick witted and funny as hell. Strong and independent, with just the right amount of vulnerability.
Cam Bishop is everything you want in a grumpy MMC. His backstory is revealed over time and never feels forced. This helps the reader slowly fall in love with him in much the same way Hazel does. His crazy family just adds to the charm.
The chemistry between Cam and Hazel is off the chart, making the spicy scenes all that more enjoyable
Zoey is the kind of woman I want as a best friend. A great sense of humor and resilience in the face of adversity. Half way through the story I was rooting for Zoey, to get a book of her own (which is happily coming out in March)
I have heard people praise Lucy Score for years, but it was not until I read Story Of My Life, that I understood what all the excitement was about.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Tropes—#Fake Dating #Grumpy/Sunshine MMC #Small Town Romance
Dating After The End Of The World by Jeneva Rose combines two of my favorite genres, enemy to lovers romance and end times fiction. I really wanted to love this book, but...
It didn't really work as a zombie book - not much zombie action. A trip to a hospital went fairly easy, Casey's trip from the city to her country home was a snap - no roads filled with abandoned cars, no zombies, just zoom she's there. The story did have the overdone romance staple - "The Misunderstanding" which keeps the two people apart even though they really like each other. Which could be cleared up immediately if one or the other would just say, "why the heck did you do/say that?" Or, " let me apologize for being an absolute horse's a**" I assume there is a sequel in the works since we're left with an annoying cliffhanger (endings to indicate a sequel is coming do not need to be so extreme - we all want at least a bit of a happy ending until book 2). But it was a fast read and not entirely terrible.
This book drew me in from page one. Friends Like These has that special “it factor” that I can’t really describe, but that I love so much. It’s something to do with the wit and pacing of both the inner monologues and of conversations. Reading Lizzie in that opening chapter where she describes Becca to the police reminded me of Regina George explaining her dynamic with Janice to Cady Heron. That whiff of cattiness in the air and bad blood.
Full disclosure: anytime a novel boasts a surprise twist or I see comments talking about surprise endings, I go into hyperdrive with determination to sniff out any red herrings and plot twists. With that, I had 3 or 4 off-the-wall scenarios of how the story was going down, with one big idea at the forefront.
What I liked about this novel is that it has shifts. The story felt like a free-flowing liquid that took on different shapes as more was revealed about the characters’ pasts and their intentions for the future. Even though the setup is clear in terms of who is protagonist and who is antagonist, our protagonist is not without faults and our antagonist is not without sympathetic circumstances. There are also other players in the mix (enter: the neighbors), so it’s not as though there aren’t suspects if Becca is more than just missing.
“Oh, great, I’m being interviewed by PC Kandiah, keeper of Middle Earth Knowledge and a clear Tolkien nerd.”
Statements like the above are what made this story enjoyable. There are serious issues that occur and mysterious circumstances, but there’s also humor.
And yes, I was surprised by the turn of events at the end. Not by everything because I had been sniffing out some things, but enough so that I was really pleased (I love being caught off guard in this genre). If you like novels with alternating perspectives and changing timelines (showing how things unfolded at different points during the 5 days), then you’ll absolutely love this. Be warned though, as justice is elusive in this tale - I almost gave it 4 stars because of that, but it was too well done for me to hold back any stars.
What a delight! This is a lovely crossover between sci-fi and historical novel. It is based on real historical accounts of Watergate, yet it manages the speculative side masterfully. If the story is only as strong as its villains, then there is no surprise this book is so engaging! That is all I am going to say on this topic, no spoilers! The richness of character, both protagonists as well as secondary, combined with the fast-paced plot and the intriguing subject, make Rewind Files one of the best modern sci-fi books I have read. It also manages to pack a massive volumes of social commentary without becoming too preachy. One of the strongest points, which I found that worked so well within the story, was the demonstration of white privilege and racism - probably the best one I ever read.
Claire Willet's background as a play-write is palpable and she puts her skills to use in creating engaging dialogues that feel real. Although this is a quick read, full of humour and banter, it isn't shallow. I am going to leave the unpacking and interpretation to the reader. I know this isn't the last time I have read it; the story has many layers, which (due to the fast pacing) don't immediately jump out of the page. I can't wait for the possible sequel or even some TV/film adaptations.
Interview With Kris Kringle, by Paul Teresi, is an inventive retelling of the story of Santa Claus.
October 1962 - the world is on edge. While Soviet missiles in Cuba take aim at the United States, Margo Wilson tries to become the top journalist in Chicago to cover the story. When her inside source is stolen from her, she finds herself with no story to report on. Financially strapped and willing to take on any job the newspaper can offer, she reluctantly agrees to pursue a whole new story. She is to interview a man who claims that he is the one and only Kris Kringle.
Hoping to cash in on a scathing article that proves the man to be a fraud, she quickly questions her angle as miracles and magic seem to go hand in hand the further she pursues the story.
Finally, after all these years, her story is finally told.
And so is his.
Round Robin Phinney…
She’s 230 pounds of bad attitude. She dishes out sandwiches and insults to the customers at Screaming Mimi’s deli. She takes a dim view of people in general and men in particular.
Her home is her sanctuary. She has an apartment upstairs. Downstairs, she’s created a private park, lushly landscaped, dotted with ponds, furnished with two Chicago Park District benches.
Manfred Welk is what Charles Atlas would have looked like if he’d been serious about lifting weights. A former Olympic powerlifter for East Germany, his ex-wife turned him in for spying. Brought to Chicago after the fall of the Berlin Wall, he needs a place to live.
When cold weather hits and Robin’s furnace goes out, the plants in her park start to die. Worse, she has no money for repairs — but she does have a small vacant apartment in her basement. Something she might swap for the services of a live-in handyman.
After interviewing a number of prospective fix-it people, Robin finds, to her great horror, the best choice is a giant German with CIA connections. That’s bad enough, but the guy turns out to have a kid, a blue-haired prepubescent brat named Bianca who’s been raised in a brothel.
Robin, Manfred and Bianca all have their demons to cast out.
You’ll have a grand time watching as they do.