Tag: review

Mystery/Crime · Romance · Suspense · Thriller/Horror

No one left to tell – Karen Rose

Book Chick1 Comment

11264393| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: A car crashes in front of rookie PI Paige Holden’s home. And suddenly, she finds one of her pro bono clients dying in her arms—from a gunshot wound. With her last breath, the woman whispers cryptic words into her ear and hands her a blood-smeared flash drive.

Five years ago, State’s Attorney Grayson Smith put a murderer behind bars. But when Paige Holden shares the flash drive with him, its contents cast doubts on the conviction—and lead him and Paige into a world of blackmail, dark secrets, and a decades-long string of murders. An investigation they’ll survive only by trusting each other—and the truth.

Untitled

My thoughts: This is an extremely complicated story. And then a really nasty story to. Not in the way of blood and gore but in a way of politics, dark secrets and people taking the law in there own hands. There is a lot for characters to keep track on, a lot of information from different ways and it sometime gets confusing about which character knows what and do not know what. And it is not that easy for you as an reader to keep track on it. That is my biggest complain for this book.

However I do love the characters even though i do feel they are a little to superficial. Specially Paige. I love the backstory to Paige and it actually feels like it is another earlier book. I have however not found any evidence for it. I have however found that several people she is mentioning in this books have there one book in another series. Just so for your information.

Even though I feel that there is way to many characters to keep track of and that information could have been somewhat simplified and the ending is a little anticlimactic I still really liked it. It is a long book with over 500 pages but perfect for those cold winter nights. 😀

Fiction/Science Fiction · Romance · Suspense · Thriller/Horror

The Darkest Corner – Liliana Hart

Book Chick1 Comment

32620320| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: The Gravediggers aren’t exactly what they seem. They’re the most elite of the world’s fighting forces—and all they have in common is that they’ve been betrayed by the countries they’ve died for. Because they are dead. To their country, their military, and their families.

Sometimes the dead do rise…

Deacon Tucker is a dead man walking. A former black ops agent, he was disavowed and stripped of all honor before being recruited as a Gravedigger. But his honor and good name no longer matter, because no one knows he’s alive, and he’ll never get the recognition he deserves. His mission is simple: save the world or die trying. And for God’s sake, don’t ever fall in love. That’s a rule punishable by death. The kind of death a man can’t be brought back from.

Tess Sherman is the only mortician in Last Stop, Texas. She has no idea how Deacon Tucker ended up in her funeral home, but she’ll eat her hat if he’s only a funeral home assistant. Deacon is dangerous, deadly, and gorgeous. And she knows her attraction to him can only end in heartache.

Deacon is on a mission to stop the most fatal terror attack the world has ever known—what’s known as The Day of Destiny—a terrorist’s dream. But when he discovers Tess has skills he can use to stop them, he has to decide if he can trust her with secrets worth dying for. And, most important, he has to decide if he can trust her with his heart.

Untitled

My thoughts: Okay book. I liked bits and pieces of it. But it was not an great book and frankly , i’m a bit disappointed. I have read like 13 books by Liliana Hart and for the most part I have really liked them. She writes characters who are fun, quirky and really lovable and you cant not love the male heroes. They are awesome. But there is nothing of that in this one.

Somewhat repeatable. Specially about Tess’s temper, read hair and white skin. About Deacons “undead” life and past. There is no real explanations to WHY Deacon is where he is and they all is a little boring. The only character that actually did anything for me was Eve and I completely loath her. So yeah.

I’m not even sure if I will bother to read the next book in the series. Since I have read so many books by Hart and know what she is capable to do, I feel thorn. Should I risk wasting time on another mediocre book or should I risk missing one great story?

Contemporary · Romance

Wait for it – Mariana Zapata

Book Chick3 Comments

33288638.jpg| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ |

Goodreads synopsis:If anyone ever said being an adult was easy, they hadn’t been one long enough.

Diana Casillas can admit it: she doesn’t know what the hell she’s doing half the time. How she’s made it through the last two years of her life without killing anyone is nothing short of a miracle. Being a grown-up wasn’t supposed to be so hard.
With a new house, two little boys she inherited the most painful possible way, a giant dog, a job she usually loves, more than enough family, and friends, she has almost everything she could ever ask for.

Except for a boyfriend.
Or a husband.
But who needs either one of those?

Untitled

My thoughts: I read “The wall of Winnipeg and me” (twowam) earlier this year and back then I did not know Zapatas books or writing style. I have had this book in my Kindle long before I even read “twowam” but there is always been something there who have stopped me from actually starting the book. But now I have read it and i’m so happy I finally did because O MY GOSH this book is good. It is even greater than “twowam” and I freaking loved that book.

This one is also an slow burn and wordy book but I feel I was a lot more prepared for it this time. There is also a lot more characters in the story and even two kids. And I freaking loved the youngest one.

The story is great and really believable. The characters is warm, funny and feels real. The only thing I feel that I need to comment on is that Dallas mood and personality do not quite match his backstory but that is okay. He is freaking great and I totally love Diana to. The relationship develops in a natural pace and I was not bored for one second. I can see how some readers can feel this book boring because it is not that much going on. But Zapata has an great ability to write an day to day story without at least boring me out and that is a valuable thing for me to like an author. Because I get easily bored.

This book gave me major hangover but it is so good and so worth it and you just have to read it. If you want. 😉

Contemporary · Romance

Eli – Jessica Gadziala

Book Chick4 Comments

35905878| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ |

Goodreads synopsis: Six years on the inside gave a man a lot of time to think. And a lot of time to plan. When I got out, I was determined for things to go a different way. I never wanted to lose control and rage out again.

The only way to accomplish that, though, was to shut it all down.
Complete disconnect.

That meant no family, no friends, no links to anything attached to the man I was before.

Of course the problem was, I never factored HER into my plans. And try as I might, I couldn’t find a way to shut it down, to disconnect from her.

I had a sneaking suspicion she was going to take all my carefully constructed plans and toss them out the window, was going to force me to face up the demons inside and confront the ghosts from my past.

Those ghosts?
They wore the faces of my family.

And a confrontation with them, yeah, I had a feeling it was going to show me that I had spent six years taking action on beliefs about the demons inside. Demons that had never actually existed in the first place…

Untitled

My thoughts: Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful book. And finally I got Eli’s story. He has been an character through out the series you just see but not really hear anything from. He is an tortured soul with the whole world and family on his shoulders. I was absolutely shocked when the ending in book three came and you got to learn that Eli is going to prison. My heart hurt for him and his family. And it certainly was no easier now reading the full story.

The really funny thing with this book is that it is somewhat different from what Jessica Gadziala usually writes. There is no real suspense. No Heroin who needs saving or Hero to do the saving. No bad blood, wars or fights. It is just clean, emotional, humanly raw stuff that the most of us has at some point in our life experienced. The pressure from family or society. The need for love and connection and finding you place in the world. And here it is really the Heroin who does the saving by just being there.

And the book is just that. Raw with a hint of humor. And I cried my heart out and it was so good. Loved the characters but I have to say that Peyton totally stole the show and it is not even her book. And I really looking forward to be reading hers.

I cant do anything else than recommend it to you. It is so good.

Romance · Suspense · War/Military

Rekindled – Kaylea Cross

Book Chick2 Comments

19547589.jpg| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis:He left her when she needed him most…

Four years ago, Dr. Grace Fallon lost everything that mattered in a terrorist attack she barely survived. Now she’s stronger than ever and in Pakistan with a UN-sanctioned team for the most important assignment of her career. She’s dedicated her life to eradicating the world of chemical weapons, and long ago accepted the inherent risks associated with her job. Until the man whose memory has haunted her for so long suddenly reappears and inadvertently makes her the target of one of the most dangerous terrorists on the planet. Forced to accept Alex’s protection, it’s impossible to deny the white-hot attraction still burning between them. And while she trusts him to guard her from this new threat, Grace must once again decide whether to risk her heart to the man who once shattered her entire world.

Now he’ll risk everything to win her back…

Four years ago, NSA agent Alex Rycroft left Grace because had no choice. But never again. Malik Hassani has escaped custody, he’s on the run, and has locked onto Grace as a means to target Alex. This time Alex will do whatever it takes to protect her—and convince her to give them another chance. Walking away from her nearly destroyed him and now that she’s back in his life, he can’t let her go. When the unthinkable happens and Grace’s life hangs in the balance, he’ll sacrifice everything to save her—including himself.

Untitled

My thoughts: I’m glad I finally got the chance to learn more about Alex and his history. He is the oldest character in the books and the most mysterious. I really liked the plot but it was somewhat slow written. And I feel that in a situation as the 5th book is taking place, should not be slow. At all! I did however like that I got to know how it would go with Dunphy. The 4th book quite ended on a cliffhanger when Dunphy regarded. It was hard to read but with a great end. Perfect when it comes to the circumstances.

Alex end Grace though  is quite slow and some what repeatably. Grace is hurt and I understand that but then they dont really talk about it. It just “fixes” itself and that was an downer.

The story about the terrorist is as exciting as ever. Cant say to much about it without giving out spoilers.

There is one more book in the series. It is an short book on 160 pages and more or less suppose to wrap any loose ends. I have read the five books in the series and will at some point in the future read the last one to. Just to be done. But I dont really feel the need to it. This book did not end on any cliffhangers and what ever question i sit left with is not that important to get an answer to. But I will still read it.

Fantasy/Paranormal · Fiction/Science Fiction · Young, New adult/College

Ready Player One – Ernest Cline

Book Chick2 Comments

20603758| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: A world at stake. A quest for the ultimate prize. Are you ready?

It’s the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.
Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets.

And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune—and remarkable power—to whoever can unlock them.

For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday’s riddles are based in the pop culture he loved—that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday’s icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes’s oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig.

And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle.

Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt—among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life—and love—in the real world he’s always been so desperate to escape.

Untitled

My thoughts: Great! Great! Oh did I tell you, Great book! Really. It was so “new” and unlike the most of the books I usually reads that it made it all better. It is, literally, a whole new world.

You get to meet great characters who have a miserable life for one or another reason. The real world is dying and the only way to handle the crippling depressions is to flee into another world. OASIS. The biggest virtual world game there is, with millions of planets and there you can be what ever you want, play games, meet people and what not. There is also an very special game in that world. A game where the price is to huge to comprehend. And Wade, our main character, wants it. At that is pretty much what the book is about. That and his fight for survival.

And it was great. The writing was just perfect and for a non Technic gal like me, I really needed those extra explanations. I can see how that is an source of irritation for people who already knows that stuff and probably makes the book wordy for them. But I needed it. However, I do feel that the technical talk got to be a little to much sometimes, and that made me fall out from the story. Just because of that, I cant give the book a full score.

In 2018 the movie on the book will come and I cant wait. It will be awesome to see the world and not just read about it. And since it is Spielberg who is directing it, it cant be other than great.

Have you or are you gonna read Ready Player One?

Suspense · Young, New adult/College

Reread: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – J.K Rowling

Book Chick1 Comment

17347384I’m not gonna write a “normal” review on this one. Mostly because it would not be fair. I do love Harry Potter, no questions about it. I grew up in the Harry Potter prime time and read all the books and had all the stuffs and when the movies came I watch them over and over again and what not. There where no books and movies that I loved as much as I loved Harry Potter. And it is the one series I wish I could forget so that I would be able to read them as “New” again. And it will be the one series I will be reading for my future children and grandchildren.

However, now as I reread the books in a grown up age, I see and perceive the books in a different way then I did as an child. Not necessary a bad way, just different. And since I have seen the movies to many times to count, I do not feel comfortable in writing a accurate review since my feelings from when I was a child, the movie and my grown up perspective is muddled together and I cant separate them enough to be fair. Does it make sense?

Do not misunderstand me here. I do love the Potter series and I give the book the five star rating that it deserve, there just will not be an official review from me on it.

Fantasy/Paranormal · Fiction/Science Fiction · Romance

Voyager – Diana Gabaldon

Book Chick1 Comment

10987| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: From the author of the breathtaking bestsellers Outlander and Dragonfly in Amber, the extraordinary saga continues.

Their passionate encounter happened long ago by whatever measurement Claire Randall took. Two decades before, she had traveled back in time and into the arms of a gallant eighteenth-century Scot named Jamie Fraser. Then she returned to her own century to bear his child, believing him dead in the tragic battle of Culloden. Yet his memory has never lessened its hold on her… and her body still cries out for him in her dreams.

Then Claire discovers that Jamie survived. Torn between returning to him and staying with their daughter in her own era, Claire must choose her destiny. And as time and space come full circle, she must find the courage to face the passion and pain awaiting her…the deadly intrigues raging in a divided Scotland… and the daring voyage into the dark unknown that can reunite or forever doom her timeless love.

Untitled

My thoughts: It took me a while before I started on the third book in the Outlander series by Gabaldon. That’s because the books are really mentally heavy with a lot of information and feelings and after both the first and second book I have felt emotional drained and need time to put myself together. I did start the third book in February 2017 but was not mentally ready yet and could not finished it. But now (October 2017) I´m trying again. The audio book is separated in three parts, probably because it is so large. I decided that I will be reviewing each part by them self. Mostly because i don’t know or probably will not Finnish this book in one go. There is a high chance of me take a break some times during the book. This review will not be public until I´m finished with the book. So I will try to name dates to make it a little easier.

Part One
27 September – 2 October. Started listening again, had to take a break to finish the hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy, but did take it up again at 2 October. If you do not know it, there is a chance to be really confuses because the book starts 20 years in the “future” and you feel like you have missed a couple of books. But no this is correct. I have checked. And it will make a lot more sense later in the book. Even though I’m not sure that I like that way it was build. I would want it more in a chronological order. The part One is mostly about what have happen the latest 20 years and it makes my heart hurt. Off course the book is as always good written with the extreme detail work on both history and scenery. The part one ends a little on a cliffhanger so I will start the second part as soon as I get a chance. Life and work needs a place in my life to.

Part Two
10 – 11 October. Part two was a little more slow than first expected. Here we get to met a lot of the characters from the earlier books and that is just wonderful. To “see” them again and read about what they have been up to the last 20 years. I do feel that Claire in this part is a little to much of a diva. She overreact on somethings and I totally understand Jamie and I feel that a lot of what is happening, he do not deserve. Off course there is some traveling (A lot of traveling in this series) and there is some fights and the some love of course. You get to meet new characters who was not even born the earlier books and you get to meet characters that was born but still just an infant. It is wonderful. But the cliffhanger on the end. OH My! Jamie is soo “dead” or he will wish he was!

Part Three
27 – 31 October. Quite happy that I’m now finished with the book. This last part was kind of slow and not as exciting as the rest of the book. There is a lot of traveling and there is some things you just need to know and that was what kept me going.
Ends pretty great and if I use my imagination, I could stop here and not read/listening further in the series. I probably will in the future but now I need a break.

Overall a great book as usual. The first book in the series is still my favorite and this one is the least favorite so far. There is several books left in the series so that can change in the future. Still would recommend this book to anyone who needs something to read.

Adult fiction/Erotica · Fiction/Science Fiction · Romance · Suspense

Tyrant – T.M Frazier

Book Chick1 Comment

25711641.jpg| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: I. Remember. Everything.

Only now I wish I didn’t.
When the fog is sucked away from my mind like smoke through a vacuum, the truth that has been beyond my reach for months finally reveals itself.
But the relief I thought I would feel never comes, and I’m more afraid now than I was the morning I woke up handcuffed in King’s bed.
Because with the truth comes dark secrets I was never meant to know.

I will put the lives of those I love most at risk if I let on that my memory has returned, or if I seek help from the heavily tattooed felon who owns me body and soul.
I don’t know if I’m strong enough to resist the magnetic pull toward King that grows stronger every day.
He’s already saved me in more ways than one. Now it’s my turn to do whatever it takes to save him.

Even if that means marrying someone else…

Untitled

My thoughts: I’m so split when it comes to this book. At first I did not like it at all. It is slow, boring and I just want to bang my head in the wall because I also cant stop reading. I need to know how it will end. But if you are strong enough to keep reading, you get that mushi, suspense that is just what the book and story needs.

Well, if you can pass like 60% of the book it is starting to get good. Real good. And I mean, there is twists that I never had foreseen and that totally saved the book up from 1 star to 3 stars. Or like in this blog, hearts. 🙂

Contemporary · Fiction/Science Fiction · Mystery/Crime · Romance · Suspense

Sacred Sins – Nora Roberts

Book Chick1 Comment

682156| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: 
In the lazy days of summer, a merciless heat wave is the biggest story in Washington, D.C. But the weather is knocked off the front pages when a young woman is found strangled to death. A note left behind reads Her sins are forgiven her.

Two more victims soon follow, and suddenly every headline is devoted to the killer the press has dubbed “the Priest.” When the police ask top-notch psychiatrist Dr. Tess Court to help with their investigation, she comes up with a disturbing portrait of a twisted soul.

Detective Ben Paris doesn’t give a damn about the killer’s psyche. What he can’t easily dismiss is Tess. Tall, dark, and good-looking, Ben has a legendary reputation with women, but the coolly elegant Tess doesn’t react to him like other women he’s known — and he finds the challenge enticing.

Now, as the two are thrown together in a perilous quest to stop a serial killer, the flame of white-hot passion flares. But someone also has his eyes on the beautiful blond doctor … and Ben can only pray that if the madman strikes, he’ll be able to stop him before it’s too late….

Untitled

My thoughts: The book is from the late 80’s and actually is older than me. But you do not notice the time difference which is great. It makes the book like one of those timeless classics and a book you really notice is written by Nora Roberts when you read it.

Roberts have an huge talent for characters development and it is no difference in this book. Even though it did not happen that much for the majority of the book, it was the progress of the story that just made it all great. Unfortunately the end of the book took away one star in my rating. This because it was to predicable and really no suspense and excitement. It was boring and felt more like Roberts just wanted to be done with the book so the end got rushed.