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BLOSSOM STREET BRIDES by Debbie Macomber

July 12, 2015

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Blossom Street #10

This is the latest entry into this very gentle series. It encompasses everything Debbie Macomber readers expect; women’s friendship, a sweet romance and knitting. The series is set in Seattle and centers around A Good Yarn, a knitting shop.

This time the story centers around Lauren Elliott, who works in a nearby fine jewelry establishment. Lauren and Todd, the handsome and ambitious TV newscaster, have been dating for a few years and Lauren feels like they should be ready to move on to the next step – marriage. But Todd wants to wait until he gets that coveted anchor spot, so Lauren decides to break it off.

Bethanne and her husband Max are separated – not because they don’t get along, but because they are newly married and he owns a business in partnership with Rooster in California; Bethanne’s business is in Seattle. And her ex has decided that maybe he made a mistake and wants her back.

Lauren meets Rooster at A Good Yarn, he’s a biker and totally out of her comfort zone but she decides maybe she needs to make a new list of what she wants in a man.

There is additional intrigue when baskets of yarn are found around town with notes to knit a scarf that will be donated to the homeless shelter, and the knitters are asked to turn in the finished product to A Good Yarn. But the proprietor, Lydia, doesn’t know anything about it, although she is certainly enjoying the good will and increase in business.

These women form a bond with each other and with the men in their lives, leading to a satisfying ending. I listened to the audiobook version of this book and it was completely captivating and entertaining. Narrated by Cassandra Campbell.

7/15 Stacy Alesi

BLOSSOM STREET BRIDES by Debbie Macomber. Ballantine Books (March 31, 2015). ISBN 978-0345528865. 432p.

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Audible

3 Comments | Book Reviews, Fiction, Romance, Women's Fiction | Permalink
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THE ASSASSINS by Gayle Lynds

July 10, 2015

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The Judd Ryder Books

After a time away from writing for personal reasons Gayle Lynds returns with an intricate story about six assassins seeking a prize worth many millions of dollars. The six found a common ground when they did a job for Saddam Hussein and were not paid half of the agreed upon fee due to his death. They settled upon stealing an ancient tablet with cuneiform symbols upon it valued at millions of dollars that is being exhibited at a museum in Baghdad. The theft was successful but the tablet accidentally dropped and broken into pieces while the six flee the scene.

Years later when Judd Ryder, formerly a spy for the U.S. is walking home from work he spots a man that looks exactly like him coming from Judd’s house. As Ryder approaches him the man is killed by a hit and run accident.

Investigating the incident Judd learns that the key to his doubles killing and to the events surrounding the theft of the tablet from the Baghdad museum lies with an assassin active during the cold war known as the Carnivore. He was one of the six killers that stole the tablet, and the other five are seeking him in order to finally put the pieces together and possibly sell it for the money Saddam owed them. Judd and a CIA trainee, Eva Blake were known to have seen the Carnivore a short while ago and are sought in order to get the information needed to catch him.

The chase pitting the assassins against each other and seeking Judd and Eva is played out on an international stage going from Washington D.C., Marrakech and Baghdad and is explosive in the speed of the action. The many details are held together neatly by Gayle and make for a very welcome return to the literary world for her.

7/14 Paul Lane

THE ASSASSINS by Gayle Lynds. St. Martin’s Press (June 30, 2015). ISBN: 978-0312380908. 416p.

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A LOT LIKE LOVE by Julie James

July 8, 2015

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I am really enjoying Julie James’ FBI/US Attorney series. I’ve read the first one, Something About You, book 3, About that Night, book 4, Love Irresistibly, and book 5, It Happened One Wedding. I finally got hold of book 2; thank you library! Need I say I did not read these in order? Probably not, since I’m finally reviewing the second book in the series.

This is a terrific series, and one of the things I like best is that they don’t need to be read in order. But if you are one of those people that feel the need to do that, there are delicious little nods to the previous books, so go for it and enjoy.

The series centers around the Chicago U.S. attorneys’ office and the FBI agents that they work with so closely. A Lot Like Love is about FBI agent Nick McCall and the billionaire heiress Jordan Rhodes. Rhodes made an appearance in About that Night as her brother, Kyle, AKA the “Twitter terrorist” is at the center of that book. But that’s the next book in the series, so never mind…

Nick McCall has been working undercover for years, precluding any sort of relationship. His newest assignment is to help out a rookie, but when the rookie gets sick, Nick has to go undercover again. This time he’s Nick Stanton, wealthy businessman who is Jordan’s date at the swankiest charity gala of the year.

In reality, he is there to infiltrate the owner’s office and plant a few bugs that will hopefully tie up a big money laundering sting. Nick and Jordan take an instant dislike to each other; he has no use for high society, and she finds him sarcastic and thug-like. But when Nick finds out he’s being followed, he knows he needs to play the boyfriend full time.

Chicago is the setting once again, with a side trip to beautiful Napa valley. Believable characters and a suspenseful storyline make for a great read – the hot sex is just the icing on the cake. Hope there’s another book or two left in this series, I am seriously hooked.

7/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

A LOT LIKE LOVE by Julie James. Berkley (March 1, 2011). ISBN 978-0425240168. 304p.

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SOMEBODY I USED TO KNOW by David Bell

July 7, 2015

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A combination love story and mystery spanning 20 years. Nick Hansen fell in love with a girl named Marissa Minor while both were in college. To get married was definitely in the cards for them when a horrible accident, a house fire, killed four girls, including Marissa. Nick, devastated, was forced to go on with his life and eventually marries another woman who has a boy from a previous marriage. Nick was crazy about the boy, but unfortunately the couple divorced.

After the divorce Nick continues working at a dead end job and trying to continue seeing Andrew, his ex-wife’s son. One day while in the grocery he is stopped in his tracks by a girl that is the exact image of his dead girlfriend Marissa. Nick attempts to speak to her but the girl runs off.

The next day the police come to his house and indicate that the girl he tried to speak to was found dead in her hotel room with Nick’s address in her possession. Convinced that there has to be a connection between the dead girl and his old girlfriend, Marissa, Nick asks for help from an old friend of his, Laurel Davidson, who works in the D.A.’s office.

Bell is tossing a lot of people at us during the course of the book but does succeed in tying all pieces together at the end to come up with a logical conclusion to what is happening. A fast read, keeping the reader’s interest, and possibly a little reminiscent of Harlan Coben’s novel Six Years, it does stand on its own as well done.

7/15 Paul Lane

SOMEBODY I USED TO KNOW by David Bell. NAL (July 7, 2015). ISBN: 978-0451474209. 432p.

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EVERYTHING I NEVER TOLD YOU by Celeste Ng

July 6, 2015

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It’s May 3, 1977 and Lydia is missing. Actually, Lydia is dead but no one knows that just yet.

The police are called. A search begins. And Lydia’s family hopes beyond hope that the teenage girl will return on her own. As more time passes, Lydia’s parents and siblings worry that they missed something, that there was some sign or clue as to Lydia’s fate. And of course they’re right. Lydia had been hiding things, but so had the rest of them.

Interestingly, Lydia’s death – the exact cause and the reason behind it – isn’t the focus of this story at all. Instead, it’s the relationships between the family members and how they deal with this loss that take center stage.

The parents, Marilyn and James, want their kids to excel in ways they never did. Marilyn in particular pushes Lydia into the same areas she herself studied in a misguided attempt to see her daughter travel a road she never could. Lydia never does have the heart to tell her this isn’t what she wants.

Lydia’s parents are a mixed race couple in the 70s, something that weighs on them all. Marilyn broke with her own mother over the marriage and Lydia and her brother and sister feel the sting of their difference every day. Lydia has no friends and no one to talk to, but her brother notices and doesn’t say anything. Where all three share this feeling of always being an outsider and never quite fitting in, there’s still a disconnect between them. Nath always comes in second to Lydia but never seems to realize how much his sister relies on him. Even Hannah, the youngest, takes a backseat to Lydia almost from the day she’s born. No one pays attention to Hannah, who might have heard Lydia leave on her last night at home.

Everything I Never Told You is such a tragic tale. Misunderstandings, lack of communication, and the fear of disappointing one another lead this family down a road that has awful consequences.

7/15 Becky LeJeune

EVERYTHING I NEVER TOLD YOU by Celeste Ng. Penguin Books; Reprint edition (May 12, 2015). ISBN 978-0143127550. 320p.

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ONLY A PROMISE by Mary Balogh

July 5, 2015

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Survivor’s Club Series, Book 5

Just to recap, this series focuses on a group of men who all sustained injuries during the Napoleonic Wars. The Duke of Stanbrook, having lost his son in that war, had invited this group of men with various serious injuries, and one woman who had the misfortune of seeing her husband tortured and killed, to recuperate at his estate. They spend a few years there healing, form an eternal bond, and after they have healed enough to return to the world, they meet up once a year at the estate to renew their bonds.

By this fifth book, four of the men have married – all but Ralph Stockwood, next in line to be the Duke of Worthington. He lost his childhood friends in the war, and suffers extreme guilt that he talked them into fighting. While physically scarred from the war, it is the emotional scars that have truly crippled him.

With the Duke more than 80 years old, his mother and grandparents are pressuring him to marry quickly and produce his own heir. But Stockwood feels cold and empty inside, and hesitates to make a union when he knows he will make his bride unhappy. Nevertheless, with his title and his money, girls are lining up for him.

The Duchess has a young companion, Chloe Muirhead, who has had quite a bit of scandal and heartache in her young life. At 27, she has no prospects at all. When Stockwood arrives for a visit, he overlooks her presence and has a frank talk with his grandmother about his marital prospects. The next morning, Chloe steels her nerve and makes him a proposal – a marriage of convenience. Neither wants nor expects love, but Chloe would like her own home and a family, and Ralph needs a wife and heir. They marry quickly, and prepare to face society.

Chloe and Ralph overcome many obstacles, which of course bring them closer together. Theirs is a slow growing love, which takes them both by surprise. The sex scenes were surprising to me, almost chaste and somehow seem fitting for the time period and this marriage – but that eventually changes.

Once again Balogh creates wonderful characters and a magical romance. I loved it.

7/15 Stacy Alesi

ONLY A PROMISE by Mary Balogh. Signet (June 9, 2015). ISBN 978-0451469670. 400p.

2 Comments | Book Reviews, Fiction, Romance | Tagged: Historical, Regency | Permalink
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THE INSIDER THREAT by Brad Taylor

July 3, 2015

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A Pike Logan Thriller (Book 8)

This is the eighth entry in the Pike Logan action series by Brad Taylor, whose real life activities included years of experience with covert operations. Pike is the leader of a group of undercover soldiers, part of a secret US government sanctioned organization known only as the Task Force, devoted to taking down America’s enemies wherever they may be. His cover is a business he has in partnership with his girlfriend, lover and member of his elite team – Jennifer Cahill. Jennifer has a degree in Archaeological studies, and the business is to seek artifacts of scientific and historical value.

The Insider Threat is Col. Taylor’s first novel concerning the horrific threat of Isis and its complete disregard for any feelings of humanity towards the people it conquers. Rumors of an attack in Europe bring Pike and his group to Italy to seek out the Isis group the “Lost Boys,” and prevent them from carrying out their assignment. Coincidentally, they again meet characters from a previous novel who had been working for the Mossad; Shosanha and her partner Aaron Bergman. The two had left the Mossad and were handling independent contracts for other Israeli interests, and were tasked with killing one of the Isis members. The two join with the Task force group agreeing to cooperate as necessary to accomplish both missions.

The book, as all other Pike Logan novels, is filled with action, military strategy and an attention to logical plot and follow through. Shosanha and Aaron fit in with the Task Force operation and surely will take part in further actions. An emphasis is placed on Jennifer’s growth in knowledge of what the group does and her contribution with ideas and methods towards the ultimate success of the mission at hand. Although she indicates at the end of the book that she is tired of the killing and fighting involved with the group’s missions it is very likely that she will continue to work with Pike in future adventures.

A novel moving with lightning speed and action guaranteed to maintain the reader’s attention and set the pace for the next Pike Logan adventure.

7/14 Paul Lane

THE INSIDER THREAT by Brad Taylor. Dutton (June 30, 2015). ISBN: 978-0525954903. 432p.

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BUM RAP by Paul Levine

July 2, 2015

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Levine writes two popular legal series, the Jake Lassiter series and the Solomon and Lord series, and has cleverly brought all three of his heroes together in his latest outing.

Steve Solomon was in the wrong place at the wrong time, trying to help Nadia, a Russian “B girl,” get her passport and back wages from Gorev. When Nadia pulls a Glock out of her purse, Gorev ends up dead, Nadia disappears with her passport and a mysterious bag she lifted from Gorev’s safe, and Steve is left literally holding the gun inside a locked room.

His law partner and significant other, Victoria Lord, hires Jake Lassiter to defend her man and the fun begins. Turns out Gorev was working for Benny the Jeweler, a nice old gent who also happens to be a major diamond smuggler.

The Russians and the FBI are after Nadia, but if Lassiter is able to track her down, will she corroborate Steve’s story that she shot Gorev, using Florida’s infamous “stand your ground” defense? All they know for sure is that Nadia was working as an informant and the Feds don’t want their investigation compromised.

Solomon’s usual roguish charm is subdued while he sweats it out in jail, Lord is scared but willing to trust Lassiter, and Lassiter is not at all sure he will be able to get his client off. The pages fly by and the laughs keep coming in this irresistible south Florida romp, a delicious mix of thriller and comic crime thriller.

7/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

BUM RAP by Paul Levine. Thomas & Mercer (July 1, 2015). ISBN 978-1477829868. 352p.

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AS NIGHT FALLS by Jenny Milchman

June 30, 2015

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After winning the Mary Higgins Clark Award for Cover of Snow, Milchman returns with her third standalone thriller set in upstate New York.

The suspense starts building right from the get go when we learn that Sandy, a therapist, and her husband Ben have built their dream home in a desolate area, which they share with their sullen teenage daughter and a sweet old dog. The fact that the desolation is emphasized immediately set the hairs on the back of my neck to tingling.

Nick has been in prison for more than twenty years, but comes up with a brilliant plan for escape, and takes along fellow inmate Harlan and they end up invading Sandy’s home. The story moves back and forth between the home invasion and Nick’s childhood, which is often a way of helping make the bad guy more sympathetic – but not in this case.

There is a shocking twist when we find out Sandy has a walloping secret she’s kept from her family, but they have no choice but to rely on her help if they are to survive.

Another excellent psychological thriller that should appeal to readers who favor authors like Lisa Gardner and Lisa Unger.

6/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

AS NIGHT FALLS by Jenny Milchman. Ballantine Books (June 30, 2015). ISBN 978-0553394818. 384p.

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DAY FOUR by Sarah Lotz

June 29, 2015

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Foveros Cruises has been plagued by bad press, so when things on The Beautiful Dreamer start to turn sour it’s no wonder the crew want to keep things under wraps. A fire breaks out in the engine room causing the ship to prepare for emergency evacuation. It never comes to that, but it does lead to the discovery of a dead girl in one of the staterooms. Dreamer security wants to chalk it up to “misadventure” but any investigation soon gets pushed by the wayside as they realize that the ship has lost power and is now drifting at sea. To make things worse, an outbreak of Norovirus has begun affecting both passengers and crew.

While those in charge try to remain positive, promising updates and rescue, the rest of the ship declines into a chaotic scene of violence and fear. No other ships have been seen for days, food and supplies are starting to dwindle, and the more superstitious on board are claiming supernatural forces are behind the whole thing.

Day Four is the absolute perfect summer read. It’s weird and creepy and hits all the right notes for anyone who enjoys somewhat offbeat/cross-genre reads.

Fans of Lotz’s The Three will quickly realize that Day Four is connected, though the connection doesn’t become clear until the end. Even still, there are questions after the conclusion making me wonder if Lotz has plans to further develop the premise with future installments. (I sincerely hope so.) You don’t have to have read The Three to start Day Four, though I would definitely recommend them both.

I should note that while The Three consists solely of articles, correspondence, and interviews, Day Four is a more traditional narrative. Anyone who might have struggled with Lot’s prior outing may find this latest easier to get into.

6/15 Becky LeJeune

DAY FOUR by Sarah Lotz. Little, Brown and Company (June 16, 2015). ISBN 978-0316242943. 352p.

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